LAKE PLACID, New York ??” As the world prepares to celebrate the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino, a new documentary tells the inspiring story of the tiny town that gave America its greatest Olympic triumphs.

Lake Placid: An Olympic History chronicles the rise of Lake Placid, New York, from an unknown mountain village to the winter sports mecca that hosted two Winter Olympic??”and inspired the U.S. Hockey Team’s Miracle on Ice and Eric Heiden’s five gold medals.

The feature-length documentary is being released on DVD on Feb. 10, the first day of the Torino Olympics. It was written and directed by former Lake Placid News reporter Marc Nathanson, now a New York City television news producer, and produced by Nathanson and international filmmaker Scott F. Carroll.

“What drew me to this film was the passion that the director had for Lake Placid, and the passion that Lake Placid and its citizens have for winter sports and for the Olympics,” says Carroll. “For a town this size located in the middle of the mountains of northeastern New York to decide to hold an Olympics and actually make it happen??”and do it again nearly 50 years later??”is truly unique.

Lake Placid: An Olympic History tells the town’s story through old films and photographs blended with audio recordings unearthed from local archives, and is narrated by New York stage actor Ted Kastenbaum.

Among those featured are Godfrey Dewey, who almost single-handedly brought the 1932 Olympics to the village; Jack Shea, the hometown hero who won gold at the 1932 Games and began a dynasty of Winter Olympians; J. Bernard Fell, the Methodist minister who helped bring the Olympics back to Lake Placid in 1980; and Mike Eruzione, the captain of the gold medal hockey team.

The DVD launch reception will be Feb. 18 at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, with a Q&A hosted by the filmmaker and producer, beginning at 7:30 p.m. A suggested donation of $7 will benefit the Lake Placid Olympic Museum, the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society, and the Lake Placid Public Library. DVDs will be available for sale on site, in Lake Placid area stores, and Amazon.com.

Additional information about the film can be found at www.lakeplaciddocumentary.com.