Editor’s Note: “Race” and “Eddie the Eagle” are both playing in Mansfield’s Cinemark Theatre.
They competed in Olympic Games separated by five decades. One was a tremendous athlete who earned four gold medals in 1936. The other was the antithesis, an average man simply happy to compete in his event and live to tell about it.
There are far more differences than similarities between track legend Jesse Owens and British ski jumper Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards. But one theme runs true through bio pics recently released about both men – the desire to compete.
The movie “Race” follows the trail blazed by Owens (played by Stephan James), a track star at The Ohio State University, who went to Berlin in 1936 and won four gold medals right under the nose of Nazi leader Adolph Hitler and his propaganda czar Joseph Goebbels.
Hitler and Goebbels hoped to use those Summer Olympic Games to demonstrate the superiority of the German people and its athletes – hopes shattered when Owens won gold in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the long jump and finally a leg of the winning 400-meter relay team.
In the movie “Eddie the Eagle,” filmmakers profile an unlikely hero who overcame his many physical limitations, and the British sports authorities worried about embarrassment, to compete in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.
Edwards (played by Taron Egerton) was no factor in his 70- and 90-meter ski jump events. He finished last. But he set British ski jump records in both events and captivated the hearts of those in attendance and those watching around the world.
So what does the great Jesse Owens have in common with Eddie the Eagle?
Heart.
Desire.
And a powerful will to compete that overcame roadblocks aimed at stopping them from competing.
In the case of Owens, many of his supporters wanted him to boycott the Berlin Games in protest of what the German government was doing to its Jewish population. Owens strongly considered that argument before deciding that competing – and winning – could send an even stronger message.
For Edwards, he had to convince British Olympic officials he should be allowed to compete in a sport fairly foreign to the English people. There were no other British ski jumpers. Rather than simply allow him to compete, the authorities there demanded he jump a minimum distance, which he finally did just before the games began.
Both men also had coaches who had significant influences on their efforts, though the battles between coaches and athletes rage in both movies. In real life, OSU track coach Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis) helped to mold Owens’ raw talent into a sprinting and jumping machine. Ski jump coach Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman) turned Edwards from a neophyte into a man capable of not killing himself coming off the ski jump.
Both movies yank on the heartstrings – even when you know the results of their athletic efforts. In the case of Owens, watching him stick it to Hitler and celebrate on the track with fellow USA athletes and even a German competitor seem camp, but they work.
In the case of Edwards, I remember well his exploits in Canada and they are as fun on the big screen as they were when I watched them on live television.
Both movies have fared well at the box office. In its first two weeks, “Race” has taken in $13.6 million at the box office. “Eddie the Eagle” earned $6 million in its first weekend.
I don’t suspect either of these movies will be nominated for Oscars. But you don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy them. Sports at its best is human drama and conflict – and all of us can relate to and enjoy seeing it.
We can’t sprint like Owens or fly like the Eagle, but it’s fun to munch on popcorn and watch them come to life again.
(Carl Hunnell is an old newspaper guy who retired after 30 years in the business. He has another full-time job now, but he enjoys covering sports for the Richland Source and loves watching movies.)
