16 Days of Glory

I just finished watching this documentary by Bud Greenspan. It was worth every minute of the almost 5 hours of film (4:42). It covers athletes from all over the world (well, it's the Olympics)... their challenges, victories, defeats... and no political commentary. The final 10 minutes with Placido singing "Hymn to the Nations" along with the coverage of the closing ceremonies... absolutely inspirational. (Minus 1 star for the monotone almost robotic voice of the narrator.)

After several very arty and innovative olympic movies this is the return to dry documentary without much artistic ideas. Yes, we get plenty of information, pretty good cinematography and a lot of interviews but ot much more. For middle aged americans it is close to hearts because Los Angeles 1984 were ultra reaganist, ultra american, ultra cold war olympics and some of them love this era. But still, for nonamericans it has not much to offer.

This documentary deals with the personal stories of Olympic athletes at the 1984 Gsmes in Los Angeles. They all have one common denominator, the motivation to compete at the highest level and to sacrifice a good portion of their lives to their sport. At the end of the day, they know they've done well by just being there and win or lose, they find the years of training have left them with something of great value. The Americans dominated these Olympics and to be honest, these Games were a huge gift to the United States performing on their own turf without the competition of East Bloc countries, who followed the lead of the Soviet Union in withdrawing from the Olympics. Los Angeles nonetheless did register a great triumph in their second time as host city; the first was in 1932. The huge Art Deco arch was once again on display as a magnificent backdrop for the competitions. The successes and heartbreaks, the physical pain and heroism, the suspense and rivalries were all there. The history of the Olympics is a great drama, and like the world we live in, it is often marred by war, politics and even terrorism. Yet the athletes themselves show us so much inspiration, courage and epic achievement that we cannot fail to be impressed time and again by these tremendous spectacles.

1st watched 2/12/2000 - (Dir-Bud Greenspan): Excellent documentary of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles which focused on both the ups and downs of those who were competing.The very first segment focuses on a last place finisher who can still hold his head high because he still held the world's record to the victories of Mary Lou Retton & Edwin Moses and their stories. Every story seems to include a second person who inspired the athlete.Well done.

I had a holiday job in 1984 and it meant I did not watch a lot of the 1984 Olympics live. It was shown late at night in Britain because of the time difference.

I do have some abiding memories such as Steve Ovett struggling to defend his 800 metres title, Sebastian Coe bouncing back to defend his 1500 metres title after getting silver in the 800 metres again.

Daley Thompson winning back to back decathlon gold medals, Mary Decker hitting the deck and not getting up and blaming the person in front of her for tripping her.

Michael Gross reigning in the pool and Carl Lewis emulating Jesse Owens.

These moments and many others are celebrated in this official record of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The commentary is a little bit too serious and sombre. What counts are the look back at some of the events seen through the perspective of some of the featured athletes. They may not all had won gold but they have an important contribution even if was just finishing a race after battling an injury.

This is a monster of a documentary clocking in at over 4 hours.