Salute

[Diane65]

I'm guessing the real haters here never even bothered to go and see it.
Of those that did, looks like I am in a minority. Again. Lol.

Could have been so much better.

Its fine to be in the minority as you are being true to yourself and your own opinion which is always a good thing.

[Spring]

Saw this in Vue W12. Have a few walk-out. I supposed it's not every one cuppa tea!
I personally found it quited educational and inspiring as I was not fimiliar with the subject...how far we have come in such a short time...the ripple effect will continue one hopes..

[prettyxcool]

I'm with alythonian and Beate on this. I was so moved by what the three men stood for and did get quite emotional towards the end. 7/10

Ditto here. I was very moved by this documentary. I thought it was very interesting and made me want to find out more about these three Olympians and their human rights stance. Obviously, as it is directed and written by his nephew, it veers more on his uncle, than the two black athletes, which is a shame. 7/10

I too would have loved to go to the Q&A with Tommie Smith, who smashed the world record!

[McG]

Well, what can I say that's not already been said . . . I kept waiting for the film to start! I had not checked anything about the "film" before I went other than I knew the subject. I thought the start of the men speaking and footage was just to set the scene and was waiting for the story (with actors!) to begin. (Note to self . . . check before you go in future!)
Once I accepted that I was actually watching a documentary, I settled into it.
It could have done with being the length of a tv documentary, approx. 1 hour and the story told in a more sequential order. I did find the "programme" interesting and, particularly as the Olympics are about to begin, made me realise how revolutionary the salute was. Would I have been happy to p*y to see "Salute" ? . . . No. In fact, I would have been unhappy!
I saw this at Glasgow Braehead which was not even half full. We had 7 walk-outs.
Marks 5/10 purely for interest of content.
As a "film", 3/10.

[cinefila1]

Such a powerful moment in history could have done with a much better documentary. Although it held my attention till the end, I am not surprised some people walked out: it was shooting in so many directions at the beginning that it was difficult to see where it was all heading.

[mupton]

Yep pretty much with the consensus here. Great story that could have been told a lot better and although Norman's stance was an interesting perspective, it was slightly ridiculous to marginalise the two black athletes and then threw in lines about how Carlos's wife killed herself. That's an incredible tragedy and it really should have been followed up so that we could understand how it affected their personal lives.

https://moviefilmreviews.wordpress.com/ ... ew-salute/

I understand what you mean; though there have has at least one documentary and a TV movie about Carlos and Smith. I liked that they looked at it through Norman's eyes. It gives the story a different perspective and, afterall it was orginally made in 2008 for an Australian audience who given what happened at 2000 Games have a short memory (including Cathy Freeman!). That said it did not tell that Norman fell on hard times towards the end of his life. He contracted gangrene in 1985 after tearing his Achilles Tendon during a charity race, which nearly led to his leg being amputated after a botched operation. This led to depression, heavy drinking and pain killer addiction.

Actually, Carlos and Smith did well for themselves with NFL careers (though a short one for Carlos). No doubt they got a lot of grief at home, but things in American society were rapidly changing; they were embraced by the US Sporting establishment and in late 1970s entered the 'hall of fame' and both were part of the 84 Olympics organising team; recognition never according by the Australians to Norman. Both are college coaches.

Yes, the film could have been in better hands; both i suspect the film would not have been made, and the story would have been left untold, if it wasn't for Norman's nephew.

[Pchibber1]

Documentary on the big screen not quite my cup of tea. Worthy topic but certainly would not have pa*d money to see it as its more of a DVD rental for me.

[yogi]

Yep pretty much with the consensus here. Great story that could have been told a lot better and although Norman's stance was an interesting perspective, it was slightly ridiculous to marginalise the two black athletes and then threw in lines about how Carlos's wife killed herself. That's an incredible tragedy and it really should have been followed up so that we could understand how it affected their personal lives.

https://moviefilmreviews.wordpress.com/ ... ew-salute/

I understand what you mean; though there have has at least one documentary and a TV movie about Carlos and Smith. I liked that they looked at it through Norman's eyes. It gives the story a different perspective and, afterall it was orginally made in 2008 for an Australian audience who given what happened at 2000 Games have a short memory (including Cathy Freeman!). That said it did not tell that Norman fell on hard times towards the end of his life. He contracted gangrene in 1985 after tearing his Achilles Tendon during a charity race, which nearly led to his leg being amputated after a botched operation. This led to depression, heavy drinking and pain killer addiction.

Actually, Carlos and Smith did well for themselves with NFL careers (though a short one for Carlos). No doubt they got a lot of grief at home, but things in American society were rapidly changing; they were embraced by the US Sporting establishment and in late 1970s entered the 'hall of fame' and both were part of the 84 Olympics organising team; recognition never according by the Australians to Norman. Both are college coaches.

Yes, the film could have been in better hands; both i suspect the film would not have been made, and the story would have been left untold, if it wasn't for Norman's nephew.

I feel I've just learnt more from your post than the whole documentary last night.

It was pretty poor really, it felt at points like a first assembly of the material before the proper edit began and at it's best a TV History Channel type documentary. It wasn't just the execution, I thought the focus was all over the place. It spent an enternity on the race and it's build up and then no pun intended raced through the aftermath.

I don't think there's anyway this would be anywhere near a cinema if it wasn't for the Olympics, when the bar is so high after When We Were Kings and Senna.

At least it wasn't 120mins as IMDB claimed, maybe the person who put that just felt like it was that long!

[JMP]

Smith is going to be on Newsnight tonight.

[Ms Thrifty]

Yesterday I went to the (London) screening with Q + A with Dr Tommie Smith - couldn't spot any familiar faces but was anyone else there? I did find that the Q + A made it more worthwhile; I think had I seen the film as a standalone event I'd have gained less from the experience. That said I agree with most of the criticism here: the film could have been so much better in so many ways and yes, though Marley and Senna were about single subjects rather than several people and an event, those landmark documentaries have set the bar high.

In true free film fashion the preview started very late (a good 30 mins), and that was after speeches from various people, and having also seen the length advertised as 2 hours on IMDB, I was relieved to hear that it would be more like 90 minutes! Despite the late start there was still time for about 45 minutes of Q + A afterwards and Dr Tommie Smith is an entertaining speaker and was warmly received. However, the film left me with so many questions unanswered, not least - ungenerous as it may seem to say this - what exactly it was that Peter Norman was supposed to have done that was so groundbreaking and noteworthy? Yes, I know he was there on the winners' podium and that he wore the human rights sticker/badge, but was that it? And if so, did that really mean so much at the time? If so I felt the film failed to make this clear, as with other aspects which were hinted at, implied, or mentioned in passing only. All in all a missed opportunity, but maybe now someone else will make a superior version. Still, it certainly showed the Olympics in a different light, especially when you remember that Mexico was followed by Munich.