Due to the COVID-19 postponement, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan will officially commence on July 23, 2021. The traditional global sports competition has been the subject of cinema dating back to Leni Riefenstahl's 1938 German propaganda documentary Olympia, which laid the groundbreaking blueprint on how contemporary sporting events are filmed for mass entertainment.
While many great documentaries on the Olympics have been made since the 1930s, several educational and awe-inspiring dramatic narratives about the games have also been produced. From gymnasts and track stars to skiers, ice skaters, and hockey players, a variety of sports are covered in these picks.
Race (2016) 7.1
The remarkable true story of Olympic champion runner Jesse Owens is the subject of Race, a titular double-entendre that also hints at the difficulty of growing up as a young Black man in 1930s America.
After proving his skills at Ohio State, Owens is recruited to race in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. With anti-Hitler sentiment in America calling for a boycott, Owens agrees to participate anyway while dealing with a host of domestic racial issues. All told, Owens won four gold medals, including the 100m, 200m, 4x100m-relay, and the long jump.
Nadia (1984) 7.2
Alan Cooke's 1984 made-for-television biopic Nadia traces the uplifting rise of prodigious Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci (played Leslie Weiner as a child and Johann Carlo as an adult).
The film charts Nadia's natural ability as a child that she hones to become an Olympic champion by age 14 at the Montreal Summer Olympics in 1976. Comaneci earned seven perfect 10 scores en route to winning three gold medals, one silver, and one bronze. After succumbing to the overwhelming pressure of her celebrity, Comaneci suffered a fall from grace before leading Romania to a World Championship in 1979.
Without Limits (1998) 7.2
While the Jared Leto-starring Prefontaine came out one year before, Billy Crudup's performance as the infamous Olympic long-distance runner scored even higher ratings, per IMDb.
Directed by Robert Towne, Without Limits explores the personal and professional life of Steve Prefontaine and his integral relationship with track coach Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland). Prefontaine's formative years spent in Oregon pave the way for him to compete in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany before tragically losing his life in a car crash at the age of 24.
Chariots Of Fire (1981) 7.2
Named Best Picture of 1981, Chariots of Fire won a total of four Oscars. The film traces the determined efforts of two disparate British track stars competing against each other at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The drama centers on Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), a privileged Jewish Brit who uses running as a therapeutic escape from the bigotry he feels. The story also concerns Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a Scottish devout Christian who sees his running success as a way to spread the gospel.
Peaceful Warrior (2006) 7.3
Based on the 1980 semi-autobiography Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman, the film tells the unthinkable story of Millman's spiritual awakening in the wake of a tragic accident that all but dashed his dreams to become an Olympic gymnast.
Dan (Scott Mechlowicz) is a skilled gymnast who attends Berkeley and has the world at his feet. After meeting a strange man at a gas station whom he names Socrates (Nick Nolte) for his philosophical musings, Dan suffers a horrific car accident that breaks his femur, as well as crushes his Olympic hopes. With spiritual guidance from Socrates, Dan overcomes the odds to successfully compete in the U.S. Olympic trials.
Eddie The Eagle (2o15) 7.4
2015's Eddie the Eagle is a comedic biopic about Michael "Eddie" Edwards (Taron Egerton), a zany British skier who competed in the 1988 Winter Games to become the first person in his country to compete in Olympic ski-jumping since 1928.
As a monumental underdog, Eddie's perseverance, self-belief, and skiing coach Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman) help him overcome the odds to become a folk hero before making a historical showing at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.
Miracle (2004) 7.5
In the inspirational true underdog story, Miracle focuses on Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell), a former hockey player who agrees to coach the outmatched U.S. Olympic team and take on the mighty Soviet Union in 1980.
Given zero chance to compete with the likes of the Russians, Brooks slowly builds his team's skill level and overall confidence before making an unlikely run through the Olympic games held in Lake Placid, New York. Defying all odds, the U.S. team miraculously triumphs by defeating the Soviets in a 4-3 score.
I, Tonya (2017) 7.5
2017's I, Tonya tells the real-life tragedy of Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding with irreverent humor and humility. Margot Robbie stars in the title role, who became infamous for organizing an assault and battery campaign against her chief U.S. rival, Nancy Kerrigan (Caitlin Carver).
Directed by Craig Gillespie, the film charts Tonya's troubled home life with her unloving mother LaVona (Allison Janney) before rising to prominence as a national ice-skating Olympian. However, nothing in her life can eclipse the decision Tonya made on that fateful day in 1994.
Munich (2005) 7.5
Although Steven Spielberg's Munich does not concern the Olympic games themselves, the true story about the aftermath of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany is history worth retelling.
After several Israeli athletes are assassinated at the Munich games, Prime Minister Golda Meir conducts a counterstrike to eliminate the people who're responsible. The film traces the efforts of Avner (Eric Banner), who leads a squad of four paramilitary mercenaries willing to carry out the dangerous mission. The film earned five Oscar nods, including Best Picture.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) 8.2
According to IMDb, the three-hour Indian film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is the best movie ever made about the Olympic Games. The film tells the inspiring true story of Milkha Singh, aka "The Flying Sikh."
After winning the Commonwealth Championship and Asian Games in 1958, track and field runner Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) works his way up to earn a spot in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Upon failing to win his first race, Milkha trains even harder to eventually place 4th in the 1960 Rome Olympics.