"Hitler's Olympics" is a decent documentary about the 1936 Olympics, though it easily could have been better. Sometimes it just missed the big picture or details that would have made the film better. A few cases in point: Although the film ONLY talks about the 1936 summer Olympics, BOTH the summer and winter sessions were held in Germany in 1936. Why absolutely no mention of the winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (the Bavarian Alps)?? This omission is just sloppy and nonsensical. Second, often the film talks about Nazis and eugenics and the film acted as if this was solely a German issue. While not included in the narrative, early eugenicists were from the United States and Britain.....why no mention of this? Third, while distasteful to admit today, Adolph Hitler was much admired and loved OUTSIDE Germany in 1936. He was Time Magazine's man of the year in 1938 and was seen by many non-Germans as a great statesman and leader. Of course he was an evil maniac....but the film painted Germany as being completely out of step with the rest of the world...but, sadly, in many ways it wasn't. Overall, the film has some nice interviews and film footage but it's not the most scholarly nor complete account of the 1936 Olympic games.
4 Reviews
Good doc except for one thing
samcallan2 August 2017
My only frustration with the documentary is the perpetuation of the myth that Luz Long helped Jesse Owens in the long jump. There is no contemporary evidence of it occurring. Owens did not tell the story until,sometime in the 60s. The author of Hitler's Games researched this extensively, but the myth will not die.
Hitler and the Olympics
Michael_Elliott22 August 2016
Hitler's Olympics (2016)
*** (out of 4)
Sports, political and history experts are on hand to discuss the 1936 Olympics and how Hitler used them to his advantage as he tried to show off for the world and show that Germany was a major force. This documentary covers how Germany ended up with the games, how Hitler almost rejected them and what changed his mind. From here we take a look at some of the most memorable events including the opening ceremony as well as Jesse Owens race for history. If you're unfamiliar with the 1936 Olympics then this certainly offers up a lot of good information about the event. There's a lot of information on display here that people unfamiliar with the history will enjoy. With that said, if you're already familiar with the history then it's doubtful that you're going to learn anything new here. At just 44 minutes there's no question that this could have been much more detailed but there are a couple interviews with people who attended the Olympics and getting to hear from them was priceless.
*** (out of 4)
Sports, political and history experts are on hand to discuss the 1936 Olympics and how Hitler used them to his advantage as he tried to show off for the world and show that Germany was a major force. This documentary covers how Germany ended up with the games, how Hitler almost rejected them and what changed his mind. From here we take a look at some of the most memorable events including the opening ceremony as well as Jesse Owens race for history. If you're unfamiliar with the 1936 Olympics then this certainly offers up a lot of good information about the event. There's a lot of information on display here that people unfamiliar with the history will enjoy. With that said, if you're already familiar with the history then it's doubtful that you're going to learn anything new here. At just 44 minutes there's no question that this could have been much more detailed but there are a couple interviews with people who attended the Olympics and getting to hear from them was priceless.
Learned something new.
riddhimaakaritu25 September 2019
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