Untold The Race of the Century is the latest sports documentary film released on Netflix on 6th September 2022. Part of the critically-acclaimed Untold series, it brings fresh eyes to epic tales from the wide world of sports. From football to basketball and streetball to sailing, these stories aren’t the ones you’ve heard before, even if you think you have.
Premiering weekly, each film kicks off at a pivotal moment and then delves deep into what happened beyond the headlines, as told by those who lived it, to reveal the grit, resilience, heartbreak, triumph, violence, comedy and pathos beneath the sweat. This film is the last one in the series and has a runtime of about 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Directed by Chapman Way and Maclain Way it revisits 1983, Australia winning the America’s Cup, breaking 132 years of American domination, and in the process, breaking the longest winning record in modern sporting history.
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-Untold The Race of the Century Review Contain Some Spoilers-
A chronicle of the thrilling 1983 America’s Cup, “Race of the Century” is a classic underdog story. It tells the tale of the scrappy group of Australians who band together to dethrone the New York Yacht Club, and break the longest-running win streak in the history of 132 years!
And in the most prestigious sailing competition in the world. Key members of the 1983 U.S. and Australian crews sit down for interviews sharing their experience of this ultimate race to victory.
The film starts with John Bertrand saying that he has never met a normal person who is a world champion. You have to be somewhat screwed up in your head to get out of bed and do extraordinary things and achieve greatness. I guess he could be right in some ways, as it takes strong grit, passion and lots of hard work to do something like what the Australia II team did.
America’s Cup is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America’s Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts, one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known as the defender) and the other from the yacht club that is challenging for the cup (the challenger).
There is no fixed schedule, with matches held several years apart on dates agreed between the defender and the challenger, but according to the documentary, it is held every 4 years. The most recent America’s Cup match took place in March 2021.
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The history and prestige associated with America’s Cup attract the world’s top sailors, yacht designers, wealthy entrepreneurs and sponsors. It is a test of sailing skills, boat and sail design, and fundraising and management skills. Competing for the cup is expensive, with modern teams spending more than $100 million each.
It is the sport of riches, as you need lots of money to be able to create your boat and compete in the competition. The winning trophy is given to the Yacht club which backs the sailing team and here’s what New York Yacht Club (NYYC) comes into the picture. The trophy was held by the NYYC from 1857 until 1983 and successfully defended the trophy in a row before being defeated by the Royal Perth Yacht Club, represented by the yacht Australia II.
The Australian team broke the longest winning streak of any team in any sport in the world. The headlining crew included John Bertrand (Skipper), Will Baillieu, Colin Beashel, Rob Brown, Peter Costello, Damian Fewster, Sir James Hardy (alternate helm), Ken Judge, Skip Lissiman, John Longley, Scott McAllister, Brian Richardson, Phil Smidmore, Grant Simmer, and Hugh Treherne.
It was like coming together of people from various backgrounds for one simple cause, to beat the Americans. However, the headstart credit should be given to Alan Bond, who funded the whole project and Ben Lexcen, a revolutionary designer that truly changed the course of the sport and incredibly helped the sailing team.
Australia II is the 12 Metre challenge boat sailed by John Bertrand to win the 1983 America’s Cup. Lexcen’s Australia II design featured a winged keel which gave the boat a significant advantage in sailing faster and pointing higher into the wind. But it wouldn’t have been possible without the undying spirit of the crew that sailed to victory.
Summing Up: Untold The Race of the Century
The documentary gives the complete perspective of how did the Australian team come up and about in the competition and how much pressure there is on the skipper of the defending team. While we feel happy for the Australia II victory, we also feel empathy for Dennis Conner, skipper of the American team.
You can tell the amount of pressure he must be under when we hear the members of the New York Yacht Club jokingly saying that the skipper’s head would replace the losing cup. The New York Yacht Club were ferocious defenders of America’s Cup. They oozed style, wealth, and this unbeatableness and would do anything to win like, the controversy created surrounding the keel of the Australian boat.
But the challenging team thought that it was time that they had to do something radical. How they had to mentally train themselves to believe in themselves, that they belong on the world stage. And rightly so, they came out with all guns blazing and showed the world that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
Untold The Race of the Century is currently streaming on Netflix.
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