Mar 20th  
The Games*       
(GB 1969)                             

Rival international athletes push themselves too far in training for the Rome Olympic Marathon.
The climactic race is made to seem more like a sprint than a marathon (with a compelling finale), in what is a self-consciously fast paced sports drama done with abrasive 60s style. Chariots of Fire covered similar material in less cynical fashion.

Written by: Erich Segal, from the novel by Hugh Atkinson.
Producer: Lester Linsk.
Director: Michael Winner.
Starring: Michael Crawford, Stanley Baker, Ryan O'Neal, Charles Aznavour, Athol Compton, Jeremy Kemp, Sam Elliott, Elaine Taylor, Stephanie Beacham, Ron Pickering, Rafe Johnson.
Photography: Robert Paynter.
Music: Francis Lai.