While we may have been expecting some release centered around the Olympic games, I do not think anyone expected the mammoth release the Criterion Collection announced earlier this week. Their spine #900, which will be released on December 5, is going to be:

100 Years of Olympic Films

This set contains 53 films covering 41 of the Olympic Games, from the 1912 Stockholm games to the 2012 London games. The films have been recently restored, Leni Riefenstahl’ Olympia and Kon Ichikawa’s Tokyo Olympiad in 4K. The set also comes with a 216-page book.

This is a fantastic announcement, for lovers of sport, the Olympics, documentaries, and film history in general. It will run a pretty penny, with a retail price of $399.95, but hopefully there will be some deals as the holidays come around.