Runtime: 170 minutes
Directed by: Kon Ichikawa
From: The people that organized the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo... and Toho
As the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo would have just started now if not for the world going to hell and The Black Plague ruining everyone's lives, there was no better movie to view last night and discuss today. To clarify, several different cuts of this exists; the movie is on the official YouTube channel of the Olympics... only it's not under its official title and despite saying it is “complete”, the length is 125 minutes. I saw this on the Criterion Channel website and thus it was the official 170 minute cut.
The end product wasn't quite what the Tokyo Olympic Committee was expecting. They wanted something more traditional which in a staid manner showed the events and noted who won. Instead, this presented the events in a cinematic manner and while not every winner was noted, there's always Wikipedia to get the full results. The documentary was influential in presenting so many close-ups, no shortage of crowd shots, a quality musical score (from Toshiro Mayazumi) and acknowledgment given people that worked the games... from the guy that fired the starter's pistol at the track & field events to the cooks, coaches, and all the rest.
Each discipline was covered in a different manner and most seemed fitting: the power of someone tossing a shot put, the grace of gymnastics & fencing, the struggle of amateur wrestling, etc. It does poke fun at those in the 50 kilometres walk but that is understandable. Due to the rules they have to stroll in a certain manner and aside from it appearing kind of daffy, their anguished faces said a lot also. Also important is that they showed the competitors before and after in intimate settings... whether it be the runners hammering in the starting blocks themselves or Smokin' Joe Frazier walking backstage after one of his fights.
Aside from the visuals, the sound was much more than the score. Certain things were obviously sweetened... to great effect. The way sound was used-very important. The cheers, silence, isolated voices... all implemented at the right moments. Two athletes were spotlighted in particular: Ahmad Issa from Chad (the 800 meters) and Abebe Bikala of Ethiopia, a great marathon runner trying to win a gold medal for the second games in a row. The former is intriguing because Chad had become a country just a few years prior and the latter helps make the marathon interesting; that event has always been the last of the games before the closing ceremonies and to be honest, for me and plenty others a marathon is not always an captivating watch. As a sidenote, in a corner of the Internet there were plenty that dunked on some random dude on Reddit for just discovering and being flabbergasted there was a country named Chad. Chad is a funny word in 2020 but the country being one of the poorest and most corrupt in the world isn't a laughing manner.
Anyway, it's a shame the producers did not like this and wished for something more nationalistic; some of their successes were highlighted, the 20 year journey from the end of World War II to its transformation as a rising global power was noted, and there were lovely shots such as the Olympic flame passing by Mt. Fuji. Kon Ichikawa did a great job here and while I wonder how Kurosawa would have done-he was the first choice but as he also wanted to direct the entire opening and closing ceremonies, they balked-there's no guarantee he would have been a master at covering sports. To think that directors now are in charge of opening ceremonies... that's why there was the amazing moment of 007 and Queen Elizabeth II doing a bit back in '12. Imagine Mifune and Emperor Hirohito acting together in a sketch!
Who knows if there will be an Olympics in Tokyo next summer-that has recently been questioned. At least this was the perfect way for me to have a good time last night.
No comments:
Post a Comment