The First Olympics: Athens 1896 (1984)

i've seen this film a number of times. it is a great sports film. it is filmed well, has great actors, and the script has a wonderful storyline.In response to this being American Arrogance, you're wrong. the movie doesn't just focus on America, but also British, Greek, and Austrialian athletes. The American athletes don't win everything, and in fact some of them are rude, bad, angry, drunks, and they lose. yeah the American anthem is played a lot, but if you've ever been to an olympics, anthems are played a lot, and the British, Greek, Austrialian and other anthems are also played. In fact in certain points it glorifies Greece, and the world for organizing the first olympic games.this is one of those movies that if you like sports, it should def be on your must see list.

This is one of my favorite sports films.It has lots of historically accurate information much like a documentary but is presented in an entertaining narrative format with good story and plot.Purists may be annoyed that the casting of the actors doesn't always respect the look of typical athletes in each discipline but it's otherwise pretty realistic.The anecdotes around the discus event are hilarious and unforgettable.Now if it could only come out on DVD I would buy it instantly.-Ben

I first saw this as a two-part mini-series in Australia just prior to the 1988 Olympics. I was extremely impressed by it, especially with regards to the role played by Edwin Flack, the Australian runner. It is because of Flack that Australia is one of the very few countries to have competed in all the modern Olympics. While it may not be historically accurate in EVERY detail, I believe the film goes a long way to depict the feeling of adventure and excitement that must have prevailed during those times. My one regret is that I find I am unable to purchase a copy (in any format). If anyone can help me out in this regard - no matter what the cost - I would be most appreciative.

"Disappointing" is the best word I could think for this film, especially considering the glowing reviews it receives from some other users.One thing that really spoils the film is that it is unabashedly partial(in both senses of the word). Not only does it present a very selective description of the games (focussing as it does on the US athletics team) but it also contains several inaccuracies, most of which serve to exaggerate the difficulties the US team faced.What is even more disturbing is that all the omissions and mistakes (?), appear to glorify US sportsmanship to the exclusion of other athletes (with a few celebrated exceptions). For example, the viewer is led to believe that the US won the majority of medals in the Games, when in fact they won only one out of four gold medals and one out of 6 total. Similarly, many athletes are portrayed as caricatures of their respective countrymen (thus we have an arrogant Brit, and a wine-swilling French). This attitude does very little service to the Olympic ideals that the film is supposed to celebrate.In conclusion, I believe that this film would appeal to that part of the US audience that is looking for a quick boost of national self-esteem. Those looking for a detailed and historically correct description of the games are advised to look elsewhere.