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North Dallas Forty

Play trailer Poster for North Dallas Forty R Released Aug 3, 1979 2h 0m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A brutal satire of American professional football in which a veteran pass-catcher's individuality and refusal to become part of the team "family" is bitterly resented by his disciplinarian coaches. The National Football League refused to help in the production of this movie, suggesting it may have been too near the truth for comfort. From the novel by former NFL player Peter Gent.
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North Dallas Forty

North Dallas Forty

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Critics 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.

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Critics Reviews

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Gary Arnold Washington Post Profanely funny, wised-up and heroically antiheroic, North Dallas Forty is unlikely to please anyone with a vested interest in glorifying the National Football League. Aug 29, 2016 Full Review Richard Schickel TIME Magazine Retains enough of the original novel's authenticity to deliver strong, if brutish, entertainment. Aug 1, 2008 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times The football scenes are brutally real; the locker room scenes are totally authentic. Rated: 3.5/4 Mar 21, 2007 Full Review Photoplay Staff Photoplay Nick Nolte emerges triumphant as Hollywood's most likely successor to Burt Reynolds's crown of macho comedy king. Mac Davis, the country singer, is more than all right, too. Sep 22, 2024 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Nick Nolte delivers yet another grounded and deeply felt performance in a football flick that’s hard-hitting both on and off the field. Rated: 3/4 Apr 10, 2024 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com …zeroes in with laser focus on the parties, the training, and the personal lives of the protagonists… Rated: 5/5 Nov 30, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Howard F Could be the best sports movie ever made. The real highs and lows of football with some laughs. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/08/24 Full Review Kevin R Other than Rocky, NDF is the best sports movie ever made - and definitely the best football movie ever made. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/02/24 Full Review Munkhchimeg T Amazing. One of the best movie about the sport. Sooo energized and motivated. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/05/24 Full Review S R A good one for Nolte, showing the issues in the nfl that make it a messed up sport. Could've been toned down to make it more mainstream. Saw on TCM. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Seen this a couple times before, it's worth watching again and this time reviewing. IN FACT, it gets consideration from time to time as my choice for ‘best football movie' but it's less about football and more about relationships. Still, most people do not know anything about the inner workings of a pro football team (including myself) and this seems legit. There's not as many good sports movies, let alone football, as we believe there to be. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member It's a good glimpse inside the politics of Pro Football in the 1970s. For those who are too young to remember or weren't born yet it's an accurate time capsule of the era before drug testing and conduct codes being strictly enforced. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
North Dallas Forty

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Cast & Crew

North Dallas Forty

North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - It's a Sport Not a Business North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - It's a Sport Not a Business 1:30 North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Breakfast of Champions North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Breakfast of Champions 1:42 North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Pre-Game Final Words North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Pre-Game Final Words 2:13 North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - A Quarterback Sandwich North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - A Quarterback Sandwich 1:21 North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - You the Best North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - You the Best 2:12 North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Boy Meets Boy North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Boy Meets Boy 2:00 North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Final Play of the Game North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Final Play of the Game 2:11 North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Serious Training North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Serious Training 1:02 North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Ice Bath & Beers North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Ice Bath & Beers 2:08 North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Full-Speed Scrimmage North Dallas Forty: Official Clip - Full-Speed Scrimmage 1:46 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis A brutal satire of American professional football in which a veteran pass-catcher's individuality and refusal to become part of the team "family" is bitterly resented by his disciplinarian coaches. The National Football League refused to help in the production of this movie, suggesting it may have been too near the truth for comfort. From the novel by former NFL player Peter Gent.
Director
Ted Kotcheff
Producer
Frank Yablans
Production Co
Paramount Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 3, 1979, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 2, 2016
Runtime
2h 0m
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