Icarus
A filmmaker’s doping experiment becomes a high-stakes investigation into the political machinery behind international sports corruption.
Overview
A gripping exploration of the dark side of sports, revealing a scandal that shook the Olympic world.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- investigative
- paranoid
- documentary night
- sports viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the documentary eye-opening and gripping, praising its ability to turn sports doping into compelling geopolitical suspense.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bryan Fogel begins with a personal doping experiment before his collaboration with Grigory Rodchenkov exposes an international scandal.
Grigory Rodchenkov becomes a central whistleblower whose disclosures place him in serious danger.
The film connects doping practices to failures and alleged corruption within anti-doping and Olympic institutions.
The film moves from experimental procedure and testing loopholes toward unexplained death, geopolitical conflict, and Olympic scandal.
Films like Icarus, and why
Citizenfour
investigative documentary structure, whistleblower testimony, and escalating exposure of state power and institutional secrecy
The Dissident
fact-based political investigation combining personal risk, geopolitical stakes, and revelations about systemic wrongdoing
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
exposé-driven documentary filmmaking focused on corporate or institutional corruption and the consequences of hidden misconduct
Movie Details
- Director
- Bryan Fogel
- Release Date
- 2017-06-03
- Runtime
- 121 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (859)
Cast
- Bryan Fogel
- Dave Zabriskie
- Don Catlin
- Grigory Rodchenkov
- Scott Brandt
- Ben Stone
- Richard Pound
- Richard McLaren
- Nikita Kamaev
- Thomas Bach
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Icarus about?
- A filmmaker’s doping experiment becomes a high-stakes investigation into the political machinery behind international sports corruption.
- What is Icarus like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Icarus as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Icarus violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Icarus as mild.
- What did critics think of Icarus?
- Critics broadly found the documentary eye-opening and gripping, praising its ability to turn sports doping into compelling geopolitical suspense.
- Which films are like Icarus?
- Films with a similar feel include Citizenfour, The Dissident, and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.
- How long is Icarus?
- Icarus runs 121 minutes.
- Where can I watch Icarus?
- In United States, Icarus streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
