Games of the XXI Olympiad

This short documentary revisits the 1976 Olympic Marathon. A modern-day addition to the Games, the marathon commemorates the soldier who ran cross-country, in 490 B.C., to announce the Greek victory at Marathon and then died. Here, great film footage of the 1976 Summer Olympics captures the physical demands of the race, while its emotional counterpart is related by Waldemar Cierpinski, the event’s 1976 gold medalist. This emotion-charged film proves that although the winner of the Decathlon is the best all-round athlete, the “toughest” is the winner of the Marathon.

This short documentary follows the 11th St-Laurent long-distance bicycle race held in Quebec in the summer of 1964. There, participants from 13 countries covered 2 400 km of Gaspé countryside in 12 days--a course longer than those of Italy, Belgium or Spain. With the curving landscape of this most picturesque province as backdrop, you see here a sports event where the challenge seems more personal than competitive.

A member of the Soviet Union's women's gymnastic team at the 1976 Olympic Games, Nelli Kim was seventeen when she won two gold medals for her superb performance on the horse vault and for the floor exercises. The slow-motion camera highlights the best moments of her performance. It also shows the person behind the athlete, and the nervousness that is generated by the presence of a new star, Nadia Comeneci of Romania.

This documentary by director Paul Cowan is about four athletes and a team that competed in the 1976 Olympics. They had trained courageously to be among those who would mount the podium to receive a medal. None of them did, but was it worth the effort? I'll Go Again answers the question.

The NFB's 11th Oscar®-nominated film.

This short film depicts how a small Canadian city, bearing the name of Stratford and by a river Avon, created its own renowned Shakespearean theatre. The film tells how the idea grew, how a famous British director, international stars and Canadian talent were recruited, and how the Stratford Shakespearean Festival finally became a triumphant reality.

For more background information about this film, please visit the NFB.ca blog.

This captivating short documentary profiles the young Canadian long-distance runner Bruce Kidd at 19 years old. Kidd eventually went on to win a gold and bronze medal at the 1962 Commonwealth Games, and was a competing member of the 1964 Canadian Olympic team. Directed by Don Owen (Nobody Waved Good-bye, Toronto Jazz), the film is luminously photographed by John Spotton and features poetic commentary composed and spoken by the great Anglo-American poet W.H. Auden. The camera follows Kidd’s sprightly movements as he runs on piers, practice tracks, and finally, in an international race. Oblivious to the clapping crowds and the flash of cameras, he knows full well that in the long run it is the cold stopwatch that tells the truth.

This feature documentary follows one of the greatest Canadian baseball players of all time, Ferguson Jenkins, through the 1972-1973 season. From the hope and innocence of spring training to the dog days of an August slump, the camera gets up close and personal at the home plate and records the intimate chatter on the mound, in the dugout and in the locker room. It provides a glimpse into the rewards and pressures of sports stardom and the easy camaraderie of the quintessential summer sport.

This short documentary presents highlights of the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. In Vancouver, top-ranking athletes from the far corners of the British Commonwealth competed for new records. The film records outstanding feats in racing, jumping, pole-vaulting, swimming as well as the "miracle mile" duel between John Landy and Roger Bannister.

This short film served as an invitation to the World's Fair that was held in Montreal in 1967. It was largely considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century with over 50 million visitors. The film presents impressions of the event and of Montreal at its liveliest and most exciting moment in history.

This short documentary is an ode to the thrills and excitement of cycling. Including highlights from the 1976 Olympics and the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the film features some of the world's best cyclists and their coaches, in training and in competition.

At the 4th Pan-American Games at São Paulo, Brazil, gymnastic teams from North, South and Central America demonstrate a perfection of grace, form and strength that will inspire every audience to fresh appreciation of gymnastics. The film shows events in which Canadian teams competed and in which Wilhelm Weiler won a gold medal for Canada.