Icarus

"Truth is the new banned substance."

2017 2h 1m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 862

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

While investigating the furtive world of illegal doping in sports, director Bryan Fogel connects with renegade Russian scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov—a pillar of his country’s “anti-doping” program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia’s state-sponsored Olympic doping program.

“Truth is the new banned substance.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Bryan Fogel
Self
Dave Zabriskie
Self
Don Catlin
Self
Grigory Rodchenkov
Self
Scott Brandt
Self
Ben Stone
Self
Richard Pound
Self
Richard McLaren
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Bryan Fogel
Writers: Bryan Fogel, Mark Monroe, Jon Bertain
Languages: Russian, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Russian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Icarus Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Bryan Fogel, shot by Jake Swantko. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Adam Peters. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jon Bertain shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bryan Fogel and Dave Zabriskie and Don Catlin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Truth is the new banned substance.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Bryan Fogel directs. Jake Swantko behind the camera. Adam Peters scores. Jon Bertain cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Russian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 9 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Russian, English.
3Part of the "Icarus Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Bryan Fogel, shot by Jake Swantko. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Adam Peters. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jon Bertain shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bryan Fogel and Dave Zabriskie and Don Catlin carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Truth is the new banned substance.".
9IMDB entry: tt6333060 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jake Swantko
Original score: Adam Peters
Editing: Jon Bertain
Sound: E.J. Holowicki
Runtime: 121 min · 2h 1m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Icarus (2017)

Awards

Sundance Special Jury Prize Documentary
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Icarus Collection

Also by

Bryan Fogel

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-07-27
★ 7/10
Talk about giving your all for your art? Well Bryan Fogel gives his ass too as he embarks on a course of testosterone injections under the guidance of Grigory Rodchenkov to prove just how to bust the WADA testing regimens that govern international sport. This is all hot on the heels of the Lance Armstrong scandal that caused cycling to reel with the shock that despite his often publicly issued denials, he was knowingly taking performance enhancing drugs as he won his seven Tours de France. Rodchenkov isn't just any old rogue scientist; he's the director of the accredited clinic in Moscow that is charged with carrying out the very testing Fogel is determined to prove is flawed. Now Americans love a good old Putin-backed conspiracy theory and so I was initially inclined to take the evidence gathered with a pinch of salt - especially as the camera seems to accompany them into places that it might not be welcome and Rodchenkov seems quite capable of playing to it, but as he appears prepared to flee to the USA and there share many of his document-backed secrets, this does start to ring more true and illustrate just how much effort was gone into by the Russian Federation to ensure their athletes came home with the medals. Elaborate schemes that may have involved the FSB, but that certainly involved the sports ministry of the government, were devised to access the tainted samples of urine and substitute them with "clean" ones. There is no suggestion that those testing were complicit, but evidence goes on to prove that dozens of samples had been tampered with before the laboratories got anywhere near them. Curiously enough, the more arbitrary the denials made by the indignant authorities, the more WADA's investigations present what looks like water-tight conclusions. They can't both be telling the truth. The latter half of this film shifts more from his investigation to something altogether more political. Presented with such a slew of evidence, will Thomas Bach's IOC have the courage to ban the Russian athletes from their events? Will Lord Coe's IAAF do likewise with their championships? What this doesn't feature, aside from Armstrong, are any admissions of guilt from anyone currently participating which I think would have lent more support to the allegations and explore a little more of the voluntary/involuntary participation by athletes, but what we do see here is a clear indictment of a billion-pound industry that always seems to be one step ahead of the game and that will stop at little to ensure the capture their prize.

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