FILM #18: Olympic Games, 1956

[StevePulaski]

Olympic Games, 1956 (1956)
Directed by: Peter Whitchurch

Rating: ★★½
Film #18/53; part of the Criterion Collection's "100 Years of Olympic Film" box-set

For the sake of my ongoing marathon of the Criterion Olympic film-set — a self-inflicted personal challenge now at the point of fatigue yet perseverance and continuing interest — I relish a merely 60 minute documentary as much as the next fool who thought this a novel concept. However, at the same time I confess that Peter Whitchurch's Olympic Games, 1956 is simply an average documentary. Too short to provide any depth to the Melbourne games and too much of a news reel to look and feel like a film with a clear thesis, it's a serviceable piece of entertainment brought down greatly by its desire to be a completionist work.

The first of four films made around the XVI Olympiad in the aforementioned Australian city, the film gives a comprehensive look at most of the events that took place over the course of two weeks. Whitchurch makes clear through title cards that the documentary's intent is to serve as a highlight reel that gives viewers a general idea of the games as opposed to a fleshed-out account, but at the same time, the short is rendered forgettable due to how indistinct it is both visually and narratively. The most memorable moment showcased in the film comes during the famous moment when Ireland's Ron Delany upset Australia's own John Landy in the 1,500 meter race, something that's shown in the film for a few beats more than your average event before we cycle back to weight-lifting, discus throwing, or something else that warrants Whitchurch's fraction of attention.

The most unique tactic Whitchurch and company employ in Olympic Games, 1956 comes during the closing ceremony, where they decide to caption the lyrics of the ceremonial song as its being sung, despite it being clearly audible. This move makes for an unexpected karaoke-esque vibe to conclude an otherwise unnecessary preamble to the three other documentaries profiling the same Olympiad.

Directed by: Peter Whitchurch.