Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9780788814563 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC ISBN: 630573237X Label: Walt Disney Video Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Walt Disney Video Release Date: November 07, 2000 Running Time: 83 minutes Studio: Walt Disney Video Theatrical Release Date: May 14, 1999 Sales Rank: 6467
Description: Here's the triumphant, true-life story of an Olympic hero ... and just how far he came in order to become the fastest Olympic long-distance runner the world has ever seen! Raised under oppressive conditions in one of the world's poorest countries, the Ethiopian boy named Haile Gebrselassie was born to run! When he wasn't laboring in his father's fields, young Haile would be running: the six miles to school and back, while doing chores, or simply for pleasure at the end of a long, hard day! In an inspirational and artfully crafted motion picture from heralded filmmaker Leslie Woodhead, the climactic moment comes as the unstoppable Haile chases down his lifelong dream in a stirring Gold Medal performance at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games!
Amazon.com: This film about Ethiopian distance runner Haile Gebrsellasie, who won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and is considered one of the greatest runners of all time, is a dramatization that often appears to be a documentary. Beautifully photographed, the footage shot in Haile's native land is often spectacular enough to make you think you're watching a National Geographic special. Haile's young life, such as a scene when his family is listening to a news report about warfare in Ethiopia and a report comes on about the 1980 Olympics, is portrayed with apparent accuracy, but not without a great deal of drama. There are many scenes of Haile running, past wildlife in the countryside or through crowded city slums, and while this gives what must be an accurate idea of him developing his athletic regimen, this is also not terribly dramatic on camera. Eventually, Haile is shown racing in Atlanta, valiantly overtaking all competition; his family back in Ethiopia is shown gathered around a television set, jubilantly watching his triumph. And while there's no denying that this is a touching and inspiring human story, the slow pace of the presentation tends to work against the inherent drama. --Robert J. McNamara
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Please hurry up and release the DVD!
Please release this great movie on DVD. I look foward to replacing my VHS tape. Thanks.
Rating: - Beautiful and inspiring...!
This is a movie I would recommend for people who like to think about life, and how dreams and determination can help improve a person's situation... Not recommended at all for people who want adrenaline ... Read More
Rating: - three minutes
There is not much here. You learn a little bit about how Gebrselassie became a runner, and a little bit about life in Ethiopia. But the pace of the movie is so very, very slow, you get only the most vague, ... Read More
Rating: - one of the greatest, most original films ever made
This film is an original, not a documentary, not a drama, but a completely one off mix of the two, the moving, thrilling tale of Haile Gebresalassie, Ethiopia's greatest runner. It tells tells the story of his ... Read More
Rating: - good "wide world" movie for kids; so-so for runners...
Haile Gebrselassie is indeed a worthy subject for a docudrama: not only one of the world's all-time greatest distance runners but an amazingly likeable, soulful man to boot. On balance I'm glad I saw this movie ... Read More
- Please hurry up and release the DVD!
- three minutes
- good "wide world" movie for kids; so-so for runners...