Triumph at Rome

The Grand Olympics is a blood-and-guts thriller of more heroic cast. Filmed by 22 Italian cameramen under the direction of Romolo Marcellini, this color documentary dazzlingly synthesizes the glory that was Rome's during the summer Olympiad of 1960. The film begins with a helicoptic view, swooping over the dome of St. Peter's, then briefly darts away to Greece to catch the sun's rays igniting the traditional torch through a burning glass at Olympia. Soon some 5,000 athletes from 85 nations parade through Rome to the vast Stadio Olimpico. The flame arrives, the Olympic flag is hoisted, and a battery of pigeons soars skyward.

Having thus taken wing, the spectacle seldom falters, for the cameras perform in a virtuoso style that rivals the competitors on the field. Again and again, with slow-motion photography and telescopic lenses that reveal an athlete's face in stunning closeup, the moment of truth is seized; an Italian cyclist, narrowly losing one contest, bursts into tears; the barefoot Bikila Abebe sprints through torchlit Roman streets to win the 26-mile marathon and Ethiopia's first Olympic gold medal; U.S. Decathlon Champion Rafer Johnson consolingly embraces his close friend and runner-up, Taiwan's C. K. Yang. Poignant drama erupts when a Russian pole vaulter disastrously breaks his ankle. There is comedy, too, as a narrator dryly remarks of Britain's winning, waddling roadwalker: "One cannot honestly say that he presents an impeccable silhouette."

A kinesthetic ballet, brilliantly edited to dramatize the human body at its magnificent best, Olympics flings a bold challenge to the Japanese team now preparing to film the Tokyo Olympics of 1964.

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