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.

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Plot Keywords:

olympics | missionary | race | jew | athlete | 

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Taglines:

With Wings on their Heels and Hope in their Hearts

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Genres:

Drama | History | Sport

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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

The movie required many Edwardian costumes. When Reds, set in the same period, ran over time and over budget, it caused costumes pre-booked by "Chariots" to become unavailable.

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Goofs

Houses at the end of the track at the Scotland-France meeting have modern double-glazed windows.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Repo Man (1984)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Special Edition Is Special!

Having just picked up (1 Feb. 2005) WB's Special Edition DVD of "Chariots of Fire", I am pleased to report that it indeed "Special"! The major improvement over the original DVD release is, of course, the presentation of the feature in its proper 1.85:1 screen ratio. The feature also has the option of a very fine commentary track by director Hugh Hudson.

Disc 2 includes two outstanding documentary films. "Wings on Their Heels: The Making of Chariots of Fire", has interviews with most of the living participants. It is fascinating and very informative. The struggle of the film to get financing is covered as well as the process that took place in finding the lead actors is covered. The excitement of Oscar night, when the film took home the "Best Picture" award, is captured through the comments of those who were there.

The second offering, "Chariots of Fire: A Reunion", was shot in England with the producer, director, cinematographer, and three of the actors recalling their experiences in working on the film. This is an inspired way of letting the creative people involved recall and share their involvement in film that turned out to be the highlight of their careers.

Both documentary films are a joy to watch, as are the 16 minutes of scenes cut from the film, including one alternate that was used in the European release but cut for the U.S. release. There are also a couple of screen tests for Ben Cross and Ian Charleson that are interesting --and a nice theatrical trailer.

An interesting side-note is that 20th Century Fox, who financed half of the $6 million budget, was not interested in releasing the film in the U.S. -- they figured Americans would not have an interest in British runners. Ironically, of the films $50 million theatrical gross, $32 million came from the WB domestic release.

Now we finally have a DVD release that is worthy of that is my pick and the finest film of the 1980s. "Chariots of Fire" is a film that ranks very high on my list of all-time great films.