Regard neuf sur
tier, allowing amateurs to film from the stands,
Olympia 52
Luke McKernan
Luke McKernan is Lead Curator, News and Moving Image,
The British Library (London).
There have been films of the Olympic Games
from 1906, for the unofficial, intercalated Athens
Games of that year, and ever since the local
Olympic organising committees had the respon-
sibility of allocating filming rights (from 1908),
there have been films of the Games with an of-
ficial imprimatur. These films have ranged from
studied works of art – Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia
and Kon Ichikawa’s Tokyo Olympiad – to func-
tional documentaries such as Castleton Knight’s
XIVth Olympiad – The Glory of Sport. A second
tier of film production has been pooled news
footage of the sports events, serving overseas
clients; originally newsreels, then television news
and sports broadcasters. Thirdly, there have
been instructional films made on behalf of or-
ganisations representing particular sports or or-
ganisations with a social or charitable function.
The Olympic Games of 1952, held in
Helsinki, Finland, featured all of the elements
in the allocation of film rights. There were two,
interlinked official films, Maailmat kohtaavat
– XV Olympiakisat Helsingissä 1952 (Worlds
Meet) (Finland 1952) and Kultaa ja kunniaa
(Gold and Glory) (Finland 1953). Both were
made by Finnish director Hannu Leminen,
who, with newsreel producer Holger Harrivirta,
employed eleven camera units with a total
personnel of 96. An Olympic Film Pool also op-
erated to supply footage, primarily newsreels,
to overseas companies, though there was a
limited service to television companies.
It was the third tier of film production where
problems arose, as many applications for film-
ing educational film for local exhibition were
not made until the Games had begun. Helsinki
was also the first Games to introduce a fourth
JFP
and some film productions operated awkward-
ly between the professional and the amateur.
90 | 04.2014
Once such production was Olympia 52,
made at the behest of the French popular
education organisation Peuple et Culture, and
directed by the journalist and photographer,
and future visionary filmmaker, Chris Marker.
Also serving as one of the four cinematogra-
phers on the film, operating somewhere be-
tween the third and fourth tiers of permis-
sion, Marker produced the feature-length
documentary on 16mm under trying circum-
stances, with all of his stadium footage be-
ing shot at a distance from a position high up
in the stands or underneath the scoreboard.
The troublesome production circumstances
and the filmmaker’s relative inexperience, led
to Marker largely rejecting the film. It has re-
mained among the most elusive of his works,
though perhaps inevitably the film can now be
found on YouTube, with dreadful image and
sound quality, posted in nine parts.
Julien Faraut’s DVD Regard neuf sur
Olympia 52 (itself sponsored by Peuple et
Culture) is a history of the production of
Olympia 52, an hommage to Chris Marker, and
a disquisition on the recovery of lost films. It is
a film essay in the Marker style, with a female
commentator documenting the quest and
placing this within the broader contexts of film
art and film restoration. Marker contributes
via email replies, read out via a text-to-speech
feature (he died in 2012). There are extensive
extracts from the film, focussing in particular
on Emil Zatopek’s victory in the 10,000 me-
tres, and noting such distinctive features as
shots of preparation for events and shots of
the crowd (often easier for Marker to film, giv-
en his position, than the sports themselves).
DVDs
Letters from the film’s sponsors indicate the
pressure Marker was under to make cuts to the
film, pleas which he steadfastly ignored.
“Every film has its own soul, the soul of
the person who directed it”, the commentator
tells us. This auteurist vision is stymied some-
what by the evident limitations of the film it-
self. Marker had the mind of a film artist, but
127­
not yet the skill. His own feelings about the
film appear to have been conflicted, denying
permission for it to be shown again while al-
lowing Faraut to use ample clips, overlooking
it in his development as a filmmaker while
admitting to a great affection for it. The af-
fection seems to lie in the film he dreamt of
making rather than the work that emerged.
Faraut’s film is quirky, romantic, observant
and well researched. Its aim is to resurrect a
lost film, but ultimately what it has done, is
to remake it. It has turned Olympia 52 into the
film that Faraut wants it to be, and perhaps
what Marker would have wanted it to be too.
“We never know what we film”, the commen-
tary tells us. So does posterity know better?
