The Melbourne Rendezvous (1957): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1957, The Melbourne Rendezvous is a documentary film directed by René Lucot, running about 106 minutes.

What it’s about. Rendez-Vous a Melbourne is the official filmed record of the 1956 Olympic Games in Australia. At the time of its release, there was much controversy in the documentary-filmmaking world over the fact that the Aussies signed over exclusive distribution rights to a French firm, resulting in a boycott from other movie companies. None of this matters when the film is seen today: though not in the same league as Leni Reifenstahl's Olympiad, this 110-minute extravaganza is consistently entertaining. Fifteen cameras were utilized to lens every aspect of the event; it was then up to editors Jean Dudrumet and Monique Lacombe to burrow through miles and miles of film to cull the highlights seen herein. Portions of Rendez-Vous a Melbourne have since resurfaced in practically every Olympics documentary -- not to mention the many TV specials attending the now-biannual event.

Who’s in it. The Melbourne Rendezvous stars François Périer as Narrator and Raymond Marcillac as Narrator.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.0/10, The Melbourne Rendezvous has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Criterion Channel. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Melbourne Rendezvous page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Melbourne Rendezvous tend to enjoy One Direction: This Is Us, Burn the Stage: The Movie, BTS World Tour: Love Yourself - Japan Edition and Senna.