In ascending order, here are the 14 best Olympics movies ever, ranked.
Best Olympics movies
14. Cool Runnings (1993)
The ever-brilliant, deeply missed John Candy and a cast of mostly unknowns star in Jon Turteltaub’s family dramedy about Jamaican bobsleighers who brazenly go for the gold even though they’ve never seen snow. It is so, so cheesy—and also so, so hard to dislike. The cult favorite is oft referenced in modern pop culture.
13. Blades of Glory (2007)
Will Ferrell and Jon Heder (hot on the heels of surprise cult smash NapoleonDynamite) star in a surrealist farce that’s sometimes redundant (straight guys ice skating!), sometimes very funny. This is one of few major features about the Games that didn’t secure rights to the Olympics name.
12. The Cutting Edge (1992)
Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney star in Paul Michael Glaser’s romantic comedy about a spoiled figure skater and a sidelined hockey player who are paired to face off against Soviet competitors. Contrived in the extreme, but likely will hook fans of the comfort found in formulaic rom-coms. Spawned a series.
11. Personal Best (1982)
MarielHemingway, Patrice Donnelly and Scott Glenn star in Chinatown scribe Robert Towne’s critically acclaimed drama about a team of runners, and a bisexual love triangle. Personal Best is a marvel of tactful character-building.
10. Eddie the Eagle(2016)
Winning performances from Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton are the main attraction in Rocketman helmer Dexter Fletcher’s flashy, warmhearted biographical sports dramedy inspired by the life of spirited, uncouth British ski jumper Michael “Eddie” Edwards. Sure, it’s schmaltzy. Still, you’d have to be pretty cynical not to feel some joy and other emotions here.
9. One Day in September (1999)
Kevin Macdonald’s harrowing documentary depicts the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics (initially billed as the “Games of Peace and Joy.”) The Israeli government’s secret retaliation against the Palestine Liberation Organization was the subject of Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed Munich half a decade later. Winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, One Day in September is narrated, sparsely, by Michael Douglas. Also recommended on this topic: anthology doc Visions of Eight.
8. Downhill Racer (1969)
Robert Redford and Gene Hackman star in a sports drama that deserves more remembrance than it gets these days, about a ski prodigy who joins the U.S. team to compete internationally. Roger Ebert called Downhill Racer “the best movie ever made about sports—without really being about sports at all.” (Fun fact: Seven years before Rocky, Sylvester Stallone made his film debut here—as an extra!)
7. I, Tonya (2017)
The place where black comedy and the sports biopic meet has a name, and that name is I, Tonya. Based on stranger-than-fiction events, I, Tonya stars Margot Robbie as disgraced figure skater and Olympic hopeful Tonya Harding (Allison Janney won an Oscar for playing her abusive mother). Though Harding was the first American woman in history to complete a triple axel in competition, her legacy has since been defined by her association with the infamously botched attack on her fellow Olympic competitor Nancy Kerrigan—and by this critical and commercial hit film.
6. Tokyo Olympiad (1965)
Released in CinemaScope and vibrant color, Kon Ichikawa’s milestone sports doc was marketed on its poster, rather regrettably, as “the man’s picture every woman will love!” Humanistic Tokyo Olympiad documents the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo; this was a crucial moment for the government to showcase a post-war, rebuilt Japan.
5. Miracle (2004)
We’ve seen so many sports biopics over the years that it’s rare for one to really stand out. Miracle is based on one of the most inspiring true stories in the history of athletics, the triumph of the U.S. men’s hockey team over the Soviet team at the 1980 Olympics during the Cold War (possibly the greatest upset in all of sports). The strength of the true life story, along with some muscular direction by Gavin O’Connor (FX’s The Americans) and touching performances (from Kurt Russell,Patricia Clarkson and others), elevate Miracle to something that’s just plain lovable and exciting to watch. Miracle is compelling and patriotic entertainment for all ages. “Do you believe in miracles?!” Disney
4. Olympia (1938)
The most famous, influential sports documentary in history is Leni Riefenstahl’s worshipful, idolizing account of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. It’s invaluable for its groundbreaking technical achievement (frequently appearing on roundups of the most essential films ever)—and controversial for its political context. Notably, Olympia sees African American sprinter Jesse Owensdominate.
3. Foxcatcher (2014)
Oscar-nominated Steve Carell and Channing Tatum delivered career-best turns in Moneyball helmer Bennet Miller’s dark drama based on eccentric millionaire John duPont’s recruitment of two sibling wrestling prodigies, and an ensuing web of crime. This is the antithesis of sportsmanship, masterful and deeply disturbing. A must-see.
2. Munich (2005)
Controversial—incendiary, even—and a masterpiece in the art of suspense, Steven Spielberg’s thriller depicts the aftermath of the 1972 Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Starring Eric Bana and a pre-Bond Daniel Craig, written by Angels in America’s Tony Kushner and Forrest Gump’s Eric Roth—based on the 1984 book Vengeance by George Jonas.
1. Chariots of Fire (1981)
Benefiting invaluably from an iconic, pulsing, exquisite Oscar-winning electronic theme song by Vangelis, Hugh Hudson’s Best Picture winner tells the true story of British athletes Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, from different faiths, who ran in the 1924 games. A stately, moving drama about mature themes (prejudice being a key one), especially when viewed in 2021, this was always a movie about simpler times—or what we perceive as simpler times at least. Chariots of Fire is one of the best movies about male friendship. Haunting and earnestly compelling, it remains one of the finest of all British films.
