Visions of Eight does exactly what its title implies. The little known film documents the Olympics held in Munich, Germany in 1972. This was the second time the summer games would be hosted in germany, after the 1936 games which were conducted under nazi rule. Unfortunately, this entire piece of history will always be overshadowed by an act which took place during its second week. Terrorists from the organization calling itself Black September killed 11 athletes competing for the israeli team. This was because the group wanted revenge for palestinians being held hostage in israeli prisons. This film does not really cover this massacre until it's almost over, and has a much greater focus on the games instead, which is kind of the whole point anyway. The title comes from the fact that this movie is a combined effort between 8 different filmmakers who shot footage during the games, with each man covering a separate topic. These segments focus on the decathlon, the sprinters, the weightlifters, the pole vaulters, the contributions women made to the games, the preparations, and even how losing athletes dealt with their frustration after finding out they wouldn't win. While watching, you can't help but notice that only those in top physical condition can compete in events as grueling and demanding as these. Towards the beginning, we see weightlifters bench pressing metal bars with 3 or 4 thick, metal weights on either side. In total, I would estimate the weight at around 400 pounds. One wrong move and the competitor could easily drop the weights or pull a muscle. There's also an important mental aspect to it, since losing your concentration suddenly can be just as detrimental in a sporting event. Another standout for me is when they show the people pole vaulting, and one guy causes the bar to fall, meaning he's disqualified. He throws it at one of the technicians, eliciting a strong "boo" from the whole crowd. The Munich olympics also took plenty of food and other necessities to keep it going, and they even state how hundreds of thousands of steaks were cooked to make sure people didn't run out of energy. I also enjoyed the sequence that depicts the runners during the sprint event, since it is filmed 4 times slower than normal speed. Things you might otherwise miss now come into view. In all, the USSR would win the most gold medals at Munich and the most medals, period. When compared to other films centered on the olympics I have watched so far, such as Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia, Visions of Eight is a solid alternative, but I still prefer the former due to its straightforwardness. Olympia does have different segments dedicated to different events (like this film), but it feels more focused when it comes to the games themselves. Visions of Eight has a few parts that aren't really about the events, and focus on preparations or the terrorist attack instead. Still, this film is an important watch for those who wish to learn more about an interesting sporting event whose significance was sadly dwarfed by a horrible act of violence.
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nickenchuggets4 September 2021
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JuguAbraham4 February 2018The four of the eight directors made fascinating contributions to this portmanteau film. Milos Foman's segment concentrating on the Decathlon event was memorable for its use of Bavarian folk music to blend with the visuals. Mai Zetterling's segment on the Strongest dealt with weightlifting and food for the athletes, which focussed on the athletes' obsession with one sport. Zetterling has always been interested with people's obsessions. Penn's segment on the Highest deals with pole vault and the emotions of losing. Lelouch's segment officially dealt with the losers but I felt Penn captured those emotions better. The fourth impressive segment was Schlesinger's on the Marathon. Three years later he would make "The Marathon Man." Technically, the Ichikawa segment on the 100 meters race was rewarding but not much more.
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If you're looking for a traditional, narrative, and episodic type of documentary replete with featured interviews, you won't find it here. It's not truly about the 1972 Olympics; the Olympics is more of a venue. This is a somewhat eclectic experiment that results in an often incohesive, mixed bag of hits and misses.
If you're a historian, professor, or student of film, or if you're perhaps a professional cinematographer, you'll probably take a lot more away from this than the rest of us. Eight different segments created by eight different artists bring eight different viewpoints and voices of what fascinates them about the Olympics. Some segments are captivating; others feel like throwaways.
It begins to feel laborious around the 60-minute mark, but then a segment entitled The Losers livens things up a bit. But from there, it starts to drag again. With a running time of approximately 100 minutes, it's too long.
You've got to be a true film buff to sit through it start to finish. -
directoroffantasies31 October 2004The 1972 Summer Olympic Games, in many ways, were the end of an era. Since 1936, the IOC had required each Local Organizing Committee to submit a documentary film as an historical record of their Games. After Munich, less emphasis was placed upon this and more upon Bud Greenspan's independent efforts. Only one-eighth of this film was directed by a West German; today, an American helms them all.
Munich '72 was the last occasion on which Olympic security could be said to be at all relaxed. The face of terrorism, at least before 9/11, bears the stocking mask of the Black September lookout at 31 Connollystrasse in the Olympic Village. John Schlesinger of "Midnight Cowboy" fame, assigned to film a British marathon runner, incorporates the tragedy into his mini-film as a distraction to the absurdly detached athlete.
After 1936 they all were imitating Leni Riefenstahl. Here, Japanese director Kon Ichikawa, filming his second Olympics, rings a change on the German's pioneering use of slow motion, using three dozen Arriflexes and four miles of film to turn the 100-meter dash into a quarter-hour examination of tortured lungs and leg muscles.
