Product Details

• Actors: David Ogden Stiers, Hunt Block, David Caruso, Alex Hyde-White, Benedict Taylor
• Directors: Alvin Rakoff
• Writers: Charles Gary Allison, William Bast
• Producers: Charles Gary Allison, Larry White, William Hill
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: August 5, 2008
• Run Time: 237 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001A4YNPI
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,837 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "The First Olympics: Athens 1896" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This television miniseries tells the story of the founding of the modern Olympics by focusing on individuals in several countries and their preparations and eventual competition in Athens in 1896. David Ogden Stiers (a familiar face to viewers of M*A*S*H reruns) portrays a Princeton classics professor whose knowledge of the ancient Olympics means he's given the task of recruiting an American team for the 1896 games. The stories of how some athletes have to be convinced to join the team may seem contrived, but they do reinforce the idea of how fragile the concept of reviving the Olympics was at the time. A young David Caruso (years before he'd swagger through the stationhouse of N.Y.P.D. Blue) portrays a cocky Boston Irishman who walks away from a Harvard scholarship to participate in track events. And if Caruso does veer perilously close to doing an extended James Cagney impression, he serves as a sturdy focal point to the American team. Once in Athens, the focus is very much on the American athletes and their surprising success, and there are some interesting and humorous touches in the plot. For instance, the fledgling American team had enlisted a local blacksmith to render an iron discus, thereby giving them an unexpected advantage when presented with the much lighter "official" discus in Athens. Even if the various plots and subplots about the athletes don't always hold up very well, the scenes of competition in Athens do provide an entertaining re-creation of the first modern Olympics. --Robert J. McNamara

Product Description

The inspiring story of a rag-tag team of amateur American athletes that stunned the sports world comes to life in this dramatization of the first modern Olympic games revived in 1896. Veteran Actor Louis Jourdan stars as Baron Pierre du Coubertin, a relentless visionary who sets out to renew the ancient Olympic games after 1500 years. Dr. William Sloane (David Ogden Stiers) is the Princeton professor who pulls together the first American team with 13 unlikely boys and a meager supply of sports equipment. Competing in events that had never been seen in the United States before the Americans went on to Athens and secured the winner's post despite almost insurmountable odds.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Olympics - First Rate, February 13, 2003

By	F. Healy (Pinehurst, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The First Olympics - Athens 1896 - 2 Volume set [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a magnificent and wonderful movie about the Olympic Games of 1896 in Athens... the first Olympics in 2000 years. The characters are generally well cast, the dialogue is fitting, and the relations between characters is well developed. I don't know if all the scenes are historically accurate, but I know that a great deal of it is... especially the names of the athletes, the results of the events and the Olympic Stadium in Greece. Although centered around the American team and its athletes, there is considerable attention paid to the lives of athletes from other countries, most notably Greece and Australia. Unfortunately a couple of the athletes portrayed could have been played by actors who were more appropriate for the events they were in, and you'll pick them out right away.

This is a FAMILY MOVIE, no sex, no vulgar language, nothing that shouldn't be seen by anyone in your family. It is a true classic in my mind, and one which I enjoy watching on a regular basis. Now, if it would only come out on DVD I'd buy it in an instant. There's so much garbage out there on DVD, why can't this and other classics be brought out on DVD?

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "true" story of the first modern American Olympic team, February 8, 2002

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: The First Olympics - Athens 1896 - 2 Volume set [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"The First Olympics - Athens 1896" tells a story that is a far cry from the spectacle the world witnessed tonight in Salt Lake City. In an effort to promote peace, the Baron Pierre de Courbertin (Louis Jordan) wants to revive the Olympic movement. Athletes from around the world will gather in Athens in 1896 and the Baron thinks it is important that the United States field a team. David Ogden Stiers plays William Sloane, a professor of classic studies who agrees to put together the American team. If the stories told in this charming slice of history are not true, please do not tell me. For me the focal character is young Robert Garrett (Hunt Block), who kisses his mother (Angela Landsbury) goodbye and goes off to compete for honor and glory. But neither Robert or the good professor know anything about the sports in the Olympics beyond what they can learn from reading Homer and looking at pictures of Greek urns while the maid has to show the boys how to run the high hurdles. This results in an awkward moment at a fundraiser where the team concludes they are suppose to compete in the nude like the ancient Greeks. The American team receives no governmental support and the Ivy League schools are against in; their uniforms are white with stripes representing their college colors. The first part ends with the Professor left behind as the team sails off to Europe, at which point he learns that the Greeks follow a different calendar and the team will not get there until the final day of competition. That means the second part starts with a mad dash across the continent to arrive in Athens in time.

While the mini-series does focus on the American team, we also follow several other notable participants in that first modern Olympics, including the legendary Greek marathoner, Spiridon Loues (Nicos Ziagos). There is a cute moment when the Greek orchestra leader has to pick between two songs to represent the Americans at the awards ceremony but my favorite part is when Robert Garrett learns that he will not be allowed to compete with the shot put and discuss he has been practicing with all these many months. You see they are not regulation size. In fact, they are about twice as big as they are supposed to be. Seems those Greek urns need to be updated. The scene where he is given the shot put he must use, instead of his cannon ball, and he tosses it up into the air a couple of times. There is also a very touching moment when back in America Professor Sloane receives the telegram that announces the first Olympic Gold medal in almost two thousands years has been won by an American. Stiers is wonderful in this role as are the cast of unknown young actors (only David Caruso as a cocky Irish long jumper from Bah-ston is recognizable). "The First Olympics--Athens 1896" is one of those mini-series that should be shown every four years, right before the summer Olympics. If you have seen it, then you have never forgotten it, and everyone who enjoys watching the world's best athletes compete before the entire world should get to see this mini-series at least once as well.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Family Favorite, August 19, 2000

By	Elizabeth Sullivan (Bellingham, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Olympics - Athens 1896 - 2 Volume set [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This movie (originally shown as a mini-series in 1984) combines humor, athleticism, history, drama and patriotism into a delightful 4 hours! Children and adults will enjoy it equally. Though it takes a decidedly American bent, the movie is originally based in fact. The names and countries of origin of the winners are true. It is unclear how much else is true, but it doesn't matter! The length allows for more character and plot development than the average feature film so that by the end, the viewer feels connected to the characters. As children, my sisters and I watched it over and over. As adults, we continue to enjoy it!