Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards: High Flyer Producer/Director - Sam Oldmeadow Camera - Joe Blackford Sound/Lighting - Tom Carstairs Editor - Darren Dunne Production Manager - Jack Power
I remember watching Eddie with my Dad when I was a child. He was at home dyeing of liver cancer. I was 8 years old; my father got such a laugh from watching Eddie just keep trying! We cheered him on every time we saw him. I'm not trying for a sad story, just wanted to emphasize that Eddie gave people smiles even in their darkest hours. Great Olympic spirit!
Eddie - you made thousands of people grab a chance - not to be afraid - you are loveable and humble.......people will talk about you for centuries to come! you made your mark - and we are all proud of you. From me......thank you very much ...you helped me so much! You should be an inspirational speaker traveling the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yea, to pursue a ski jumping career as an adult.. Its absolutelty insane and so historically cool. You just need a mental strength and balls like no other. Lets face this guy is got balls like iron. I really really admire this individual
Eddie, I remember watching you in 1988. You were great and yes you did represent what the Olympics were meant to be. Thanks for chasing you dream. You are an inspiration.
yes that Olympic spirit is gone. Like ice hockey in the Olympics now a bunch of pros take a two weeks off vacation play real shitty hockey. They gave nothing no sacrifice just a week holiday for some rich guys. Eddie was truly an inspiration and still is What makes him special he is not a spoiled jerk he is like one of us who goes out and does the weekend warrior
Such a modest and humble man. I rem back in 1988 he captured the heart of the British nation. The whole family were sitting around the TV to watch his Olympic jump live. We just wanted him to land safe and sound, it did not matter that he came last, he was already a hero for getting there. A national treasure. I hope that the film provides the man with financial stability into old age. Shame about his marriage failing but guess that happens to many of us. Legend.
Legend. An inspiration to anyone who wants to achieve something. The 'level' of achievement is irrelevant. He got what he wanted. Hats off to Eddie Edwards.
This guy is the real deal. I don't know what impresses me more. That he made it to the Olympics or that he's still working as a plasterer after he's now the most famous ski jumper of all time. He really is. Even Matti Nykänen is internationally (and outside the hard core fan base of the sport) known by more people today thanks to the film that was made about Eddie Edwards. No disrespect to the most supreme ski jumper ever, but that's a fact. Eddie Edward's story is amazingly inspiring and he's a truly remarkable man. A great British sportsman. God bless him. Greetings from Germany.
At first, you laugh at him and his performance. Then you start to think: it takes big balls to sit on that beam up there and let yourself go. Every jump is a victory. Eddie Edwards is an amazing human being.
Well, Mr. Edwards, you are again a celebrity tonight as we watched your story unfold in the theater. Having not been familiar with it before, you have inspired us over here in Utah in the USA. Thank you for being so brave and giving it all you had. Very inspirational! :)
Eddie is an inspiration to all those who want to compete . He exemplified the Olympic ideal, such a shame the people in charge of the Olympics didn't see it that way . Great film ,great guy .
My husband and I saw Eddie The Eagle over this past weekend, and loved it. Such a refreshing, heartwarming movie. Eddie's determination and strength is an inspiration to us all.
Only just saw the film,dropped a tear,had no idea what EDDIE had been through,but hey,we are BRITISH and LOVE our underdogs because of thier spirit. EAGLE is unique.......what brit has ever bettered him? Well done Edward Edwards,i was only 25 at the time so had no concept and laughed with a lot of others,but i grew up,and through not knowing the truth we are all ignorant,bless your soul EDDY....................................
This guy had multiple talents and was always on the bubble, he shown grit and determination to take up a sport then not long later be in the Olympics, he shown true british grit and determination, of course nobody likes that because it means you have to keep up! Of course him shaming 10 year professionals at the time didn't help! Well done eddie, a true national gem
This guy is so genuine. Honour and respect to him. I loved him at the end of the end of the 80's and so glad now to watch the real story about him now and had tears for hours :)
What comes through most is a level-headed, down to earth man who achieved a dream. No airs or graces, or big 'I am' attitude. A British Olympic Legend, whose only goal was to have the chance to compete at the highest level - and he did it.
Who care's how short his jumps were. It takes major balls just to go down the 90m ramp...Hat's off to Eddie!! I would have shit my pants just looking down the ramp. And he's an Olympian for life!!!....nobody can ever take that away...
Eddy the Eagle Edwards, One of the BRAVEST SPORTSMEN EVER. I have stood at the bottom of the Innsbruck ski jump & boy oh boy it is scary . He deserved a medal just for considering doing it.
Eddie Edwards was fantastic on the slopes back then. He is a real hero for the sport of ski jumping I think. He never gave up and showed what great spirit and determination he had. I can still vividly remember watching Eddie do he's ski jump back in 1988 during the winter Olympics in Calgary when it was shown here in the UK live on BBC 1. I was 15 years old at the time and saw him do that jump live. It was the most amazing thing back then. I will never, ever forget it. The 1980s was in the days before freeview, satellite multi-channel tv, no internet/wi-fi, no PC's, tablets, technology was still pretty basic. This was in the days of home computers of the microchip when we still commonly used video recorders or VCRs. The UK if not the world was a very different place back then. I saw the 'Eddie The Eagle' movie tonight at the cinema/theatre here in the UK and thought it was a brilliant feel good film, I throughly enjoyed it and will be buying it when it comes out on DVD/bluray.
