Alexander Zverev becomes the first German to win Olympic gold in men’s tennis | Sports | DW

The Olympic Games in the cinema

Cool Runnings (1993)

Heroism stories are best when they are grounded in reality. Although the characters in the comedy “Cool Runnings” are fictional, the film is based on the story of Jamaica’s first bobsleigh team at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The team finished last in two- and four-person sleds. But they embodied the Olympic ideal: “The important thing is to compete.”

The Olympic Games in the cinema

Eddie the Eagle (2016)

Like the Jamaicans, British ski jumper Michael Edwards, aka Eddie the Eagle, also competed in Calgary, and was similarly ridiculed for his performance. He finished last in each of the competitions, but won the hearts of the fans. Edwards wore thick goggles during jumps, which often fogged up. Taron Egerton took him to the movies.

The Olympic Games in the cinema

Yo, Tonya (2017)

The real life of the leading figure in “I, Tonya” was anything but fun: Ice skater Tonya Harding’s husband commissioned an assassination attempt on her competitor Nancy Kerrigan in 1994. Both were able to participate in the Lillehammer Winter Games. a month later, but shortly thereafter Harding was disbarred for life.

The Olympic Games in the cinema

Olympia (1938)

The two-part propaganda documentary “Olympia” by director Leni Riefenstahl about the 1936 Games was seriously thought out. Praised for their aesthetics and use of new technology, athletes of other skin colors than white were only recorded when unavoidable, such as Jesse Owens. The fascist cult of the body of the so-called “Aryans” was harshly criticized.

The Olympic Games in the cinema

The victor’s hour (1981)

“The Winner’s Hour” deals with the case of two British athletes who competed in the 1924 Olympic Games and whose Jewish and Catholic beliefs posed problems in their preparation. It won the Oscar for best picture in 1982. Vangelis’s theme “Chariots of Fire” continues to accompany movie scenes in which people run in slow motion on the beach.

The Olympic Games in the cinema

Munich (2005)

Steven Spielberg’s film “Munich” is set at the 1972 Olympic Games, in which Palestinian terrorists attacked the Israeli team, killing eleven hostages and one policeman. The Israeli secret service then formed a special unit to kill the material and intellectual authors. Passersby also died. Spielberg mixed historical and fictional characters.

The Olympic Games in the cinema

Foxcatcher (2014)

Steve Carell (right), this time not jokingly: he embodies the real figure of billionaire John E. du Pont, who built a training ground for athletes. Wrestling brothers Mark and David Schultz (Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo), who had already won Olympic gold in 1984, also trained there. The patron shot David Schultz in 1996, presumably in a fit of paranoia.

Author: Torsten Landsberg