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Movies / On DVD / Personal Best
Personal Best

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Personal Best (1982)

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73 %
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Reviews Counted: 22

Fresh: 16

Rotten:6

Average Rating: 6.4/10

Consensus: Mariel Hemingway has a career-making star turn in this highly physical drama about two Olympic athletes who find each other during competitive training.

Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Two highly competitive female athletes discover erotic feelings for each other as they train for the Olympics.

Starring: Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, Patrice Donnelly, Kenny Moore

Starring: Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, Patrice Donnelly, Kenny Moore

Director: Robert Towne

Director: Robert Towne

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Release:

Jan 8, 2008

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Personal Best

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Endowed with remarkable performances, superb photography, and a clear vision of what matters to its characters, Personal Best is an underappreciated gem in a genre full of filler.

Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
06/27/09
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com

Personal Best is likable precisely because it is so unembarrassed.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
08/04/08
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Towne has a love of slow motion that's employed as if he's afraid you might miss one, rippling muscle. Worse than that, when people aren't exercising, they are often talking about exercising.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/04/08
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
02/18/08
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

There's no questioning its authenticity.... However, the movie tends to make its points early and then repeat itself unnecessarily.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
01/20/08
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

The sort of nerve required to produce an excellent screenplay like Chinatown seems to have deserted Towne in this, his directorial debut.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
06/30/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/24/05
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

This is a very physical movie, one of the healthiest and sweatiest celebrations of physical exertion I can remember.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unless you're fascinated by all of the prettified slow-motion footage of Chris, Tory and the other women athletes, your eye is likely to wander to your watch long before the end.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/30/04
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
11/17/03
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

No review available.

comment Comment
09/20/03
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

An unusual subject to get the Hollywood treatment though, and as such it should be commended, while Hemmingway is always worth catching.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film

Hemingway excels in a difficult and risky role.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
04/17/03
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

One of the best movies ever about competition, with wonderfully natural performances.

comment Comment
04/04/03
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
12/06/02
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

A frank, honest portrayal of the sacrifices of Olympic-caliber athletes. it is tough and uncompromising.

comment Comment
10/11/02
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/29/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

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

A robust and adventuresome film that is both tough and sentimental in its portrait of Olympic grade women athletes.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/24/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
 
 
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