A worthy and educational film, uplifting despite the troubling context.
Wow. Just wow.
What a powerful story bought together so well - the adrenaline from some great sports scenes (and who doesn't enjoy that?), the disbelief / wonder of that kind of segregated society in modern times, the strength of some of the personal relationships (including the struggle Owens had to go through just to get to the Olympics), the people trying to stand up against the tyrannical government, and the political undertones of an impeding world war. It was a great story, a great script, some good acting (with a few real standouts) and some solid special effects (of the crowds, and the stadium).
Recommended for virtually everyone.
A good solid rendition of the Jesse Owens story. The casting is very good and so is the plot development. The impact of the politics in the US with the racial segregation and the Nazi regime in Germany impacting the games were equally focused on, and therefore all of the important aspects of those storylines were drawn out very well. The sports part about this story revolving around Jesse's relationship to his coach and the feats he accomplished were also very well presented. The emotional entertainment and importance of the film make this for a good solid watch.
Interesting movie never seen it before
I watched The Jesse Owens Story (1984) on TV as a kid, and still remember how it made me feel. So many emotions all at once. From hope, excitement, sadness and anger in different stages of the movie. While searching for that movie to watch again, I came across this recent 2016 movie about Jesse Owens. Although, IMHO, it's not epic as the 1984 movie, this still delivered.
Jesse Owens will forever be my hero. What an absolute legend!
Also Jason Sudeikis plays the role of coach so well. I mean, it's like the dude was made to play coach. I fee like this was him training for his Ted Lasso role.
Since Hollywood always changes real stories to fit their established narrative. I would like to leave a couple of quotes by Jesse Owens about his experience in the Berlin Olympics and how he thought he was treated by Franklin D. Roosevelt (the Democrat president at the time).
"After all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I couldn’t ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. Now what’s the difference?" - Jesse Owens
"Hitler didn't snub me; it was our president who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram." - Jesse Owens
"And then;… wonder of wonders;… I saw Herr Adolph [sic] Hitler, salute this lad. I looked on with a heart which beat proudly as the lad who was crowned king of the 100 meters event, get an ovation the like of which I have never heard before. I saw Jesse Owens greeted by the Grand Chancellor of this country as a brilliant sun peeped out through the clouds. I saw a vast crowd of some 85,000 or 90,000 people stand up and cheer him to the echo." - Robert L. Vann
Obviously this is a great story most of us heard back in grade school. The real question is why did it take until 2016 to make a movie about this?
Anyone go to John Abbott College? Anyone recognize it?
Shout by FinFanBlockedParent2017-03-27T19:12:53Z— updated 2017-04-02T21:25:48Z
To be honest I wasn´t interested much in this at first. I feared they would wrap the story of legendary Jesse Owens in the american hero blanket. The typical good vs. evil movie. Hollywood has had a tendency to overdo it at times. Instead they managed the balance between the sport and the political side and also showed that in America too there were issues concerning racism.
On the production side I liked the look of the movie very much. Visualy it was very good. The scenes in the Olympia Stadium in Berlin looked great.