Movies about Winter Olympics a slippery lot

Although not nearly as spectacular as the Summer Games, the 2010 Winter Olympics kick off Saturday morning when athletes from 80 nations hit the ice and snow in Vancouver, Canada.

For 16 days, Olympians will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in 15 categories. Some of the events are well known to Americans, such as figure skating. American skaters including Dorothy Hamill, Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi and Peggy Fleming have brought home 44 medals since the first Winter Games in 1924.

The top event for Americans has been speed skating with 63 medals over the years. Eric Heiden won five gold medals in speed skating at the Lake Placid Games. Illinois native Bonnie Blair also has five gold medals, including medals won at three consecutive Winter Olympics.

Americans have not fared well in some events including cross-country skiing, curling and the ski jump. Americans have won only one medal in each of those events. The luge is another weak spot for Americans with only four medals over the years.

Americans have never won a medal in the biathlon (cross-country ski and shoot) nor the Nordic combined (ski jumping and cross-country skiing) though there is hope that this may be the year Americans finally win a medal in the latter.

Hollywood traditionally loves sports movies but has only smiled on the Winter Olympics a handful of times, mostly with movies about figure skating and hockey.

Norwegian skating sensation Sonja Henie won medals at three Winter Games and then made a dozen Hollywood movies that somehow always found a way for her to lace up the skates such as “Sun Valley Serenade.” American skater Lynn Holly-Johnson starred as an Olympic hopeful in “Ice Castles,” which was remade last year.

The surprising American hockey team of 1980 has been the focus of two miles: “Miracle on Ice” in 1981 and “Miracle” in 2004.

There have been occasional movies about other winter sports including “Men with Brooms” about curling, which involves throwing a stone down an icy path with teammates armed with brooms sweeping furiously in front of the stone. It looks even sillier, believe me.

Here are six films available on video and DVD that feature the Winter Olympics or its athletes.

“The Cutting Edge” (1992) – D.B. Sweeney is a former hockey player who partners with Moira Kelly in a last-ditch attempt to win the pairs figure skating gold medal. They start out hating each other but eventually … you get the idea. Other stars include Roy Dotrice and Terry O’Quinn.

“Downhill Racer” (1969) – Robert Redford is a cold, calculating skiing machine who doesn’t play nice with others including his Olympic coach (Gene Hackman) in director Michael Ritchie’s film debut. Other stars include Camilla Sparv as the woman who almost gets through to Redford.

“Cool Runnings” (1993) – John Candy stars as a disgraced Olympian hired to coach the first Jamaican bobsled team in this comedy based on a true story. Other stars include Leon, Doug E. Doug, Malik Yoba and Rawle D. Davis.

“Miracle” (2004) – Kurt Russell stars as Herb Brooks, the unheralded coach who took a team of little known college hockey players and upset the Russian juggernaut en route to an unlikely gold medal at the 1980 games in Lake Placid. Other stars include Patricia Clarkson, Sean McCann and Noah Emmerich.

“Blades of Glory” (2007) – Will Ferrell and Jon Heder (pictured above) star as disgraced Olympic figure skaters who despite being banned from the Games find a loophole that allows them to compete as partners in this goofy sports comedy. Other stars include Will Arnett and Amy Poehler as ruthless rival skaters, Jenna Fischer and Craig T. Nelson.