Tokyo Olympiad was a 1965 Japanese documentary film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It was released in Japan on 20th March 1965 and later released in the United States on 20th October 1965. The film documented the 1964 Summer Olympic Games, held in Tokyo, Japan, from 10th–24th of that year.
The movie followed athletes from across the globe who competed for their nations, their pride, and their careers. Through stunning cinematography and incredible realism, Tokyo Olympiad took viewers through emotional triumphs and defeats as athletes battled to reach their goals. Alongside the documentary’s aesthetics, Tokyo Olympiad featured a powerful score composed by Toshiro Mayuzumi, packed full of orchestral wonders that fit the time.
Tokyo Olympiad is a stunning testament – both to the Olympic athletes it focuses on, and the craft of artistic documentary filmmaking.
Scott Weinberg — Apollo Guide (2002) (via)
Overall, Tokyo Olympiad was an incredible cinematic achievement. Despite some controversy amongst the Japanese government for its approach (tl;dr – they wanted something more straight-laced than artistic), it remains one of the greatest sporting documentaries of all time.
(note: this article was written using GPT-3. The initial text was fact checked, checked for plagiarism, rewritten in places, and further content was included)