16 Days of Glory

1985
G
4h 44m

IMDb RATING

7.7/10

329

YOUR RATING

Documentary Sport

The definitive photographic record of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, told "from the inside" through the lives of the participants, the words of David Perry, and the singing voice of Placido ... Read allThe definitive photographic record of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, told "from the inside" through the lives of the participants, the words of David Perry, and the singing voice of Placido Domingo. From the opening to closing ceremonies, this unique style of storytelling shows a... Read allThe definitive photographic record of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, told "from the inside" through the lives of the participants, the words of David Perry, and the singing voice of Placido Domingo. From the opening to closing ceremonies, this unique style of storytelling shows a side of the Olympic Games not seen by television audiences.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.7/10

329

YOUR RATING

5User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win

Trivia
Maricica Puica boast in the documentary that if she had fallen down and injured herself during the 3000 meter race, as Mary Decker did, she would have gotten back up and finished the race. Ironically, four years later, at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Maricica Puica abandoned her 3000 meter race, 200 meters from the finish, due to injury.

Quotes
Narrator: For many years preceding the Los Angeles games, the world press had reported that the Coe/Ovett rivalry had been unfriendly. This was denied by both men. Ovett attempted to clarify the situation. Said Ovett - We are not the best of friends, nor are we enemies, rather, we are rivals.

Alternate versions
Network television version contains additional footage not used in the theatrical version and is divided into five one-hour segments, with interstitials hosted by Bud Greenspan.

Connections
Followed by Calgary '88: 16 Days of Glory (1989)

User reviews5

Review

Featured review

6/10

Going for gold in California

I had a holiday job in 1984 and it meant I did not watch a lot of the 1984 Olympics live. It was shown late at night in Britain because of the time difference.

I do have some abiding memories such as Steve Ovett struggling to defend his 800 metres title, Sebastian Coe bouncing back to defend his 1500 metres title after getting silver in the 800 metres again.

Daley Thompson winning back to back decathlon gold medals, Mary Decker hitting the deck and not getting up and blaming the person in front of her for tripping her.

Michael Gross reigning in the pool and Carl Lewis emulating Jesse Owens.

These moments and many others are celebrated in this official record of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The commentary is a little bit too serious and sombre. What counts are the look back at some of the events seen through the perspective of some of the featured athletes. They may not all had won gold but they have an important contribution even if was just finishing a race after battling an injury.

This is a monster of a documentary clocking in at over 4 hours.