As the Winter Games unfold in Vancouver, here’s a countdown of our fave winter (and summer) Olympic films:
5. “Prefontaine” (1997) / “Without Limits” (1998): Hailing from the running mecca of Oregon, Steve Prefontaine’s life was cut tragically short, but his track career and the records he set left an indelible mark on the sport of distance running.
4. “Miracle” (2004): Kurt Russell takes the helm as coach Herb Brooks commanding the young U.S. men’s hockey team to an upset win over the powerhouse Soviet Union team, onto an Olympic gold medal and into American sports lore.
3. “Cool Runnings” (1993): The late John Candy coaches an unlikely bobsled team from the island nation of Jamaica in the 1988 Calgary Olympics where the spirits of teamwork, competition and sportsmanship reach full fruition.
2. “The Cutting Edge” (1992): Before Tom Cruise brilliantly melded sports and romance in ‘Jerry Maguire’, this film about a hotheaded figure skater who is paired with an ex-hockey player is a medal stand favorite for both genders.
1. “Chariots of Fire” (1981): This British film about the running rivalry between Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew, who are accepted to represent Great Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics, took home four Academy Awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Original Score for Vangelis’ memorable tune.
And for Olympic skiing fans, the documentary ‘Truth In Motion: The U.S. Ski Team’s Road to Vancouver’ is now available as a free download on iTunes.
