With editing and Neil Adams’ voiceover complete, the final touches are now being made before the two DVDs are made available in time for Christmas.
Only available on DVD, the 2004 Olympics is a significant step up from Sydney 2000.
Not only is there direct access to every weight category and final, but team FF have altered the style of each category. Where individual stories have been told before, they’re now supported with archive FF footage.
The question in the -60kgs category would normally be: ‘Can Tadahiro Nomura become one of the greatest judokas of all time by winning his third Olympic gold?’ This time you get the question and a two minute flashback of Nomura’s extraordinary story, along with the music and Adams’ voice.
In the -48kgs the viewer briefly follows Ryoko Tani’s army of fans to 2000 Olympic glory and her record sixth World title in Osaka, before joining them in Athens to see if she can do it again.
There’s a different type of build-up in the -100kgs where you see Kosei Inoue blitz his way to three World titles and the 2000 Olympics, before the question is posed: ‘Can anyone stop him in Athens?’
Follow 2001 World Champion Vitaliy Makarov and 2003 World Champion Won Hee Lee on opposite sides of the draw in the -73kgs. Will two of judo’s most exciting fighters meet in the ultimate final?
In the -90kgs you see huge throws from five favourites. The category is blown wide open at the beginning and follows suit all the way to the final.
"I’m very excited about these DVDs," added Hicks. "It’s four hours of non-stop action."