Tokyo Olympiad (1965)

November 30, 2022 2:41 PM

Kon Ichikawa examines the beauty and rich drama on display at the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo, creating a record of observations that range from the expansive to the intimate. Trailer.

100% on Rotten Tomatoes; available on HBO Max, AppleTV, and YouTube: JustWatch listing

posted by johnofjack (4 comments total)

A few things: 1) I don't think the trailer does this film justice, 2) I just really don't follow sports, at all, and so 3) I never expected to care about the Olympics from nearly 60 years ago, but this film is just that good.
posted by johnofjack at 2:43 PM on November 30, 2022

This is such a stunning movie. I haven't seen it in years but there's one bit in particular, where the camera focuses on the faces of rifle competitors as they prepare to fire, deforming their faces as they push the stocks against their cheeks, that's just absolutely bizarre and sublime.
posted by phooky at 2:57 PM on November 30, 2022

Dang, another soon-to-watch thing for my Blog!

I'll catch up.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:17 AM on December 1, 2022

Watching this, and O Sport, You Are Peace! (on the Moscow 1980 Olympiad), helped me understand that I do actually like watching athletics! I enjoy watching it as I enjoy watching dance: concentrating on the gorgeous movements of skilled people trying to do incredibly hard things, accompanied by appropriate or no music and no voiceover commentary. And so it helped me understand that maybe I don't like watching a lot of 21st century-style TV sports coverage, but that doesn't mean that I "don't like watching sports" -- it's that I don't like how it's often presented, and it would be worthwhile to seek out live and filmed experiences like Tokyo Olympiad.
posted by brainwane at 9:15 AM on September 17, 2024