cinephile-27690
I was discussing this movie just last night with a friend of my Grandma. She said she saw in theaters and fell asleep through most of the movie. Her date said it was really good and Grandma joked "Which part?" and laughed. There are a few slow parts, hence my 8, but overall I think it's decent. But it definitely was not really earning of Best Picture.(I told my Grandma's friend that it won and she could not believe it.) Raiders of the Lost Ark was nominated and that's much better-and more iconic. Plus, Mommie Dearest won the Razzie("Worst Picture") and I actually think that's the year's best movie.In short, it's worth seeing-but it's not the "Best Picture."
dierregi
After all these years the opening sequence of "Chariots of fire" is still one of the most memorable in the history of movies. A celebration of life and youth, the "simple" pleasure of being alive and running barefoot on the beach and the wonderful soundtrack enhancing the moment.The plot is about Abrahams and Liddell, two very different English athletes who competed in the 1924 Paris Olympic games.Abrahams is a Jew and a bit of a whiner. Allegedly "discriminated" because of his religion, Abrahams is rich, studying at one of the most exclusive universities of the country and on the verge of Olympic immortality. Hardly heavy burdens to bear. Liddell is a Scottish missionary, born in China and ready to go back but not before competing in Paris.Not being into sports, I found the film well-made, but slightly too long. Abrahams love story fills uselessly some screen time. It could have been avoided, without damaging the main plot in any way.Also, for non-English audience, the patriotic pride is a tad overbearing. It is a fine movie, but the big winner is the music, hardly ever used to best effect. You can forget the whole story and you will still remember the boys dressed in white running in slow motion on the beach.
ma-cortes
This is the story of two men who run to prove something to the world . They will sacrifice anything to achieve their goals , except their honor . Two young men fighting for their objectives , one a determined Jew Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) and the other a devout Christian (Ian Charleson) . In a warmup 100 meter race, Scottish Eric defeats Harold, who hires a pro coacher (Ian Holm) to prepare him . After that , both compete in the 1924 Olympics where their courage and determination to be tested . Eric Liddell , whose qualifying heat is scheduled for a Sunday, denies to run despite pressure from the Olympic committee formed by high authorities (Nigel Davenport , Patrick Magee , David Yelland as Prince of Wales) . Eric and Harold win their respective races and go on to achieve fame as missionary and businessman/athletic advocate, respectively . In fact , during the Japanese occupation of China, Eric as a missionary was taken into the Japanese Weihsien internment Camp, where he was to die from a brain tumour just before the camp was liberated. This is is a sensitive as well as riveting story, being told in flashback , dealing with two young British sprinters , competing for fame in the 1924 Olympics , both of them compellingly performed by Ben Cross and the early deceased Ian Charleson . About six years after the film's release, Trinity College reenacted the quad dash with British Olympic athletes Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe taking part. This marvelous film has an all-star-cast such as Ben Cross ,Ian Charleson , Nigel Havers , Ian Holm , Cheryl Campbell and Alice Krige . Great secondary cast formed by prestigious British players and with a number of well known USA and UK performers for the tiny cameo roles such as John Gielgud ,Nigel Davenport , Lindsay Anderson , Patrick Magee , Peter Egan , Richard Griffiths and uncredited Kenneth Branagh as Cambridge student , Stephen Fry and first cinema film of Nicholas Farrell . Brad Davis and Dennis Christopher appeared as a favor to producer David Puttnam, waiving their fees, in order to attract finance from backers who wanted "marquee names" . Besides the lead actors, most of the white-clad runners training on West Sands in St. Andrews during the title sequence are St. Andrews golf caddies . Colorful and evocative cinematography by David Watkin filmed on location in Edinburgh, Scotland, Liverpool , Cambridge University , Eton College, Eton, Berkshire, England . When the athletes are running off the beach , in reality it results to be West Sands at St Andrews in Scotland , they run towards a large red building clearly marked as a hotel ; this is in fact Hamilton hall of residence, a student accommodation hall belonging to the University . Lavishly and luxuriously produced by great producer David Puttnam , he was looking for a story in the mold of A man for eternity (1966), regarding someone who follows their conscience ; he felt sports provided clear situations in this sense, and happened upon the story by accident while thumbing through an Olympic reference book in a rented house in Los Angeles , then the screenwriter Colin Welland took out advertisements in London newspapers seeking memories of the 1924 Olympics.Film debut by filmmaker Hugh Hudson , he originally wanted Vangelis' 1977 tune "L'Enfant", from his 1979 'Opera Sauvage' album, to be the title theme of the film, and the beach running sequence was actually filmed with "L'Enfant" playing in the background for the runners to listen and pace to. Vangelis, however, finally convinced Hudson he could create a new and better piece for the film's main theme - and when he played the new and now-familiar "Chariots of Fire" theme for Hudson, it was agreed the new tune was unquestionably better. But the "L'Enfant" tune still made it into the film : When the athletes reach Paris and enter the stadium, a brass band marches through the field, and first plays a modified, acoustic performance of "L'Enfant" . Vangelis's electronic "L'Enfant" track eventually was used prominently in the film The years of living dangerously (1982). The picture deservedly won Academy Awards for Colin Welland's screenplay , Vangelis' magnificent soundtrack , Mila Canonero's costumes and Best picture .
Ross622
Hugh Hudson's Chariots of Fire is unlike any other sports movie that I have ever seen before, and it is by far one of the most inspirational films of that genre. The film tells the story of two British track athletes one named Harold Abrahams (played by Ben Cross) who is Jewish, the other who also happens to be a missionary named Eric Liddel (played by Ian Charleson) who does track in order to please God though are trying to beat one another while competing in the 1924 summer Olympics. Though unfortunately for Abrahams every time he runs the track with Liddel he takes the first few losses not very seriously until the most recent time he lost to Liddel there was a scene where he was sitting on a chair in the stadium wallowing in self pity thinking that Liddel may be "a little too competitive" and his girlfriend is trying to help him out and he hires a pro training coach named Sam Mussabini (played by Ian Holm in an Oscar nominated performance) whose character reminds me of the boxing manager Mickey Goldmill in the first few Rocky movies. though this movie is unlike all the sports movies that I have seen but it has one thing in common with all the ones I watched and liked that all of them were inspirational works like Raging bull (1980), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Cinderella Man (2005), the Pride of the Yankess (1942), Remember the Titans (2000) etc. The thing about this film was the neatest part to me was the fact that every track running scene all the runners were moving in slow-motion, as well as the classical score that made me get a lot more involved in the story to this movie. In this film there were a few other great supporting performances besides the Ian Holm performance but as well as by the legendary John Gielgud as the master of trinity, Lindsay Anderson as the master of Caius, as well as the second greatest supporting performance of the entire film was by Brad Davis as an American track runner named Jackson Scholz. This film is very profound but to me it didn't deserve the Academy award for best picture as much as Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark which was nominated alongside this film, but I still enjoyed it, and I really do think it is one of the best movies of 1981.
