Starting with a long and lyrical overture, evoking the origins of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, Riefenstahl covers twenty-one athletic events in the first half of this two-part love letter to the human body and spirit, culminating with the marathon, where Jesse Owens became the first track and field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics.
Part two of Leni Riefenstahl's monumental examination of the 1938 Olympic Games, the cameras leave the main stadium and venture into the many halls and fields deployed for such sports as fencing, polo, cycling, and the modern pentathlon, which was won by American Glenn Morris.
A documentary about the 1972 Winter Olympic Games in Sapporo, Japan.
This colorful documentary chronicles the events of the 1968 Winter Olympics in France. The events made international celebrities of skater Peggy Fleming and skier Jean-Claude Killy for their gold-medal performances. The camera accurately catches the speed of bobsleds and downhill racers and ski jumpers as they race for the gold. President Charles DeGaulle is shown observing the action over 13 days, which saw France earn the best performance to date in the winter games.
From a vast record of 750 days, 5000 hours, Official Film of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 SIDE A and SIDE B are the official documentaries by Naomi Kawase capturing not only the athletes gathered from all over the world, but also their families, people involved in the Games, volunteers, medical personnel, and protesters shouting for the cancellation of the Olympics.
Piche, a bearded drag queen and rapper from a Gypsy community in Arles, rises from the rupture of her father cutting ties in adolescence to the 2024 Olympic opening ceremony. With her mother Nadia and twin brother Morgan by her side, she dares to defy norms and becomes a leading voice of the queer revolution.
For seventeen fleeting days, the mountain wore a crown of glory. This documentary is not about those days, but about the whispers that echo in the wind long after the last torch is extinguished. We journey through time, witnessing the mountain's silent transformation - years of preparation etched in its slopes, scars of change left on its ancient form. Through intimate interviews with the locals who witnessed the transformation and the professionals who shaped it, we piece together the mountain's Olympic journey. We'll hear firsthand accounts of the years of preparation, the challenges faced, and the lasting impact on the landscape and community.
The Athos peninsula in Greece is one of Europe's last secrets. Over 2000 monks live on Athos - cut off from the outside world. Access is denied to women, tourists are not welcome. Only workers and pilgrims can obtain a visa. The "Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain" attracts people who feel like they are missing something from their modern lives. With the help of three Athos monks, "Athos - A Taste of Heaven" tells the story of the island and its inhabitants in a unique filmed diary style. The film's guiding theme is the path we as people have to find and follow - each and everyone for themselves. "First we must heal our own souls, only then we can help others", is one of Father Galaktions core messages. He lives as a hermit on the holy mountain. Not all monks, however, live as secluded and demure as Father Galaktion. The film team is also received by Father Epiphanios - a gifted and poetic cook who certainly does not disdain the pleasures of life.
At the Winter Olympics of 1980, after two tense weeks amidst growing Cold War fears, the U.S. Olympic hockey team found themselves playing improbably against the legendary unbeatable Soviet Army hockey team for Olympic Gold. From the live footage taken at Lake Placid, NY, and through interviews beginning with the team's assembly through the experience of winning the gold medal.
Come back with us to Ancient Greece, 2,500 Years ago to the original Olympic Games. The ancient Games, like our modern Olympics, included champions and cheaters, glory and scandals, bitter rivalries and contests of strength, speed and savage combat. Set in 448 BC when the pounding of horse's hooves and the brutal hand-to-hand combat could be heard and seen by the crowds that filled the Olympic stadium. This one-hour special event follows the glory and corruption of the arc of a single, five-day Olympiad. The competitions include chariot racing, running, jumping, discus, javelin and two man-to-man combat finals-boxing and pankration, a form of extreme fighting in which death was not uncommon. With the help of sports historians and great athletes such as George Chuvalo and Olympic medallists Donovan Bailey and Angela Schneider, viewers travel back to a very different life-in a very different world.
A poignant insight into the world of sport, where talent, passion and endurance mean everything, but give no guarantee of success.
The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 p.m. China Standard Time (UTC+8) on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number in Chinese culture. Featuring more than 15,000 performers, the ceremony lasted over four hours and cost over $100 million USD to produce.
Part of the Almost Famous series. She was arguably the greatest women's basketball player. She won three national trophies; she played in the ’76 Olympics; she was drafted to the NBA. But have you ever heard of Lucy Harris?
At the 1996 Atlanta Games, the Magnificent Seven became the first American women to ever win gymnastics team gold. Sixteen years later, in London, the Fierce Five joined them in the history books. Relive all the excitement as Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney and Kyla Ross take the lead from the first rotation and never look back on their way to gold. Follow Gabby Douglas on her way to the podium to make it three straight American gold medals in the individual all-around competition. Every individual event final is featured on this DVD, including Aly Raisman's historic gold-medal performance in the floor exercise, her bronze on the balance beam, as well as McKayla Maroney's silver medal in the vault.
A feature length documentary about the struggle of a group of swimmers from developing nations trying to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time. A story about pursuing your dreams and overcoming adversity.
Boarders is a character focused film digging deep into the journeys of a group of British skateboarders who are vying for a spot to represent their country at the pivotal arena of elite sportsmanship, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where skateboarding will make its debut as competition sport
With the Olympics returning to Greece, the opening ceremony of Athens 2004 sought to show the entire development of the Olympics over the centuries, until arriving at the modern Olympics.
The study of crazy brilliance and flamboyant sincerity. a.k.a. Cassius Clay presents a fascinating look at the incredible life and achievements of one of the most courageous, outspoken and charismatic figures of boxing: Muhammad Ali. Born Cassius Clay in 1942, Ali soon rose to become a renowned athlete, an articulate author and a compelling political; leader. Audacious, ambitious and totally fearless, Ali became a symbol of pride, a legend of hope and one of the most extraordinary cultural icons of the 20th century.
This impressionistic portrait of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics pays as much attention to the crowds and workers as it does to the actual competitive events. Highlights include an epic pole-vaulting match between West Germany and America, and the final marathon race through Tokyo's streets. Two athletes are highlighted: Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who receives his second gold medal, and runner Ahamed Isa from Chad, representing a country younger than he is.
A documentary covering the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.