Tokyo Olympiad

Year: 1965

Grade: B

Country: Japan

Director: Ichikawa

Review

three hours of highlights from the 1964 olympics in tokyo. that’s the simple review, but the film does more than just offer an NBC retrospective ripe with over-hyped athletes and attempts to humanize through pity (joe blow, the olympic runner, was paralized from ages 10/15, and his mom died last week, and he’s a diabetic). ichikawa’s direction is more subtle and honestly human than any of that contrived triteness. his direction, and the music, make the film almost a syphony in praise of the artistry of athletics. not only is it a mostly beautiful film to watch, it’s also a good historical document.