Another Olympic season has ended. Stay tuned to INFOtainmentnews.net for follow-up interviews and special reports on our favorite Olympians. With the season ending, we are scrambling to find something to fill the primetime hour. For now, this list should help as you go through Olympic-withdrawls.
The following is our list of 10 Best Olympic Films of All Time! This was a hard one. There are few Olympic movies produced every four years, so we had to dig deep for this one. If we forgot one, please let us know. Stay tuned to 2016 for our update of this list. Enjoy!
1. Miracle
“Focused on achieving the impossible — defeating the Soviet Union's unbeaten hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics — brash U.S. hockey coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) unites a motley group of college athletes and turns them into a force to be reckoned with. Patricia Clarkson, Noah Emmerich and Eddie Cahill co-star in this inspirational drama based on an improbable true story that shocked the world.” Netflix.com
Ta-da-da-da-da-daaaahhhh, ta-da-da-da-dahhhhhhh. Ta-da-da-da-da-dahhhhh. Ta-da-da-da-dahhhhhh. You know the song. “Two very different runners — hotshot Jewish Cambridge scholar Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) and rigid Presbyterian missionary Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) — compete for the British team in the 1924 Olympics, facing intense pressure and complex personal tests of faith. Hugh Hudson directs this edifying 1981 Best Picture Oscar winner, which is based on a true story. Ian Holm co-stars as Abrahams's mentor, Sam Mussabini.” Netflix.com
We'd be remiss if this film were not in the top 5. Four GOLD medals at the 1936 Olympics, when he really was not suppose to be there. “This moving, made-for-television biopic chronicles the amazing life of track star Jesse Owens (Dorian Harewood), who astonished the world and infuriated Nazi leader Adolf Hitler by running away with an unprecedented four gold medals at Berlin's 1936 Olympics. Owens set world records with his athletic prowess and deflated Hitler's theories about Aryan superiority, inspiring generations of black Americans who would follow in his footsteps.” Netflix.com
“In 1972, eight Palestinian terrorists interrupted the Munich Olympics by taking 11 Israeli athletes hostage. Michael Douglas narrates this Oscar-winning documentary about the siege and subsequent failed rescue attempt. The film features historical footage as well as new interviews with surviving terrorist Jamal Al-Gashey and various officials detailing how the German police botched the rescue operation, leading to the death of all 11 hostages.” Netflix
5. Munich
Watch this film after watching One Day in September. “In this thriller based on actual events, Palestinian terrorists hold hostage and ultimately kill a group of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, prompting a Mossad agent (Eric Bana) to track down the assassins in the tragic aftermath. Ciaran Hinds and Geoffrey Rush co-star in this film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Tony Kushner, the award-winning playwright of “Angels in America.” Netflix.com
“A fictionalized account of the unlikely story of Jamaica's first bobsled team, Cool Runnings follows their journey to the 1988 Olympics. When Derice Bannock's (Leon) chances of qualifying for Jamaica's track team are dashed, he looks for another sport. Derice persuades U.S. bobsledding Irv Blitzer (John Candy), who now lives in Jamaica, to coach him and his friends as they attempt to become a world-class bobsled team.” Netflix.com
“This biopic stars Billy Crudup as Steve “Pre” Prefontaine, the Olympic runner who overcame a physical abnormality to become the top American runner in the early 1970s. The film follows Prefontaine from his early years at the University of Oregon under the tutelage of Coach Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland), through the grueling Olympic trials and the 1972 Munich Olympics, and ultimately to Prefontaine's tragic death.” Netflix.com
8. Prefontaine
“Oregon distance runner Steve Prefontaine was young, determined, seemingly unbeatable and bound for Olympic glory. But what he became in that quest for greatness has made him one of the biggest and most tragic sports stars in America. With the style of a documentary and the passion of a sports enthusiast, Steve James (Hoop Dreams) has allowed the world to view the legacy of one of the world's most spectacular — and loved — runners.” Netflix
“In one of the great upsets in sports history, 10,000-meter runner Billy Mills sprinted from the back of the pack and took the gold medal in the final heat of the event at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics — a mixture of pain and pride etched across his face as he breasted the tape. Robbie Benson portrays Mills, the Native American who left his Sioux reservation in the late 1950s for his date with destiny. Pat Hingle co-stars, and D.S. Everett directs.” Netflix.com
10. Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story
“U.S. diving sensation Greg Louganis gained worldwide fame at the 1988 Olympic Games, winning two gold medals after clunking his head on the platform during a difficult high dive. Not long after, Louganis “came out” to the public and announced he was HIV positive and gay. This gripping dramatization follows Louganis (Mario Lopez) — from childhood on — as he pursues his dream of international diving fame.” Netflix.com
Sidenote, in the great tradition of the Olympics, we'd like to acknowledge the great work happening with Special Olympics Cyprus.
All great films.