"One of the most compelling records of sport on film … as an expression of the mind of the athlete, it is unsurpassed." – The Washington Post

In 1964, the Japanese Government commissioned Kon Ichikawa (Fires on the Plain, MIFF 66) to make a record of that year's Olympic Games: the first major public event held in a reconstructed Tokyo.

With over 100 camera operators at his disposal, Ichikawa homes in on minute details: faces deep in concentration, muscles under stress, clocks and flags. Footage of individual events is interspersed with details such as athletes' preparations and the solitude of a Chadian runner eating a meal. The result – digitally restored in 2013 and screening at MIFF in 4K – is widely regarded as one of the greatest sporting documentaries ever committed to celluloid: a chronicle not merely of medal tallies or records, success or failure, but of the limits of human exertion.

"A masterful film that pushes past immersive into something close to transcendent … one of the most truly perfect films ever made." – Nonfics

MIFF thanks the IOC for their assistance in presenting the Tokyo Olympiad restoration.