Four Minutes

Not a bad TV movie and based on a true story but cannot help wonder that it has been considerably "embellished".

There is a lot of "Chariots of Fire" in here. From the opening sequence running along the beach to the coach who can save minutes/seconds, the "reluctant" hero, the Oxbridge setting (I suppose this last bit can't be helped as both films used factual locations) but you get my drift.

Saying that, an enjoyable hour and a half of anyone's time but particularly sports fans or people who respect Sir Roger Bannister's achievements.

Although a very British subject there is not a British feel to the film and being a US TV movie it is also "sanitised" (probably a bit too much for my personal liking) but therefore suitable for a family audience.

I think the subject matter probably earns it an extra point or two in the rating as it is a great story.

Obviously, this is a sports movie so its going to be predictable. I really enjoyed this movie because the individual aspect of track and field makes it extremely hard to make an effective movie about it.

Roger Bannister's breaking four minutes for the first time is probably the single greatest event in track history. It was a huge mental barrier which stood for nearly 20 years as something man couldn't break. Al though this movie didn't perhaps focus on that as much as it could, it still got that point across well. It was also very good at showing the world of sport back then - very white, gentile, amateur and elite, especially in Britain. And Roger Bannister was someone who personified all of it. That was shown well in Four Minutes, with him struggling to choose between medicine and running. The only real discrepancy I noticed was that they changed who was coaching him (it was in reality Franz Stampfl, an Austrian).

Overall, this was a well-done movie which really covered all the bases in terms of the story of Roger Bannister. It showed who he was, what he was up against, and how he pulled it off.

The movie depicts reasonably accurate the event(s) leading to this achievement. Considering the passage of 50 plus years, the producers have accomplished a creditable job in their production. It should be emphasized that the part played by Christopher Plummer is pure fiction, but for entertainment purposes, understandable. Present generations should not be too critical. The event was of great significance at the time. I am happy that it has been recorded for present generations information, and to honor the participants. I was particularly impressed by the imaginative use of the location facilities in Toronto in depicting the Oxford and Princetown locale(s) The cast selection was also impressive.

The breaking of the 4 minute mile was a milestone (pun intended) in competitive sports. Years later, sports fans remembered where they were when they heard of the achievement. At the time it occurred, it was considered THE transcendent sporting achievement. The movie tries to capture this sentiment primarily through the Christopher Plummer character's dialogue and the repeated comparisons to the Everest expedition. Unfortunately, however, the magnitude of the event doesn't come across to those of later generations. I didn't live during the time of Seabiscuit or Cinderella Man but both of those movies made me feel the drama and significance of what was happening. Four Minutes does not provide that type of emotional involvement. Another quibble is that Bannister's teammates (Brasher and Chataway) get short shrift. Both had very successful running careers that merit some mention at the end.

I was very familiar with the 1988 version (The Four Minute Mile) before seeing this newer one.

This film is less true to history, most seriously in replacing the real coach, Franz Stampfl, with the shadowy imitation one portrayed by Christopher Plummer. It also brings in Roger's future wife long before he really met her, in a crass attempt to add love interest. In addition, it somewhat misrepresents the weather problems on 6 May 1954 (see below).

This newer version also omits any depiction of Landy and Santee's efforts and turns Roger's important and illustrious friends and helpers (Chris Chataway, Chris Brasher and Norris McWhirter -- see their entries in Wikipedia) into mere cyphers.

These are serious omissions. On the other hand, this 2005 version has a much, much better Roger Bannister, which counts for a lot, given that he is the main character in the story. Jamie MacLachlan is believable as an athlete and does a great job in showing Bannister's combination of brilliance, modesty and stubbornness. He also convincingly embodies the post-war period in which the events take place (despite the garish American ties he is given to wear).

This version also does moderately well at recreating the Iffley Road track in Oxford where the key event was run. The fact that the tower of Iffley Church in the background is clearly made of something akin to cardboard is not too detrimental. Anyone who has heard Norris McWhirter speak about that day -- the overseas channel BBC Prime has shown a clip of this hundreds of times -- knows that the main problem on 6 May 1954 was the wind -- and not so much the rain, as shown here. Roger decided to run when the flag on top of Iffley Church went limp, showing that the wind had dropped. Here, the film-makers have carefully provided the church and the flag, but the latter sadly continues to flutter merrily the whole time.

There are other minor blunders, such as the wrong kind of telephones and the phrase "Get the hell out of here" ludicrously put into the mouth of a crusty old Oxford professor, but I can forgive these.

It is well worth seeing -- but try to catch the other version, too.