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The come-from-behind winner of the 1981 Oscar for best picture, Chariots of Fire either strikes you as either a cold exercise in mechanical manipulation or as a tale of true determination and inspiration. The heroes are an unlikely pair of young athletes who ran for Great Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics: devout Protestant Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a divinity student whose running makes him feel closer to God, and Jewish Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), a highly competitive Cambridge student who has to surmount the institutional hurdles of class prejudice and anti-Semitism. There's delicious support from Ian Holm (as Abrahams's coach) and John Gielgud and Lindsay Anderson as a couple of Cambridge fogies. Vangelis's soaring synthesized score, which seemed to be everywhere in the early 1980s, also won an Oscar. Chariots of Fire was the debut film of British television commercial director Hugh Hudson (Greystoke) and was produced by David Puttnam. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (126)

Uplifting and Inspiring
"Chariots of Fire" makes the list of my ten favorite movies of all-time. The film depicts the true life journey of two sprint champions from the 1924 Paris Olympics. This isn't your average sports movie as the character development is more significant than the competition on the track. The "Flying Scotsman" Eric Liddell is man of deep moral conviction and joyful heartfelt devotion to God. As he runs he senses God's pleasure. Harold Abrams is an intense Jewish student at Cambridge who is driven to win in defiance of the obstacles of prejudice and institutionalism. He runs to prove his worth.

The film is slow moving and filled with numerous flashbacks. Knowing the history of the characters would enable you to better follow the story and appreciate the men portrayed. The acting is excellent with terrific performances by supporting actors such as Ian Holm as track coach Sam Mussabini; John Gielgud and Lindsay Anderson as the stuffy masters of the university; and Nigel Havers as the likeable Lord Lindsay. The electronic sounding musical score is the most recognizable part of the movie and the costuming is exceptional. I was deeply moved and inspired by "Chariots of Fire."

The Brilliant Resurgence Of The British Movie Industry
The time is 1924. The finest athletes of England have begun their quest for glory in the Olympic Games. Their success will win honor for their nation - but for two champion runners, the honor at stake is a personal one...and their challenge one from within.

Chariots Of fire tells the exciting, inspiring true story of Harold Abrahams, Eric Liddell, and the dedicated team of competitors who brought Great Britain one of her most legendary victories in international sports. It is also the film that marked the brilliant resurgence of the British movie industry - and won four 1981 Academy Awards - including Best Picture.

Virtually a succession of smashing debuts, which it proved to be for Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers, Nicholas Farrell, Alice Krige, Jeremy Sinden, and Daniel Gerroll in their first major film roles, and Hugh Hudson (a veteran of British Television)directing his first theatrical feature. With such other wonderful talents by veteran actors Sir Ian Holm, Sir John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, and Nigel Davenport, the collective people together shaped a film whose impact is still lasting and unique. From its bracing footage of competition and pagentry, to the haunting image of the English runners on the beach, to the extraordinary music score by Vangelis, Chariots Of Fire has left its mark on film fans everywhere. It also has proven that British filmmakers and film crews are the best, and only the best, in the world.

If you are looking for the finest in entertainment, art films, or otherwise, you need not look any furthur than Chariots Of Fire. The finest of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Competition and Character
Chariots of Fire is an outstanding epic based on the lives of two men (among others), Eric Liddel and Harold Abrahams. Eric Liddel, a Scotsman and a missionary believes he can succeed as a testament to his undying faith. Harold Abrahams, a Jew wishes to succeed to prove that Jews are no inferior to others in post WWI England. This movie is one of refinement, ambition, commitment and integrity. In that era, there are tempers when the Masters of Cambridge do not take lightly to Harold being trained by a professional as they pride in the amateur aspect of the sport and the esprit de corps. His interaction with his girl friend when he loses a race is a special point. She says, "He won fair and square. There is nothing you can do about it." Then he retorts, "I do not run to compete, I run to win, if I cannot win, I should not run." She replies, "If you do not run, you cannot win." It ends with her frustration and saying, "Grow up". As compelling as the racing scenes are, it's really the depth of the two main characters that touches the viewer, as they forcefully drive home the theme that victory attained through devotion and sacrifice is the most admirable feat that one can achieve.

I am glad that I have a wide screen edition of this DVD, however this is a region 3 and cannot play in a regular DVD player, as they play only the region 1 version. It is similar to the version released in UK. Even this version does not have a good audio and video transfer. There are dots in the video and the audio should be better considering the outstanding score by Vangelis. The widescreen edition is farbetter than the one released in US though. I am sad that they are not releasing this one here. I got this one in US through another website, thanks to my enhanced DVD player. So, I would give 5 stars for the movie and 4 stars for the transfer (I am being very generous here).

With hope in our hearts and wings in our heels!
The athletes of the British running team who went with hope in their hearts and wings in their heels in the VIII Olympiad in Paris in 1924 is the focus of this movie, but there's also the dynamics of what it means to be English, and the reconciliation of one's soul and religious convictions in the Modern Age. Three of them are students from Cambridge. There is the quiet and soft-spoken Aubrey Montague, Lord Andrew Lindsey, and Harold Abrahams. As the head of Caius (pronounced Keys) College tells them when they first attend in 1919, they are the first post-war generation who have inherited the dreams of a generation that perished on the fields of France, a generation embodying "goodness, zeal,...and intellectual promise."

