North Dallas Forty (1979)
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85% of critics liked it
(20 reviews) -
69% of users liked it
(2,374 ratings)
In a society in which major league sporting events have replaced Sunday worship as the religion of choice, North Dallas Forty appears like a desecration at the altar. In this film, directed by Ted Kotcheff (The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz), the National Football League is revealed to be more… More In a society in which major league sporting events have replaced Sunday worship as the religion of choice, North Dallas Forty appears like a desecration at the altar. In this film, directed by Ted Kotcheff (The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz), the National Football League is revealed to be more about the money than the game. Nick Nolte is North Dallas Bulls pass-catcher Phillip Elliott, whose cynicism and independent spirit is looked upon as troublesome by team coaches Johnson (Charles Durning) and Strothers (G.D. Spradlin) and team owner Conrad Hunter (Steve Forrest). Elliot, at the end of his career and wise to the way players are bought and sold like cattle, goes through the games pumped up on painkillers conveniently provided by the management. His teammates include savvy quarterback Maxwell (Mac Davis) and lunk-headed defensive lineman Jo Bob Priddy (Bo Svenson), who deal with the impersonality and back-biting of the game through off-field diversions. When the Bulls management benches Elliot after manipulating him to help train a fellow teammate, Elliot has to decide whether there is more to life than the game that he loves. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ted Kotcheff
- Written By
- Frank Yablans, Ted Kotcheff, Peter Gent
- Genres
- Drama, Sports & Fitness, Comedy
R,
- In Theaters
- Aug 3, 1979 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
Retains enough of the original novel's authenticity to deliver strong, if brutish, entertainment.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The football scenes are brutally real; the locker room scenes are totally authentic.
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, Variety
The production is a most realistic, hard-hitting and perceptive look at the seamy side of pro football.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Something of a mess, both in terms of the wayward plot which rambles all over the place, and in terms of the rather muddled juggling of audience sympathies.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
The leading man, Nick Nolte, has a physical authority and a clowning, irreverent manner that lend the film some semblance of continuity, even when it's about to flounder.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Nick Nolte
as Phillip Elliott
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Mac Davis
as Maxwell
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Charles Durning
as Coach Johnson
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Dabney Coleman
as Emmett
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Dayle Haddon
as Charlotte
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Steve Forrest
as Conrad Hunter
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Bo Svenson
as Jo Bob Priddy
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G.D. Spradlin
as B.A. Strothers
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Savannah Smith Boucher
as Joanne
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Marshall Colt
as Art Hartman
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Guich Koock
as Eddie Rand
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John Matuszak
as O.W. Shaddock
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Alan Autry
as Balford
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Deborah Benson
as Mrs. Hartman
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Jim Boeke
as Stallings
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John Bottoms
as Vip
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Walter Brooke
as Doctor
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Jane Daly
as Ruth
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Rad Daly
as Conrad
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Stanley Grover
as March
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Cliff Frazier
as Monroe
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Boyd Matson
as Sportscaster
