Alive with excitement and kinetic energy, this controversial hit was the first major motion picture to deal with female athletics. PERSONAL BEST realistically depicts the highly competitive world of track and field and the relationship between two talented female track stars (Mariel Hemingway and Patrice Donnelly) as friends, lovers, and competitors as they train for the 1980 Olympic Team.

"PERSONAL BEST is a celebration . . . a great, lush romantic tune. A very smart and super subtle movie—sensual and sexual and informative, too."

- THE NEW YORKER

"This is an original movie, full of feeling, fire and thought. It’s an image of beauty and concentration, which is what this original, compelling and no doubt controversial film is all about—the beauty of human beings focusing all their energy on excellence. Robert Towne’s PERSONAL BEST takes the world of track and field as a microcosm for the ecstasies and pains of self-striving. And it dares, with great delicacy and insight, to show a loving sexual relationship between two young women, not as a statement about homosexuality but as a paradigm of authentic human intimacy."

- Jack Kroll, NEWSWEEK