I don’t like running. It hurts by legs. Makes my chest ache and embarrasses me in public. So with that in mind I sat at home and watched other much faster men run very quickly.
Produced last year for the American TV series 30 for 30 and shown on the BBC earlier this year, 9.79* received a small cinematic release to coincide with the 25th anniversary of its events. Them events involving the Seoul 1988 Olympics which saw American hero Carl Lewis battle Canadian upstart Ben Johnson for gold in the 100 meters. In a massive upset Johnson claimed the medal. Three days later though Johnson was very publicly stripped off the title when he failed a drugs test. Imagine if you will the scandal that befell John Candy in Cool Runnings and you’re half way to realising the shit-storm of controversy at work here.
Director Daniel Gordon scores the impressive feet of assembling all the runners who took part in the race along with trainers. A couple of folk are no longer on this mortal coil so don’t get to have their say. The main person being the doctor who prescribed athletes with performance enhancing drugs. Almost surprisingly Johnson himself turns up, whilst never fully explaining or apologising for his actions. Then again the reasons are obvious and the time for apologies have probably past. He comes across as stoic to the point of boredom. Carl Lewis comes across as much more jovial (read; smug), sat comfortably in the knowledge that in his prime he could trounce anyone who wasn’t using performance enhancers. Plus for me growing up in the late 80s/early 90s it’s always nostalgic to see Linford Christie.
The film tracks the training processes of each of the key athletes, the event itself and the impact the drugs scandal had on the sport. Johnson’s transformation from struggling wannabee to Carl Lewis’ villainous rival is an intriguing proposition and whilst an interesting subject overall the film is documented with the dryness of a cracker. This is despite the constant uses of bombastic music to try and heighten the tension, much like a US episode of Hell’s Kitchen. Someone dropped something…. BOOOOOOMMMM! There’s also a fantastic epilogue to the proceedings where it reveals that pretty much all of the god-like Olympians where taking performance enhancing drugs at some point which goes to show that if you want to get somewhere faster, cheat. And in case you were wondering the asterix in the title indicates the disputed time. Fascinating is it not?
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