Does anybody have this movie/documentary? If you own it or have seen it, is it any good? Is it worth buying?
Does anybody have this movie/documentary? If you own it or have seen it, is it any good? Is it worth buying?
Im also interested in any info on this movie, has anybody seen it?
I was able to rent it from a local video store. It's pretty good, but not long enough - they ignore much of Geb's career. Anyway, if you can't rent it, try amazon.com.
Thanks for the reply. Do they show some of his races?
i taped it off tv and i was a little disappointed in this movie. it does show the 1996 olympic 5k...it was pretty boring though - and i usually love running movies. but i would recommend at least renting it if you like running movies. the end it pretty cool.
The movie climax is the 10,000m in Atlanta (1996)...this was Geb's 1st Olympic medal
The thing I don't like is how they make it seem like that was the first time Geb really burst on the world scene when in fact he had already been world champion and world recordholder.
It's kind of a hodge-podge of corny reenactments, interviews with Geb and real running footage. Personally, I think it would have been a much better movie if they had made it strictly a documentary and skipped the silly reenactments of Geb's youth. But we don't get a lot of running movies, so we have to take what we can get.
On the upside, there are some interviews with Geb which show him to be a gentle, warm and likeable guy. Also cool footage of 1996 Olympics. And there is a long segment at the beginning or end (forget which) that just shows several minutes of Geb running over a savannah while the credits are rolling...I found it mesmerizing just to watch him running up close without interruption.
I got the movie off of ebay for a couple bucks. It's a bit boring at times, but I love the 10k, they show quite a few laps. Also the beginning where Geb just runs is awesome, as the camera just follows him from the side.
it's a disney movie which means they relly relly oversimpliffied the story of his life and career. but its cool because he stars as himself...don't see that too often...and the footage from the 10k race is great, i think. i was there that night in atlanta and i still get goosebumps when they ring the bell for the last lap and he has all those flashbacks from his youth and training...and then he just drops bombs on tergat's moms. awesome baby.
It could have been a lot better. My problem is that they cast a light skinned kid with straight hair as the young Geb--totally unrealistic. The 10k at the end was not the most exciting race, either. Basically, Geb just sat and kicked. It would have been better if they had focused on a more dramatic race, like a his world record. The footage of him running is awesome, and the stuff he has to go through just to get to Addis Abbaba is interesting.
I got mine on ebay for about $5, so I didn't lose much. Don't pay more than $10.
Funny thing is, Geb IS a light-skinned cat with straight hair.
And the kid who played him is Geb's nephew Yonas Zengaw.
I really enjoyed the movie! I thought the re-enactments of his upbringing were amazing, and the landscapes are breathtaking. It's also cool how it shows his first marathon, which was a total disaster. I didn't think it was boring it all, it is not totally about running, but I think that's cool! Those African runners are truly amazing, you get a close-up view of the best one, ever!
Then again, I am a huge Disney/Geb fan (who isn't?), so I may be biased!
This film was a movie of the month at runningmovies.com during this past year. They describe the contact and give some links on where to buy it as well as a listing of Geb's 17 world record performances.
yeah i would have bought it just for the first 5 minutes and the last 15 minutes it was kinda slow in the middle as someone else said. The opening scene where hes running over that rough terrain at a disgustingly fast pace(for me and most people) gave me some insight on how hes so good- its much easier when ur feet dont touch the ground when you run hmph ;)
great movie
I show it to my elementary school kids every year
Olympic Gold Medal's are more significant than world records for Ethiopia. I think the movie does a decent job of pointing out how important it is to win an Olympic medal in Ethiopia. Yifter's double, and prior to that the marathon wins in '60, '64, and '68 are huge...I would argue much more important than world records. This was Geb's 1st Olympic championship, linking him to the previous distance champions from Ethiopia. It may be less significant in the US by the "average" persons standpoint...the average American probably expects the US to win at most everything, and we still take in a decent share of Olympic track medals...just not in the distance events....but for Ethipoia, one medal in anything is a BIG deal...
I agree the movie was average, but has a few moments worth checking out...and the 10k final was pretty tough. As I recall the second 5k was run in something like 13:11...ouch! Tergat provided much of the excitement with his push from 2k out...incredible studs
Mike