Chariots of Fire (1981)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Hugh Hudson

Writer:

Colin Welland (original screenplay)

Release Date:

9 October 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Sport

Tagline:

This is the story of two men who run...not to run...but to prove something to the world. They will sacrifice anything to achieve their goals...Except their honor.

Plot:

The story of two British track athletes, one a determined Jew, and the other a devout Christian who compete in the 1924 Olympics.

Plot Keywords:

Olympics | Missionary | Athlete | Race | Jew

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

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

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:PG (DVD rating) (2005) | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1986) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Company:

Enigma Productions

Trivia:

French actor Michael Lonsdale is often credited with being in this film but there is no sign of him in the finished film

Goofs:

Factual errors: Early in the film (at about 10 minutes in) the narration says "Thursday October the tenth, 1919...". That date was in fact a Friday that year.

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.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Soundtrack:

God Save the King

A movie about the fire within

Much more than just another sports movie, CoF analyzes the very different reasons two men have for devoting so much of their lives to training for the Olympics. This in an era when there were no commercial sponsors and no lucrative endorsement contracts. Though there is always fame and personal satisfaction, it seems to be implied that these things alone are insufficient to explain the special forces that drive these two men so much more than all the others.

This is a truly beautiful movie about a different era, about competition and what may serve as motivation to compete--and perhaps about what kinds of motivation are healthy and what kinds are not.

9/10