North Dallas Forty

source: North Dallas Forty

This is one of those films people rarely talk about, so a lot of people, especially those under 40, have never heard about. Unless I am wrong, this is the 1st film that introduces the darker side of pro football and NDF does it extremely well on both as commentary and as a film. If you ever thought sports were "just a game" then this film will flip that viewpoint on its end. The casting is odd yet superb. Mac Davis ( yes, the Country Music crooner and ace songwriter) as the sagacious jaded insider QB could not have been better played. He and Nick Nolte's presence is dominating and multi-dimensional. Dayle Haddon is the ultimate love-interest for Elliot. You get it from all angles in this film: from the team's owner, the doctors, the players, the coaches, the social cling-on's, and the uninformed bystanders. Truly a well balanced piece of film making, that to this day, still will casts some negativity in the minds of the football fan. Great lines in this film:[ Elliot to Maxwell] " You know everything, don't you?" [ Maxwell] " That I do poot.... that I do"// [ Shaddock to Coach Johnson] " Every time we call it a game, you call it a business, and every time we call it a business you call it a game!!"// [ Elliot to Coach Strothers] " You are right about one thing, B.A., it IS time to put away childish things." Please read other quotes listed here. Films that are cutting-edge as this one, also tend to be time-sensitive, and NDF is no exception as some things will undoubtedly seem old-hat to most viewers, but there is still plenty of meat left on the bone to make seeing this a priority. Don't pre-judge it as just a sports film, its much more, deeply moving, just in a very different way than say Rudy, Hoosiers, Field of Dreams, or Pride of the Yankees. Don't miss the opportunity to see this one.

..there's a good chance you would after seeing North Dallas Forty, a stinging indictment of the NFL in general and the Tex Schramm/Tom Landry era Dallas Cowboys in particular, the way their management callously and ruthlessly used and manipulated their players. Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated pointed out that what was promoted as a raunchy football comedy is, in reality, far from it (except for a few isolated moments). Although fiction, said fiction is supposedly a VERY thin disguise of actual people and events..an expose of the dark side of pro football. As Phil Elliott, the protagonist in the story (based on the author, former Dallas Cowboys receiver Peter Gent), explains late in the film to his girlfriend Charlotte (Dayle Haddon), he puts up with being used and playing the owner's game all for that high he gets when catching the football. All Elliott and the rest of the players want to do is play football, but they have to do it according to the rules made up by the owners and the league, and deal with the harsh reality that the game they love is, in fact, a business. Team management doesn't give a damn about their players. They don't even see them as people..only cogs in a machine. And troublemakers are not tolerated. As Elliott points out toward the end of the film, gesturing to team management, "We're not the team! THEY'RE the team! We're the equipment!" Even the raunchy comedy that was promoted for North Dallas Forty was decidedly dark. There's one sequence where two players are fighting over a woman at a party, then one player gives the other a kiss and then all three start dancing. Elliott (to Charlotte, attempting to explain their behavior), "See, alcohol and fear makes for a good combination." Charlotte (incredulous) "What are they afraid of?" Elliott (dead serious) "Falling on their asses in Chicago." The movie also is the first to really slam home just how brutal the game of pro football really is (and especially was back then). The opening sequence sets everything up. Elliott wakes up the morning after a game in pain all over his body. He can barely get up out of bed, can barely walk, he downs a handful of painkillers (chased down with a beer), fires up a joint and sits in his tub smoking weed, trying to get even some of the edge off the pain from all those hits he's taken. And as you see Elliott forcing his way out of bed and making his way to the bathroom to get in the tub, you see him wincing in pain in various places, each time cutting to a flashback of the play where he got that particular injury. The editing in that sequence is masterful, and makes it all the more gut wrenching, as you see the sheer violence and brutality of the game close up. The performances are great top to bottom, a lot of them from actual pro football players (John Matuszak in particular). Nick Nolte turns in a great performance as Elliott (he deserved an Oscar nomination for his all-too-real portrayal of a broken athlete in pain in the opening scene alone..a scene with no dialogue). Mac Davis is terrific as the fun loving quarterback Don Meredith..ummm, I mean Seth Maxwell. GD Spradlin is great as the cold hearted all-business head coach to who puts more value in the team's computer evaluations than his players. The ever-reliable Charles Durning also puts in an all-too-convincing performance as the mean spirited and manipulative assistant coach. North Dallas Forty is a great movie..one of those rare flicks that manages to be entertaining and thought provoking at the same time. This is probably because a lot of the stuff in it, even though it was fiction, is based on events that, according to people not looking to protect the Cowboys organization and the NFL, actually happened.

Phil Elliott (Nick Nolte) is a worn out wide receiver for the North Dallas Bulls professional football team in the 70s. It's crazy parties, drugs, sex, and alcohol. Seth Maxwell (Mac Davis) is the popular quarterback. Jo Bob Priddy (Bo Svenson) is a dumb wild lineman. Phil meets Charlotte Caulder (Dayle Haddon) at a party but she's not happy to be there. He rescues her from Jo Bob with a lot of help from Seth. Coach Strother thinks Phil isn't serious enough. Team executive Emmett Hunter (Dabney Coleman) is dating Joanne Rodney but Phil is actually sleeping with her. Johnson (Charles Durning) is the assistant coach. Phil is constantly threatened with the CFL. His body is all worn out and the trainer gives him 'B12' shots. Somebody mysterious is after him. Based on the novel by Cowboys wide receiver Peter Gent, this has the feel of authenticity. It's not quite a spoof with few outright laughs. Nick Nolte is terrific as the weary player. The story is a bit scattered. It could be even darker and more intense.

