North Dallas Forty (1979)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:20
Fresh:17
Rotten:3
Average Rating:6.6/10
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... [More]
Starring: Nick Nolte, Charles Durning, Bo Svenson, Mac Davis
Director: Ted Kotcheff
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Reviews for North Dallas Forty
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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Retains enough of the original novel's authenticity to deliver strong, if brutish, entertainment. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
The football scenes are brutally real; the locker room scenes are totally authentic. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
Pro football fans may be disillusioned by this excellent, honest, and often brutal expose of the play-for-pay game. Full Review |
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The production is a most realistic, hard-hitting and perceptive look at the seamy side of pro football. Full Review |
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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 |
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A |
The best football movie ever made. Full Review |
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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 |
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2/5 |
No review available.
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3/5 |
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 |
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3/5 |
Raucous football tale with effective Nolte.
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3/5 |
No review available.
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North Dallas Forty reveals some of the reasons why the fun has been taken out of football. Full Review |
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3/5 |
No review available.
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4/5 |
No review available.
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3/5 |
No review available.
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4/5 |
No review available.
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3/5 |
No review available.
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4/5 |
No review available.
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67/100 |
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 |
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3/5 |
For a sports flick, this is unique and holds your attention for the most part. Full Review |
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