White Rock, 1977
This documentary, hosted by actor James Coburn, explores the sports and competitions at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.
Okay, I did not realize that James Coburn sassily introducing me to a variety of winter sports was something that I desperately needed in my life. And this film only has 88 votes on IMDB!! What the heck?!
This is a novel approach to a sports documentary, and especially an Olympic one. For lack of a better explanation, this is kind of like a hangout movie. Only Coburn is hanging out with top-tier Olympic athletes. The structure of the film is very similar all the way through: with help from experts, Coburn attempts various facets of the different sports (riding in a bobsled, briefly tending goal at an ice hockey practice, and completing part of a skiing/shooting biathlon. Once Coburn, and by proxy the audience, really get a grip on the challenges inherent in the sport, the film cuts to footage of the actual Olympic competition.
It's a great way to structure the documentary. Rather than choosing a particular country or athlete to follow/support, this strategy pushes respect for all of the athletes. Even a montage of skiers wiping out on a nasty turn takes on far less of a mean-spirited feel after Coburn and some close-up camera work have helped us understand that these athletes are traveling at speeds up to and exceeding 60 MPH.
Coburn is an easy and amiable host. He is game for trying out the different sports, and doesn't let ego get in the way of admitting how hard they are. For example, he huffs and puffs through the biathlon before conceding that there's no way he could steadily fire a gun after twice the amount of skiing, reminding us that athletes who exceed 8 shots must then do penalty skiing laps.
While it's true that there is no central "narrative" here, I kind of liked that. It meant that you were never rooting for or against anyone, but rather marveling at the skill and dedication of all of the athletes.
This was a different kind of sports/Olympic documentary and I thought it was really fun and refreshing.