Overview
A humorous yet poignant look at the highs and lows of professional football life.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- gritty
- sardonic
- bruising
- sports movie night
- 1970s cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as muddled but perceptive and brutally realistic, with strong performances and an unusually unsentimental portrayal of professional football.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Phillip Elliott's professional football career is defined by accumulated injuries, medication, exhaustion, and the brutal demands of the sport.
The bond between wide receiver Phillip Elliott and quarterback Seth Maxwell provides the film's emotional center amid team politics.
The film presents professional football as a business protecting performance and profit rather than as a straightforward path to heroic fulfillment.
Team facilities, practices, injuries, coaches, and player routines carry much of the film's social and dramatic texture.
Films like North Dallas Forty, and why
Any Given Sunday
Shared American football setting, locker-room camaraderie, abrasive humor, and critique of professional sports culture.
The Longest Yard
Shared sports drama structure, physical sacrifice, institutional pressure, and conflicted male friendship.
Slap Shot
Shared working-class sports milieu, cynical humor, bruising realism, and resistance to inspirational sports formulas.
The Wrestler
Shared intimate, character-focused examination of athletes, bodily damage, masculine loyalty, and exploitative sports systems.
Movie Details
- Director
- Ted Kotcheff
- Release Date
- 1979-08-03
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (81)
Cast
- Nick Nolte
- Mac Davis
- Charles Durning
- Dayle Haddon
- Bo Svenson
- John Matuszak
- Steve Forrest
- G.D. Spradlin
- Dabney Coleman
- Savannah Smith Boucher
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- MGM Plus
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is North Dallas Forty about?
- A battered professional football veteran confronts the bodily costs and institutional cynicism of the game while trying to preserve his closest teammate friendship.
- What is North Dallas Forty like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of North Dallas Forty as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is North Dallas Forty violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in North Dallas Forty as moderate.
- What did critics think of North Dallas Forty?
- Critics broadly regard the film as muddled but perceptive and brutally realistic, with strong performances and an unusually unsentimental portrayal of professional football.
- Which films are like North Dallas Forty?
- Films with a similar feel include Any Given Sunday, The Longest Yard, Slap Shot, and The Wrestler.
- How long is North Dallas Forty?
- North Dallas Forty runs 119 minutes.
- Where can I watch North Dallas Forty?
- In United States, North Dallas Forty streams on MGM Plus.