There is plenty of food for thought here for
anyone involved in film archiving.
fr
Depuis 1908, des comités locaux d’organisation des Jeux
olympiques accordent des autorisations de tournage. Les
films ainsi réalisés peuvent être aussi bien des œuvres d’art
recherchées – Les Dieux du stade de Leni Riefenstahl et
Tokyo Olympiades de Kon Ichikawa – que des documen-
taires purement fonctionnels. Deuxième type de produc-
tions cinématographiques : la fourniture à des clients
étrangers d’images, filmées selon un système de pool (mise
en commun), de compétitions sportives. On trouve enfin
des films réalisés pour le compte d’organismes éducatifs.
C’est cette dernière catégorie de films qui s’est révélée pro-
blématique lors des Jeux d’Helsinki en 1952, car beaucoup
de demandes d’autorisations concernant des films édu-
catifs destinés à une projection locale ne furent envoyées
qu’après le début des Jeux. Les Jeux d’Helsinki furent en
outre les premiers à accueillir une quatrième catégorie de
tournages, avec l’autorisation donnée à des amateurs de
filmer depuis les tribunes, et certaines productions ciné-
matographiques relevaient d’un entre-deux improbable
entre professionnel et amateur.
Une production relevant de cette catégorie fut
Olympia 52, réalisé par Chris Marker, journaliste et pho-
tographe, qui deviendrait plus tard un cinéaste visionnaire.
Des circonstances de production difficiles s’ajoutant à la
relative inexpérience du cinéaste devaient l’amener à renier
a posteriori son film. Le DVD de Julien Faraut Regard neuf
sur Olympia 52, récit de la genèse d’Olympia 52, est à la
fois un hommage à Chris Marker et une réflexion sur le
sauvetage de films perdus. Son film est à la fois décalé,
romantique, perspicace et très bien documenté. L’objectif
initial était de ressusciter un film perdu, mais au final, on
peut dire qu’en réalité, il le refait. Ce faisant, Olympia 52
est devenu à la fois le film voulu par Faraut et celui qu’avait
désiré faire Marker. Il y a là matière à réflexion pour toute
personne impliquée dans le secteur des archives du film.
128
REGARD NEUF SUR OLYMPIA 52. Tamasa, 2013,
1-disc DVD, region 2, French commentary
with English subtitles option, 81mins
es
Desde 1908, los comités olímpicos locales organizadores de
los Juegos reparten derechos de grabación. Esas películas
representan un abanico que va de la obra de arte elaborada
– como Olympia de Leni Reifenstahl y Tokyo Olympiad de
Kon Ichikawa – a los documentales más funcionales. Otra
parte de las producciones fílmicas ha sido destinada a la
cobertura de los eventos deportivos para servir a los clien-
tes extranjeros. En tercer lugar, se encuentran las películas
de carácter educativo realizadas por organizaciones afi-
nes. Fue con esta parte de las películas que los problemas
llegaron durante los Juegos de Helsinki en 1952, porque
muchos permisos de filmación no se pidieron hasta que los
Juegos hubieron comenzado. Los Juegos de Helsinki fue-
ron también los primeros en introducir un cuarto concepto,
permitiendo a los aficionados filmar desde las gradas, y así
se dio el caso de algunas productoras que operaron de este
modo, entre el lado profesional y amateur.
Una de estas producciones fue Olympia 52, dirigida por
el periodista, fotógrafo y futuro director visionario Chirs
Marker. Las problemáticas circunstancias de producción y
la inexperiencia relativa del realizador hicieron que Marker
rechazara la película durante largo tiempo. El DVD Regard
neuf sur Olympia 52 de Julien Faraut propone una historia de
la producción de Olympia 52, un homenaje a Chris Marker y
una disquisición sobre la recuperación de películas perdidas.
La película de Faraut es extravagante, romántica, perspicaz
y bien documentada. Su propósito es resucitar una película
perdida, aunque finalmente el resultado es un remake de
aquella. Ha transformado Olympia 52 en lo que Faraut que-
ría que fuera – y quizá lo que Marker quiso también en su
día. Es una verdadera mina de oro para todos las personas
implicadas en la preservación cinematográfica.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without
permission.