1985
145 Minutes
Olympics, Documentary
Available in VHS
Bud Greenspan has been know for many many years as an extraordinary story teller. For most people they would look back to this film as his breakout moment when the public fully saw the extent of his mastery. The first 20 minutes set the mood of this documentary with the torch relay and opening ceremony events including excerpts from the march of nations, the Olympic flag, and Rafer Johnson lighting the Olympic flame.
More than runners are featured in this film as Yasuhiro Yamashita, from Japan, is featured in Judo, swimmers Rowdy Gaines and John Moffet are featured, and gymnasts Mary Lou Retton and Ecaterina Szabo are also portrayed with their unique stories. It was not the results of the competition as much as the tale of the athletes that this film sets out to capture. Each of the segments are moving and by the time you watch this 147 minute production you will be taken back in time to some amazing feats of Olympic accomplishment. Plan on visiting an auction web site, or visit Amazon.com to order your own copy of this film.
Each of the follow four segments that contain running footage lasts a bit over ten minutes each, with the decathlon coverage extending over 25 minutes. Running footage is presented below in the order shown in the film:
Men’s 5000 meters: WR 13:00.41 (David Moorcroft)
The focus of this segment highlights Dave Moorcroft’s Olympic experience, starting with his July 1982 lowering of the world record by five seconds in Oslo to make him one of the favorites for this event. 1983 was a year of injuries including a stress fracture, hepatitis, and a pelvic disorder. The semi-final race is shown with the six fastest advancing to the final, including John Walker and Säid Aouita, all trying to conserve their energy as they qualified. The day of the final Moorcroft was in intense pain due to his pelvis shifting. By the second lap he was in last place, yet he continued on, and states in this film: "I've never, ever, dropped out of a race yet, mainly because if once you do you have given yourself the option in the future." With Aouita completing the last lap in 55.08, he sets an Olympic Record of 13:05.59, and Moorcroft continues on to "complete his long and painful journey with honor".
Men’s 400 meter Intermediate Hurdles: WR 47.02 (Edwin Moses)
With a gold medal from Montreal in 1976, Edwin Moses had extended his winning streak to 102 (including 89 finals) since 1977, making him the favorite in his specialty event. This story is told in a large part though the perspective of Myrella Moses (Edwin’s wife) who wore a microphone during the final. This event followed directly after the women’s 100 meters, shown in it’s entirety and won by Evelyn Ashford in Olympic record time of 10.97. Next the final of the intermediate hurdle race is shown in addition to slow motion footage and a victory lap celebration that concludes with Myrella saying, "I’m so glad it’s over...no more Olympics...I’m finished." (Moses did return in Seoul four years later, running a faster time than in Los Angeles (47.56 vs 47.75), to earn a bronze in his last Olympic showing).
Decathlon: WR 8798 (Jürgen Hingsen)
Each of the events are shown as Daley Thompson (Great Britain) and Jürgen Hingsen (Germany) each strive to be known as the best all around athlete. Thompson leads right from the start with a 10.44 100 meter time and maintains his lead, also turning in the fastest 400 meter race at 46.97, to end day one with a 114 point lead. Starting day two is the high hurdles and slow motion footage has Thompson isolated and filmed from below looking through the hurdles as he races towards the camera. Crunch time comes in the discus and as Thompson explains, "that was the biggest moment for me, ever. That was everything wrapped into one.". Hingsen states after the pole vault "I couldn’t reach him anymore, that was clear, I just had to finish, as a real athlete finishes, still trying to do my best."
Women’s Marathon: WB 2:22:43 (Joan Benoit)
Although it is Joan Benoit who claims the title on this day, it is primarily Grete Waitz who is on screen sharing her experiences as the event unfolded. When Benoit left the main pack at 3 miles Grete notes "I thought it was too early to leave the rest of the field. I thought Joan Benoit would slow down and that we would catch her in the end." At about 19 miles Waitz picked up 10 seconds in her chase, yet she recalls "I got a littly bit closer, but not so much as I hoped, and at that point I knew there was no way I could catch her". Benoit claims the first women’s Olympic marathon gold medal and the top four finishers are shown in addition to Joyce Smith, who at age 46 was the oldest track competitor in Los Angeles, and Gabriele Andersen-Scheiss who suffered from heat prostration (and recovered within hours of the event). This segment ends with the awards stand presentations before the closing ceremony is presented to end this film.
Originally released to theaters, this 145-minute documentary was later reassembled into a six-part TV series. The first 60-minute segment of 16 Days of Glory was telecast on PBS in September of 1988, after receiving brief cable exposure. This film was also released in a Collector’s Edition in 1996 and can be found new as well as used at Amazon.com. If you like this film you may also like 16 Days of Glory, Part II.
