Oi kallis Suomenmaa 1

Photo not from the movie. 1924 Summer Olympics, Paris, 12 July 1924. The "Flying Finns" dominated the long-distance running. Finland's trio at men's individual cross country: Edvin Wide, Ville Ritola and Paavo Nurmi. The first three runners for each nation to finish the event also counted towards the cross country team result. At the lead: Paavo Nurmi. The course was 10,650 meters. "The course was unusually difficult, including stone paths that were covered in knee-high thistles and weeds. This, combined with extreme weather conditions of over 40 °C and noxious fumes emitted from a power plant near the course, resulted in only 15 of the 38 starters crossing the finish line. After the event, both the Red Cross and local police spent hours searching for runners who had passed out on the course." (Text from Wikipedia: Athletics at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's individual cross country). Photo: KTLA 5 News. Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Please click on the image to expand it.

/ / FI / 1997 / Bagh, Peter von, etc. / TV documentary

Oi kallis Suomenmaa 1 – Syvä iskumme on, viha voittamaton. 1917–1929. PC: Nosferatu; Yleisradio TV1. Concept and direction by Peter von Bagh, Elina Katainen, Iikka Vehkalahti. 60’. PAL TV telecast by Yleisradio TV1, viewed in Helsinki, Sunday 2 November 1997. The first part of the 80th Anniversary TV documentary series by the well-known team. They have unearthed exciting unknown / forgotten footage, and many of the interviews are invaluable: it has still been possible to talk with living witnesses to the fight for the independence in 1917. Then again, the result is sloppier than their best work. And I resent vintage footage being reduced to ridiculous jerkiness with wrong speed and the silent frame being cropped mercilessly by the sound aperture. Too much haste this time.