Five Films Worthy of Olympic Gold

By Angela Monaco, BMFI Intern

Keep the Olympic spirit of the London 2012 Games alive with these five films that capture the Olympic passion, dedication, and determination that we all know and love.

1. Chariots of Fire (1981)
Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Chariots of Fire tells the story of two British track athletes at the 1924 Summer Olympics: a Scottish Christian running to honor God and an English Jew running to achieve social acceptance. This highly-acclaimed British film celebrates the perseverance and strength that these Olympians possessed both on and off the track.

2. Olympia (1938)
German film director Leni Riefenstahl shot Olympia, a documentary of the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics. Although used as a Nazi propaganda film, Olympia offers a stunning cinematic display of athleticism. This documentary—the first ever documentary feature film of the Olympic Games—includes the legendary sprint races of American track star Jesse Owens.

3. Miracle (2004)
Miracle highlights one of America’s finest moments in Olympic history: the “Miracle on Ice” of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. Kurt Russell stars as head coach Herb Brooks, who leads his team of collegiate athletes to victory over the heavily favored Soviet team. The Cold War rivalry of these two nations comes to the ice in this inspirational tale of Olympic success.

4. One Day in September (1999)
The 1972 Olympic Games in Munich were supposed to be “The Happy Games”; instead they became remembered for the Palestinian terrorist group that took eleven Israeli athletes from the Olympic Village, killing two and holding the rest hostage. One Day in September features footage from the actual events as well as interviews with the surviving terrorist and police officials. This Oscar winner for Best Documentary presents a factual yet captivating story of an Olympic comeback that went horribly wrong.

5. Million Dollar Legs (1932)
Million Dollar Legs, starring W.C. Fields and Jack Oakie, is the tale of one country’s hilarious and bizarre Olympic journey. Klopstokia, whose population is made up entirely of athletes, decides to enter the Los Angeles Games as a solution to their impending bankruptcy. Million Dollar Legs offers a lighter, comedic approach to the Olympic Games in the face of the many intensely emotional Olympic films.

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Angela Monaco is a Spanish and Communications student entering her senior year at the University of Pittsburgh, currently interning at the Bryn Mawr Film Insitute.

Five More Fourth of July Film Favorites

By Angela Monaco, BMFI Intern

Last Fourth of July, we offered five movie suggestions to help get you in the patriotic spirit. Now that Independence Day is upon us once again, celebrate with five more films that will surely leave you feeling proud to be an American!

1. 1776 (1972)
It’s the summer of 1776 in Philadelphia, where the thirteen colonies are in the midst of constructing the hotly-debated Declaration of Independence. The film version of the Broadway musical comedy, 1776 offers a humorous yet educational depiction of our nation’s founding. This movie will have the whole family voting “yay” in favor of America’s freedom!

2. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Tom Cruise stars in this biography of Ron Kovic, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran who, feeling betrayed by his country, becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights activist. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, Born on the Fourth of July presents a new and different take on patriotic idealism.

3. Forrest Gump (1994)
Who could be a better symbol of American patriotism than the beloved Forrest Gump? Tom Hanks plays this simple-minded yet sweet man who just happens to be present for some of America’s most famous moments in history. A decorated Vietnam War hero, Forrest Gump shamelessly approaches life with the sheer gumption and determination that every American aims to possess.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird (1963)

To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of an American hero of a different kind. In this adaptation of Harper Lee's classic novel, Gregory Peck stars as Atticus Finch, a lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman in the South in the 1930s. Atticus fights to make the Declaration’s main principle “all men are created equal” a reality in his racially-divided town. He exemplifies the qualities for which America is known: fairness, tolerance, and the courage to do what is right.

5. Apollo 13 (1995)
Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon star in Apollo 13, the true story of the astronauts aboard the infamous Apollo 13 space mission to the moon. Apollo 13 celebrates the pioneering spirit of the American space program, leaving you with a renewed sense of pride in America’s audacity to go where no man has gone before!

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Angela Monaco is a Spanish and Communications student entering her senior year at the University of Pittsburgh, currently interning at the Bryn Mawr Film Insitute.