For London-based vintage pro-tennis enthusiasts (and fans of great sport documentaries in general): this Sunday there will be an afternoon screening of William Klein's The French, a documentary on the 1981 Roland-Garros, at Tate Modern. The doc ill be screened in full, from 16mm film and with English subtitles (on the only DVD available the bits in French are not subtitled)! www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/film/william-klein-french
"Featuring Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Ilie Nstase and Yannick Noah, Kleins superb, offbeat documentary goes behind the scenes at Roland-Garros, better known as The French Open, or simply The French. 1981 was a pivotal year in the pantheon of tennis, and Klein captures all of the pressures, angst, artistry and grand slam energy of a two-week sporting circus packed with champions, chaotic crowds, quaint security, shy stars and shouting show-ponies. Klein and three camera crews were given total access to the tournament, and miles of filmstock and unique footage detail all of the glory, fear and passion, from locker-rooms and massage tables to television studios, umpires chairs, the VIP village, and a cast of crazies, cranks, snobs, groupies, gurus, magicians, hustlers, heroes, clowns, sponsors, supermen and superwomen. "