"North Dallas Forty" can rightfully take its place among the greatest of sports based movies. It's an intelligent, unflinching look into the world of professional (American) football, and the assortment of characters that inhabit the world. There's no need for flashy filmmaking here; the drama is strong enough to carry the story, along with some completely authentic performances. People unfamiliar with this movie will note that there's not necessarily a lot of game action; the concentration is on the action taking place off the playing field. The pivotal character is Phillip Elliott (Nick Nolte), a weary seen-it-all veteran of the game, a top notch receiver conscious of all the punishment that his body has taken over the years. Phillip knows the game very well, but he's not too interested in playing a different sort of game, with the hard-driving coaches (G.D. Spradlin and Charles Durning) and the greedy team owner (Steve Forrest). Fortunately, he does have one good friend: star quarterback Seth Maxwell (singer Mac Davis). This is scripted by director Ted Kotcheff ("First Blood"), producer Frank Yablans, and author Peter Gent, who wrote the semi-fictional novel on which the movie is based. Based on the Dallas Cowboys team of the early 1970s, it takes its time telling the story, contrasting the more philosophical and low key nature of Phillip with gung-ho defensive players like O.W. Shaddock (real life football star John Matuszak) and Jo Bob Priddy (amusing live wire Bo Svenson). We feel completely sympathetic towards Phillip, and can also practically feel the pain that he experiences after every game. There are several key emotional scenes, especially towards the end. Nolte is excellent in the lead role, and as one can see, the supporting cast is full of rock solid actors (also among them is Dabney Coleman as Forrests' younger brother). Nolte and Davis have very fine chemistry and one can buy them as friends. Dayle Haddon, as a love interest for Nolte, isn't terribly effective because she comes off as just too aloof. Compelling material, even for people who aren't necessarily football fans. Eight out of 10.

Pete Gent's North Dallas Forty was a great book about the fear and desperation of being a marginal football player in the NFL, even if it's outlook on sex, drug use and authority seems rather sophomoric and dated now. The movie faithfully follows the book most of the way, although the sex and drug abuse is significantly toned down in the movie. Nolte captures the rebelliousness of wide receiver Elliott/Gent, while Mac Davis, in a true casting coup and career performance, does a great turn as the Dallas quarterback Maxwell/Meredith. For those keeping track, both Gent and Meredith ended their careers in 1968, Meredith when he was at the top of his game. Hmmmmmm.

Listening to the Colin Cowherd Show on ESPN and Kyle Turley was on. He was getting into the drug use in the NFL and now wants the NFL to pay-up. I saw this in 1979 with two friends I worked with at a hot dog place. They were both going to USC to play football. This movie was an insight to the reality of sports...and it was 1979. Nothing has changed! Why is this movie so significant? If you listen to Turley's arguments, he acts as if this is something new. Like anything else, nothing is new. You want women, money, and a lifestyle that says, "Live for today" then you can't whine about the consequences. The NFL sees you as a product. That's news to you? Every professional athlete should have to watch this movie before signing any contract. You show this to any high school athlete, and like the guys I saw it with going to USC, they will say, "So...that's not gonna happen to me." Great movie!

Gritty, realistic look at the win-at-all-cost business of pro football. Nolte is especially engaging as an over the hill wide receiver who rebels against goading coach G.D. Spradlin. Davis, Svenson and Charles Durning all add fine support to this very real story.

When I watched this movie again I did not realize how little football is actually in this film. This film shows the reality of the football business, and price one pays both physical and mentally in pro sports. I would call this film more a drama then a comedy. The personal side in Elliots life drags in this film, and kills it.

Phillip Elliot is a wide receiver for the North Dallas Bulls. He is approaching the end of his career and ravaged with injuries, which he needs medication to cover the pain enough to play. The coaches want 100% to win games and win the season, but do the owners see the people inside the uniforms? Written by ex-player Peter Gent this film wanders between love for the game and admiration for the players and the flip side where the players are overpaid little boys in men's bodies who are seen as disposable by club owners. This wandering happens for most of the film, mostly due to the fact that the plot seems to be wandering all over the place with little to do. When it actually focuses on the dealings of the club owners and the sacrifices the players have to make, it is pretty interesting – even if it does what many other sports films have done better. The central point about owners seeing the players as just another piece of equipment owed by the club is pretty well made, but it is confused by the plot wandering a little bit. The ending is designed to back up this central point, but the circumstances come out of nowhere and the ending doesn't really ring true and isn't as strong a conclusion as it should have been. The film also struggles to condemn either the sport or the players, seeming to be annoyed with bosses more than anything else. The players are clearly childish and irresponsible, violent men but yet the film weakens on that point after hinting at it, likewise the film condemns part of the game but then happily indulges in big game action near the end of the film. Nolte is pretty good, but he also seems a little unsure about whether his character loves the sport or hates everything about it except the game. Support players simply play victims or childish thugs. The reason for Haddon's love interest is beyond me but Durning and Spradlin give good support as coaches. Overall this is an interesting film, which is strongest at the start and end, the middle section lacking structure and focus. The message it is trying to get across applies much more today than it did back then, but has been made better and in more enjoyable total films than this. Still an interesting watch for the most part though.