Hitler’s Games: Berlin 1936 in Colour

In 1931, Germany was awarded the Olympic Games in the hope this would draw them into the international community and world peace would be promoted through sport. For two weeks in August 1936 cameras captured the world’s greatest sporting spectacle, including the Gold Medal triumphs of record-breaking sprinter Jesse Owens. The Berlin Olympics were groundbreaking – many innovations introduced in 1936 such as television coverage and the torch relay became part of every subsequent Games. Hitler’s Games in Colour tells the story of the remarkable amateurs who excelled, but also how Hitler used the Games as propaganda for his brutal regime, to show the Nazis as benign and their military ambitions as modest. Using black and white archive, transformed by cutting-edge restoration and colourisation, this is the story of 16 days that fooled the world…

Directed by Jonathan Mayo, Hitler’s Games: Berlin 1936 in Colour leans on a strong ensemble — Stephen Mangan, Guy Walters, Katja Hoyer — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about history titles of 2026.