Spirit of the Marathon (2007)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Jon Dunham

Release Date:

24 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Plot:

The first ever feature-length film to capture the essence, drama and unique spectacle of the famed 26.2-mile race...

Plot Keywords:

Race | Marathon | Olympics | Triumph | Legend

Cast

Dick Beardsley	...	Dick Beardsley
Ryan Bradley	...	Ryan Bradley
Leah Caille	...	Leah Caille
Deena Kastor	...	Deena Kastor
Jerry Meyers	...	Jerry Meyers
Daniel Njenga	...	Daniel Njenga
Lori O'Connor	...	Lori O'Connor
Paula Radcliffe	...	Paula Radcliffe
Bill Rodgers	...	Himself
Frank Shorter	...	Frank Shorter

Also Known As:

Land of the Gods: The Legend of the Marathon (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some thematic elements and language, and brief incidental smoking.

Runtime:

USA:104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (35 mm version)

Certification:

USA:PG | New Zealand:G

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Calico 1880

An informative and heartfelt look at going the (26.2 mile) distance!

This is a beautifully filmed, heartfelt look at the sport of running 26.2 miles. We follow six runners who cover the whole range, from beginners to world-class, through training and the race itself, the Chicago Marathon. Vintage film and comments by the experts - historians, champion runners - fill out the perspective.

I myself have done 22 marathons, but not Chicago. That said, I believe the film succeeded in putting the viewer IN the race, with some sense of pounding away mile after mile, in a beautiful urban setting. The audience I was with tonight (Regal Cinemas, Abingdon, MD)included many veteran runners, who often shared a laugh with different people in the film. I thought it a measure of the film's success that this veteran crowd cheered as one of the runners (you'll know who)crossed the finish line when he/she did.

A caveat about waiting for this to come to DVD: the aerial camera-work on the race itself is stunning! It will loose power on the small screen. Consider an overhead shot that starts as the first runners cross the start line, then slowly pans over all the starters-in-waiting, a veritable 'ocean of humanity', a shot that continued far longer than I expected. Then there are the high overhead shots during the race, showing the gorgeous but far-flung urban landscape, with tiny dots - each a runner - moving along the streets below. Such shots capture the scale of the event, the vast distance the runners are up against. I suspect that at home, one will need the zoom option on the DVD player to see the runners.

Beyond this, I hope someday there will be a documentary from primarily within the race (personal cams - shades of CLOVERFIELD or BLAIR WITCH PROJECT!), to give the non-runner the closest feel that cinema allows for moving step by step 26 miles 385 yds. Until then, SPIRIT OF THE MARATHON will do wonderfully.