We Canadians LOVED you! We thought you were the BOMB!!! (Canadians, that is...) We LOVED the whole thing! you had balls of STEEL! That slope was STEEP!
Yes but one of yours turned his back on Canada , and took Eddie’s British record away from him . Poor show ! “Canadian-born Glynn Pedersen was raised in Canada but was born to English parents. As a result, Glynn went about changing his nationality to ensure he could compete for Great Britain at the Salt Lake City Games. He went on to finish in 48th position at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.”
I SO, remember those Calgary Olympic Games! Even though, Canada didn’t win a gold medal that year, I remember being thrilled about Elizabeth Manley’s silver medal.... AND, Eddie the Eagle!
Watched him when I was growing up. Loved it. So he didn't jump far and got more publicity at the bottom end of the sport but so what? He turned a fairly unpopular sport into a spectacle. Which brings me to those terrible specs, kooky charisma and bulldog looks. (Sorry Eddie). I applaud him for being such a determined, good sport despite it all being against him. Why did I bring his looks into it? Cos if he was a glamour nobody would've tried to ban him. You're a fucking hero. And a MUCH more eloquent person than most sportspeople. Well done you
Awesome guy. The Olympic spirit. Saw the film this evening. Little did I know the struggle eddie had had just to get to the Olympics. An eye opener. Makes me realise that we all have to struggle and persevere in all our lives.
Eddie was one of best alpine skiers in UK early 80s and was about to take part olympics already 1984. So he wasn`t total loser, beginner or something. He has special british charm which made him a star.
@B Davis I'm not meaning literally, I'm meaning figuratively. You are taking the officialdom stance, whereas I take the participation of the olympic games in it's truest sense. Amateurs like Eddy showed the way, but folks like you want to have it so the ordinary ski guy is shut out of the games.
Everybody loves the underdog! i´ve met him as a child and he signed my very first pair of skis i´ve ever had. What an ispiration it was for a youngster.
We love you Eddie! All these years later and you will always have those who truly and fully respect you for what you did. You have a quality to you that unfortunately some people will Crucify you for....but only because they Envy it.
Have to add this comment: This is the way an interview should be done: 1. Camera OFF, ask question, 2. Turn camera on, let interviewee respond, UNINTERRUPTED, till finished; 3. Repeat as needed. Eddie being "almost banned" by the IOC really shows the hypocrisy of that group. They were punishing HIM for the fact that people liked and respected him and HIS achievements, and for embodying the Olympic ideal, which is AMATEUR athletes competing. Today's Olympic athletes are not amateurs in ANY sense of the word, except perhaps in the narrowest, most hair-splitting legalities of a bookkeeping term. Massive respect to this gentleman for what he did and who he is.
That was a lovely little film, I really liked it. Eddie spoke very eloquently and I agree, it's very un-Olympian how he was treated. For me, he will always embody the true spirit of sportsmanship, courage and determination.
After I had seen the film. I Love u man, it’s show everyone should have a chance to do what they love. Great story Both film and real life. It’s inspire other in what you can do even you are at the bottom, it’s to never give up. Keep moving forward.
He should look back on this with fondness and despite 'The Establishment of sport' (bunch of British toffs) being the short sighted ones, he not only achieved his ambition against all the odds, he gave an awful lot of people fond memories too.
Wish i had a time machine to take me back to Calgary ,Eddie was then and still is an Olympic hero ,and the film is brilliant too ,all this at the same time as the Jamaican bobsleigh team ,for that brief moment they were the hero's of those games
Michael "Eddy the Eagle" Edwards is still the essence of what the Olympics was all about .....that "heart" that he had back then has been sadly lost in todays Olympics.
One of three of my all time favourite sporting heroes. It's that never take no attitude and embracing the Olympic spirit that gets me. Graeme Obree, another of my all time sporting heroes, had similar fights with governing bodies because his face didn't fit. The third is Alex Higgins if anyone is interested but that's another story.
You should be intensely proud of all you achieved, I hope you are happy with the film IT seems a bit more fairy tale than it probably was ... BUT it shows the true olympic spirit ... I wish I could find the Ron Pickering commentary... Really happy for you ;-)
This was the first documentary film I produced and directed about a great man. If you liked it check out my latest film trailer here about another great man: vimeo.com/113204936
I like Eddie, too. He's a real fighter and a kind guy. But not so much because he just perpetuated the stereotype of the underdog becoming famous for one reason or another. I rather respect him because he cast a doubt on the merciless merit principle so overvalued in our western societies. And by the way: It's quite revealing that officials ensured that the relevant admission regulations were amended to sideline poor Eddie. It seems that grey eminences behind the scenes rather regard lone and quirky fighters like Eddie as freeloaders raining on the top athletes' parade. Anyway: Keep going Eddie! Greetings from Germany!
