10 Great Olympics Movies

Whether it’s the split-second difference between silver and gold, the culmination of a long-running rivalry, or simply the plucky underdog crossing the finish line, the Olympics—which return to Paris this month—are a natural haven for high drama. So it’s little wonder that Hollywood has continually looked toward both the Summer and Winter versions for inspiration. Ignoring any documentaries (hence no Olympiad or Visions of Eight) or films in which the Games only serve as the backdrop (hence no Richard Jewell or Munich), here’s a look at 10 Olympic movies worthy of a podium finish. 

1. Downhill Racer (1969)
2. Chariots of Fire (1981)
3. Personal Best (1982)
4. Cool Runnings (1993)
5. Without Limits (1998)
6. Blades of Glory (2007)
7. Foxcatcher (2014)
8. Eddie the Eagle (2015)
9. Race (2016)
10. I, Tonya (2017)

Downhill Racer (1969)

Downhill Racer has largely been forgotten despite superlative performances from two of the era’s biggest talents and a glowing recommendation from Roger Ebert, who called it “the best movie ever made about sports—without really being about sports at all.” In his directorial debut, Michael Ritchie plunges viewers into the thrilling but perilous world of alpine skiing with a gritty docurealist style way ahead of its time. Meanwhile, Robert Redford and Gene Hackman ensure the off-piste action is just as compelling, the former as an aloof antihero named David Chappellet who is entirely averse to the concept of “team player” and the latter as the gruff coach, Eugene Claire, who is determined to channel such arrogance into Winter Olympic gold.

Chariots of Fire (1981)

Chariots of Fire is arguably best remembered for Greek composer Vangelis’s anachronistic synth score, but its patriotic true story still has the power to test even the stiffest of upper lips. In the film (which takes its name from a line in a William Blake poem), two British athletes—devout Christian Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) and Jewish immigrant Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross)—attempt to overcome prejudice, conflicts of interests, and even royal pressures, in a bid to win sprinting gold at the 1924 Paris Games. Chariots of Fire was nominated for seven Oscars and nabbed three, including Best Picture. In an era when such events have been tarnished by countless doping scandals, this throwback to a more innocent time is a welcome reminder of the true Olympian ideals.

Personal Best (1982)

Before he directed 1998’s Without Limits (more on that in a minute), writer/director Robert Towne took on a track and field tale that was fairly progressive for its time. Personal Best stars Mariel Hemingway and retired hurdler Patrice Donnelly as two aspiring Olympians whose closeness on the circuit spills over into the bedroom. Ultimately, the pair’s blood, sweat, and tears prove to be for nothing—the U.S. ends up boycotting the 1980 Moscow Games, just like in real life. But their queer love story makes up for the lack of sporting glory.

Cool Runnings (1993)

Jamaica has now participated in the bobsleigh at nine different Winter Games. But back in 1988, the idea of the tropical island competing in a cold weather sport was treated with both bemusement and derision. Starring Leon, Doug E. Doug, Rawle D. Lewis, and Malik Roba as the bobsledders and the late, great John Candy in one of his most inspirational roles, 1993’s Cool Runnings also got plenty of comic mileage out of the concept. (The script was originally a drama known as Blue Maaga, a Jamaican slang term meaning “in a state of great distress.”) But it also showed how four Jamaicans transformed themselves from laughing stocks to global heroes, their grit, determination, and pure sportsmanship embodying the Olympic spirit just as much as the 25 teams who finished above them. 

Without Limits (1998)

Hollywood’s uncanny ability to produce twin movies—simultaneously releasing completely different films centered on the same subject matter—reached new levels of nicheness in the late ‘90s. Just a year after Jared Leto portrayed long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine in a titular biopic, Billy Crudup did the same in Without Limits, produced by Tom Cruise and directed by Robert Towne. Of course, with the former flopping at the box office, the latter was pretty much DOA. But digging deeper into the psyche of the athlete—who tragically died in a car accident aged just 24 while preparing for the 1976 Montreal Games—the second film out of the blocks is by far the superior effort.

Blades of Glory (2007)

Easily the highlight from Will Ferrell’s run of late ‘00s sports comedies (Kicking and Screaming, Talladega Nights, Semi-Pro), Blades of Glory isn’t technically an Olympics film. Unable to obtain the rights to the name, Ferrell and Jon Heder’s boundary-breaking figure skaters had to show off their triple axles in the “World Winter Sport Games.” But that doesn’t detract from what’s an obvious, and highly affectionate, spoofing of all the “going for the gold” cliches. The central odd couple are on top form in a tale packed full of laugh-out-loud slapstick and quotable one-liners. However, it’s Amy Poehler and Will Arnett’s conniving rival duo who are most worthy of all the sixes. Fun fact: Actress Busy Phillips came up with the initial idea for the film and, according to Vulture, “helped flesh out the screenplay.”

Foxcatcher (2014)

Mark Ruffalo and Steve Carell both deservedly picked up Oscar nods for their measured depictions of Olympic gold medalist Dave Schultz and megalomaniacal coach John du Pont, respectively, in wrestling drama Foxcatcher. But it’s the overlooked Channing Tatum who’s the heart of the film, his sobering portrayal of the former’s brother/latter’s protege Mark proving once again that there’s more to his talents than bulging biceps. Although the quest to qualify for the 1988 Seoul Games drives the true crime saga, it’s the action away from the mat—particularly the complex relationships and imbalance of power between the central trio—that elevates it to true greatness. 

Eddie the Eagle (2015)

Forget Eric the Eel (Equatoguinean swimmer Eric Moussambani), Trevor the Tortoise (American football player Trevor Misipeka), and The Sculling Sloth (Nigerien rower Hamadou Djibo Issaka). The Olympics’ original “lovable loser” was Eddie the Eagle (real name Michael David Edwards), the British ski-jumper whose thick glasses and never-say-die attitude on the slopes endeared him to the world even as he finished last in the two individual ski-jumping events at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. This feelgood biopic sees heartthrob Taron Egerton—near-unrecognizable sporting thick-rimmed spectacles, wispy mustache, and ginger hair—portraying the titular cult hero with a much-deserved affection and appreciation. Indeed, you’ll certainly come away with newfound respect for a man who risked life and limb to achieve what many considered to be an insurmountable Olympic dream. 

Race (2016)

After impressing as a football player in When the Game Stands Tall (2014) and hockey ace in Across the Line (2015), Stephan James got the chance to showcase both his acting skills and sporting prowess playing one of the most iconic, and most revolutionary, names in track-and-field history. In Race, James plays Jesse Owens, the Black American sprinter who, competing at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, famously destroyed Adolf Hitler’s hope to demonstrate Aryan supremacy by taking home four gold medals. Jason Sudeikis also shines as the coach who inspires the barrier-breaking gold medal rush in a tale that’s part inspirational sports biopic, part engaging history lesson. 

I, Tonya (2017)

Several years before instigating a fresh wave of Barbiemania, Margot Robbie inhabited another blonde ingrained in American pop culture, on this occasion a disgraced ice skater once deemed public enemy number one. Inspired by both “totally true” and “contradictory” statements from those involved, this Oscar-nominated mockumentary turns the story of Tonya Harding on its head, reframing the titular fallen star as another casualty of the physical attack that almost derailed rival Nancy Kerrigan’s 1994 Winter Olympics dreams. Robbie—who trained 20 hours a week so she could skate for the role—is typically magnetic as the fourth wall-breaking lead. But it’s Allison Janney who steals the show as the chain-smoking, foul-mouthed mom who redefines the term tough love.

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