Chariots of Fire (1981)

Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, compete in the 1924 Olympics.

Director:

Hugh Hudson

Writer:

Colin Welland (original screenplay)

Stars:

Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers, Ian Charleson

Won 4 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicholas Farrell	...	Aubrey Montague
Nigel Havers	...	Lord Andrew Lindsay
Ian Charleson	...	Eric Liddell
Ben Cross	...	Harold Abrahams
Daniel Gerroll	...	Henry Stallard
Ian Holm	...	Sam Mussabini
John Gielgud	...	Master of Trinity (as Sir John Gielgud)
Lindsay Anderson	...	Master of Caius
Nigel Davenport	...	Lord Birkenhead
Cheryl Campbell	...	Jennie Liddell
Alice Krige	...	Sybil Gordon
Dennis Christopher	...	Charles Paddock
Brad Davis	...	Jackson Scholz
Patrick Magee	...	Lord Cadogan
Peter Egan	...	Duke of Sutherland

Storyline

The true story of two British track athletes competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics. One is a devout Scottish missionary who runs for God, the other is a Jewish student at Cambridge who runs for fame and to escape prejudice.

---

Plot Keywords:

olympics | missionary | race | jew | athlete | 

---

Taglines:

With Wings on their Heels and Hope in their Hearts

---

Genres:

Drama | History | Sport

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

9 October 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Carros de fuego

Filming Locations:

Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$5,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$58,800,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Stars Ltd., Enigma Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Harold Abrahams won gold in the 100-meter dash at the 1924 Olympics, he finished dead last in the 200-meter final.

---

Goofs

In the 1920s, the Canadian flag was either the Union Jack or the Canadian Red Ensign. The red maple leaf flag was not introduced until 1965.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Lord Andrew Lindsay: Let us praise famous men and our fathers that begat us. All these men were honoured in their generations and were a glory in their days. We are here today to give thanks for the life of Harold Abrahams. To honour the legend. Now there are just two of us - young Aubrey Montague and myself - who can close our eyes and remember those few young men with hope in our hearts and wings on our heels.

---

Connections

Spoofed in ReBoot: Enzo the Smart (1994)

---

Soundtracks

"God Save the King"
(1744) (uncredited)
Traditional
Written by Henry Carey

User Reviews

It IS A Big Deal, In More Ways Than One

I had never seen this movie until the fall of 1997 and after watching 40 minutes wondered, "What's the big deal?"

Well, the second half of the film and then subsequent viewings have done more than just answer my question.

It's one of the RARE movies in the past 30 years which portrays a Christian in a positive light. Ian Charleson does a convincing job of portraying a 100 percent sincerely good man who walks the talk.

In here is also a good portrayal of a Jewish man, a student at Cambridge, acted well by Ben Cross. This man is too defensive about being Jewish and carries a chip on his shoulder until the end where he comes out a hero and a fine man as well, the bitterness gone.

The story of those two men and their quest for a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics in France makes for an inspiring film. It's also aided by very nice photography and a wonderful score by Vangelis. A recently-issued widescreen DVD finally shows off the award-winning cinematography. The feel- good ending doesn't hurt, either, especially since these main characters were real-life people.

Her extraordinary beauty made Alice Krige an interesting person to watch in the film, and I wonder why she never made it as a "big-name" actress. Perhaps that was her decision.

In summary, a very classy film, that still lives up to its reputation.