Pictorial Parade No. 131 - Top o' the Town Race
This excerpt from a 1962 edition of the National Film Unit's magazine film series features reigning Olympic 800m champion Peter Snell participating in a charity road race on Auckland streets. "Any one of 20 charities stands to make a hundred pounds as 20 roadsters hot-foot it around Auckland's Top o' the Town course." Roadsters also include Bill Baillie and Barry Magee. National hero Snell is in the bunch early on, but coming down a crowded and wet Karangahape Road he is of course, "the man to watch".
Peter Snell, Athlete
This NFU classic tells Peter Snell's story, up until just before his triumph at the Tokyo Olympics (he'd already won 800 metres gold in Rome, and beaten the world record for the mile). Snell's commentary — focused, candid — plays over footage of training and some of his key races. "It always gives a feeling of exhilaration to run in the New Zealand all black singlet." Snell offers insights into the marathon-style training of coach Arthur Lydiard (15 miles daily, 100 miles a week), and there's priceless footage of Snell running through bush and leaping fences in Auckland's Waiatarua hills.
On the Run
This film showcases legendary running coach Arthur Lydiard's training methods, through some of his most famous pupils — including John Walker and Heather Thompson. 'Arthur's boys' (Peter Snell, Murray Halberg, Barry Magee) scored attention by winning unheralded medals at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Lydiard later led the 'flying Finns' to similar success. His method revolves around long runs that build stamina to complement speed. It was influential in popularising jogging globally. A highlight of the footage is Jack Foster's exhilarating descent of a steep scree slope.
The Golden Hour
This documentary tells the story of New Zealand sport’s ‘golden hour’, when on 2 September 1960 in Rome, two Arthur Lydiard-coached runners won Olympic gold: 21-year-old Peter Snell in the 800 metres, then Murray Halberg in the 5000 metres. The underdog tale mixes archive footage with recreations and candid interviews (Halberg talks about his battle with disability and doubt). The NZ Herald's Russell Baillie praised the result as “riveting” and “our Chariots of Fire”. It screened on TV prior to the 2012 London Olympics and was nominated for an International Emmy Award in 2013.
Dean O'Gorman
Dean O’Gorman starred in his first movie (Bonjour Timothy) at the age of only 17. Since then he has had leading roles in another four, including a 2017 remake of classic road movie Goodbye Pork Pie. En route O'Gorman has played dwarves (The Hobbit), jealous brothers (The Bad Seed), American movie legends (Trumbo) and Norse gods (The Almighty Johnsons).
Steven O'Meagher
Producer Steven O'Meagher is the founder of Auckland production company Desert Road, whose work includes acclaimed TV police drama Harry and Emmy-nominated docudrama The Golden Hour. O'Meagher developed Bill O'Brien's Aramoana massacre account 22 Hours of Terror into acclaimed feature Out of the Blue. The film went on to box office success and multiple Qantas awards.
Jools Topp
Jools Topp is half of performing duo The Topp Twins. The sisters have taken their songs and comic characters to stages across the world, plus successful television shows The Topp Twins and Topp Country. The duo's story was told in 2009's Untouchable Girls, the most successful local documentary released in New Zealand cinemas to date.
Peter Wells
Peter Wells broke ground as one of the first New Zealanders to tell gay stories on-screen. Aside from his work as an author, he explored gay and historical themes in several acclaimed drama and documentaries — including pioneering TV drama A Death in the Family, colourful big screen melodrama Desperate Remedies and Georgina Beyer documentary Georgie Girl. Wells died on 18 February 2019.