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North Dallas Forty

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North Dallas Forty (1979)

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86 %
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Reviews Counted: 21

Fresh: 18

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 6.7/10

Consensus: Muddled overall, but perceptive and brutally realistic, North Dallas Forty also benefits from strong performances by Nick Nolte and Charles Durning. Football fans will likely find it fascinating.

Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: NORTH DALLAS FORTY is a funny and insightful peek into the world of professional football, adapted from Peter Gent's novel. Phillip Elliott is an aging wide receiver for the North Dallas Bulls who... NORTH DALLAS FORTY is a funny and insightful peek into the world of professional football, adapted from Peter Gent's novel. Phillip Elliott is an aging wide receiver for the North Dallas Bulls who still delivers on the field--despite the many past injuries that keep him in almost constant pain. Almost as painful for him is the constant abuse heaped on the players by management. Now Phillip's determined to do something about it. The corporate bigwigs, however, are growing increasingly annoyed by Elliott's complaining. Will the athlete cave in to the pressure and keep his mouth shut or fight the executives at the risk of ending his career? Featuring a stellar cast that includes Charles Durning, Mac Davis, and Nick Notle, this film ranks with HORSE FEATHERS, SEMI-TOUGH, and THE LONGEST YARD as one of the greatest football films of all time. [More]

Starring: Nick Nolte, Charles Durning, Bo Svenson, Mac Davis

Starring: Nick Nolte, Charles Durning, Bo Svenson, Mac Davis, John Matuszak, Dabney Coleman, Steve Forrest, Brian Dennehy, Dayle Haddon

Director: Ted Kotcheff

Director: Ted Kotcheff
Producer: Frank Yablans
Screenwriter: Frank Yablans, Ted Kotcheff, Peter Gent
Composer: John Scott

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jan 31, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for North Dallas Forty

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Retains enough of the original novel's authenticity to deliver strong, if brutish, entertainment.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
08/01/08
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The football scenes are brutally real; the locker room scenes are totally authentic.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
03/21/07
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pro football fans may be disillusioned by this excellent, honest, and often brutal expose of the play-for-pay game.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/14/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The production is a most realistic, hard-hitting and perceptive look at the seamy side of pro football.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/14/07
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It relies upon your belief in the inherent nobility of the sport... If you believe that, this is the greatest sports movie ever made. If you don't, it's a wallow in self-pity.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/14/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The best football movie ever made.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
06/10/06
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

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.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
06/17/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

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.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Raucous football tale with effective Nolte.

comment Comment
11/01/04
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

No review available.

comment Comment
02/26/04
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

North Dallas Forty reveals some of the reasons why the fun has been taken out of football.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/27/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

No review available.

comment Comment
03/27/03
Rebecca Murray
About.com

No review available.

comment Comment
12/17/02
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

No review available.

comment Comment
12/13/02
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
10/04/02
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

No review available.

comment Comment
08/16/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

No review available.

comment Comment
08/06/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

It’s still fascinating to get a glimpse of what athletes sacrifice to entertain us. It would have been considerably more fascinating if more of the people involved had seemed more human.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
03/27/01
Scott Renshaw
Apollo Guide
 
 
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