Producer David Wolper's take on this film was that it could have been better and was greatly improved in the editing room. The same could be said of any slice-of-life documentary, sporting or otherwise. The voice-over narrator sounds a lot like David Perry, who would soon become ubiquitous as Bud Greenspan's offscreen announcer. For almost the final time, feature directors got to play documentarian all those years ago. -
SnoopyStyle20 July 2021Eight filmmakers are tasked with capturing the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. The first seven segments have these filmmakers do their artistic efforts with the games. It's a lot of close-ups and slow-motion. It's not always the most compelling. Some are more interesting visually than others. I'm not expecting a wall-to-wall documentary about the terrorist disruption especially considering the probable involvement of the IOC. John Schlesinger's last segment does tackle the elephant in the room but mostly as the backdrop affecting the marathon runners. The race is delayed and they have to keep their mind on the competition. It's not the biggest swing but the terrorism is too big to ignore. In the end, the film has to stay on course and put the ugliness behind it instead of facing it head-on.
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interconti25 February 2003The summary at the introduction says it all: 'it's not a summary of sports'. This is the kind of production that is willing to rewrite, rather reinvent, the shape of sports docummentaries. Far from the focus on results of the almanac-format production, this new vision of the tension of obsession, of the muscle stress, of the jump of joy, of the tears of defeat and, in short, the beauty of the design sports can provide, brings us the Expressionist angle the Olympics hides in the shadows of the action that TV images will never be able to catch. More than a masterpiece, each of the eight episodes should be treated as a directing class.
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Here's a very unusual view of the Olympics. It's not the vast number of cameramen involved; that's a given with the Olympics. It's that this movie is credited to eight directors, all of them distinguished: Kon Ichikawa -- back after TOKYO OLYMPIAD; Milos Forman; Claude Lelouch; Yuriy Ozerovnn; Michael Pfleghar; John Schlesinger; and Mai Zetterling. Each of them speaks a brief introduction to his - or her -- segment; and then there's music by Henry Mancini, for more orotund and distinguished than his usual sprightly, rag tunes.
There have been brilliant Olympic movies, and annoying ones, and movies that seemed to be collections that sort of vaguely showed you the exertions while muttering platitudes. The choices made in the production of this one strive valiantly to live up to those ideals, and I think it succeeds.
It's dedicated to the eleven athletes murdered at the Olympics. -
dspaff-4094229 December 2021If you want a sports documentary filled with numbers and facts, this is not your film. This is an olympics movie made by artists. Rather than delving into the amount of medals a country or person won or what records were broken, Visions of Eight chooses to delve into abstract and personal aspects of the games: the anticipation before they begin, the human form, the effects of losing, the obsession with winning. Visions of Eight serves as an artists interpretation of these concepts with the games serving only as the backdrop to explore those themes. If that sounds like something you'd like, there's no movie better than this one.
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I could only bear to watch the first 22 minutes! Complete garbage!. It featured the weightlifting competition which I was interested in. It started off saying the flyweight competition and then shows super heavyweights!! It showed only partial pictures of the lefts and never identified the lifters!!! No idea of the amount they were lifting or anything else. Absolute garbage!!. The first 5 minutes consisted of a montage of clips that made no sense or had any continuity. I has a suspicion that the film was not going to get better and I was right. I do not believe that I missed anything after the debacle of the weightlifting segment.
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shadsu22 December 1999This movie has Eight of that era's top cinematographers in and from around the world. They come together along with David L. Wolper (renowned historian) to look at the 1972 Olympics thru the camera's eyes. They take you on a journey through 8 different parts of the Olympics and between segments show various clips of the unity and heartbreaks of the 1972 Olympics. A powerfully moving film that will inspire spirit into those who adore the Olympics for what they truly stand for and the thrill of victory, and defeat in some cases. At times, it seems a bit of a documentary but when the cameras roll and the director wants to show his talents... do not blink because you will miss the artistry that ensues. A must see if you can find.
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marguskiis-3929426 October 2021"Visions of 8" is the pinnacle of series of arty olympic movies which started with movie "Tokyo Olympiad" (1965) and ended with Juri Ozerov's "Sports -- You Are The Peace" (1981). Ozerov was one of the eight directors of Munich movie and he was clearly influenced by the movie when he was making his one for Moscow olympics.
"Visions of 8" is not about reportage, not about just showing the events, not about giving information. It is about pure art cinematography. The movie is massively formalistic and thats why common people don't like it. It has very excessive editing, brave cinematography and very little real storytelling. Thats why I call it the craziest one.
The movie is the monument of heydays of film and photography which were in 1960s and 70s. The days are long gone.
For people who love art of film, this movie is must be. The most psychedelic and daring movie about an event of strict rules you can ever imagine. -
mossgrymk4 August 2021What an incredibly lame documentary. Seven of the eight film makers would have you believe that this particular Olympics was notable for...pole vaulting! Or weight lifting! Only John Schlesinger, to his eternal credit, deals with the 800 lb terrorist in the room. It's as if a team of reporters were covering the unveiling of a new built bridge and in the middle of their coverage the bridge collapses and all but one reporter blithely ignore it.. Simply amazing. And depressing. C minus.