13 Tage in Frankreich

Claude Lelouch, François Reichenbach, and a team of cameramen shoot the Winter Olympics by day, the city by night, in this fine impressionistic documentary.

You'll be surprised at how many ways there are to shoot skiers, and the funniest one is the speed course, where a cameraman on skis stays close on the tail of his subject, ice flying onto the camera lens. There are also the pensive ice hockey players, and as for the skaters, their precision is emphasized by intercutting with computers. Francis Lai offers a romantic and exciting score, and the townfolk of Grenoble have a great time.

There were two documentaries made of the 1968 Winter Olympics: Snows of Grenoble (which was the official documentary) and this one, which was a promotional movie sponsored by Coca-Cola. I'm assuming that the film makers did not have the same access, because there is more behind the scenes footage than there is of the competitions. The opening ceremony (and the preparations leading up to them) alone takes up almost a quarter of the movie. There are lots of shots of athletes relaxing and eating, often with a Coke. There is also footage of related cultural events, such as a modern dance recital and a rock concert featuring (I believe) Johnny Hallyday. It's an interesting movie but anyone who is only interested in the athletic aspect of the Olympics which be better off just watching Snows of Grenoble.