The two main athletes here are a contrast from one another. One is Harold Abrahams, a Jew who wants to be seen as English as the fellow next to him. Hence his enrolling in all these clubs and fraternities in Caius College, from track, tennis, and even the Gilbert and Sullivan glee club-he wants to enter the Christian, Anglo-Saxon corridors of power, i.e. the old school tie. He succeeds in getting to an English girl in the form of Sybil Gordon, who doesn't mind he's Jewish. He can run like the wind, and nothing would fulfill his dream of being English more than winning so he'll be accepted, but he's so driven, hinging so much of his success on his winning, that he acts like its his own funeral when he loses in a race. He engages Sam Mussabini, a private and professional coach, which is contrary to the implied rules of Cambridge. When the heads of Trinity House and Caius House, (Sir John Gielgud and Lindsay Anderson) use their prep-school mentality to chastise him, saying Cambridge prided itself on the amateur attitude as opposed to the professional, and an esprit de Corps as opposed to individual glory, Abrahams tells them off.

Scottish Eric Liddle, on the other hand, is a missionary born in China, who plans to return there to continue God's work, but the "muscular Christian" runs like a wild animal. With religion as a metaphor, he compares faith to running a race, describing the energy of the soul, the elation of breaking that tape, but he says that the power comes from within. "If you commit yourself to the love of Jesus Christ-that is how you win a straight race." To win is to honour God, and the gift he was given. His faith is tested twice, between the missionary work and running, and his respect for God and running on the Sabbath. He's clearly more Victorian, but also a Scot, choosing God over country instead of the more secular British. But will his faith help him triumph over favoured Americans Jackson Scholz and Charles Paddock?

The slow-mo shots of the running athletes, the looks of elation, the disappointment of those who didn't qualify shows the various reactions of the soul. And New Age composer Vangelis Pathaniossou made his mark with his score, during the races and the scenes of Americans training, but especially the moving main theme that opens and closes the movie as the athletes are running along the ocean shore. This sequence itself is repeated twice, once where we know nothing about these athletes on who the cameras pan in on, but by the end, when the camera does its work, we know these people better, and they have names, as the credits identify actor and role. This was an early role for Nicholas Farrell (Montague), who was Horatio in Branagh's Hamlet. But Ben Cross as the driven Abrahams, Ian Charleson as the debonair blond Christian Liddell, Nigel Havers as Lindsay, Ian Holm (Mussabini), and Alice Krige (Sybil) do well. And yes, the Head Porter at Caius College is Richard Griffiths, best known as Harry Potter's Uncle Vernon, and quite thinner too.

As the winner of four Oscars including Best Picture, Chariots Of Fire remains an unpretentious film where the finish line is a moral, spiritual, and of course a physical goal, and how one must be true to oneself to reach that goal.

Refined, inspiring, intelligent
Even though this has an air of Merchant-Ivory crossed with Masterpiece Theater, and no genuine movie stars (at least at the time, except Sir John Gielgud), the movie shines from beginning to end.

I saw this in the theater when it first came out and was very pleasantly surprised. It's a true story with a great message that still plays like Rocky with a brain -- exciting, funny, dramatic, well-acted, beautifully photographed. Unfortunately, not everyone will like it, though, because it brings back the days when drama meant dialogue, subtlety and intelligence, not explosions, predictable plots and computer-generated imagery. You have to watch and listen and have an appreciation of history. You can't watch this one and be distracted. Best to watch when you have time and can savor the moments, not when you have a room full of children, for instance. ... Read more

Reviews (126)

Uplifting and Inspiring
"Chariots of Fire" makes the list of my ten favorite movies of all-time. The film depicts the true life journey of two sprint champions from the 1924 Paris Olympics. This isn't your average sports movie as the character development is more significant than the competition on the track. The "Flying Scotsman" Eric Liddell is man of deep moral conviction and joyful heartfelt devotion to God. As he runs he senses God's pleasure. Harold Abrams is an intense Jewish student at Cambridge who is driven to win in defiance of the obstacles of prejudice and institutionalism. He runs to prove his worth.

The film is slow moving and filled with numerous flashbacks. Knowing the history of the characters would enable you to better follow the story and appreciate the men portrayed. The acting is excellent with terrific performances by supporting actors such as Ian Holm as track coach Sam Mussabini; John Gielgud and Lindsay Anderson as the stuffy masters of the university; and Nigel Havers as the likeable Lord Lindsay. The electronic sounding musical score is the most recognizable part of the movie and the costuming is exceptional. I was deeply moved and inspired by "Chariots of Fire."

The Brilliant Resurgence Of The British Movie Industry
The time is 1924. The finest athletes of England have begun their quest for glory in the Olympic Games. Their success will win honor for their nation - but for two champion runners, the honor at stake is a personal one...and their challenge one from within.

Chariots Of fire tells the exciting, inspiring true story of Harold Abrahams, Eric Liddell, and the dedicated team of competitors who brought Great Britain one of her most legendary victories in international sports. It is also the film that marked the brilliant resurgence of the British movie industry - and won four 1981 Academy Awards - including Best Picture.

Virtually a succession of smashing debuts, which it proved to be for Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers, Nicholas Farrell, Alice Krige, Jeremy Sinden, and Daniel Gerroll in their first major film roles, and Hugh Hudson (a veteran of British Television)directing his first theatrical feature. With such other wonderful talents by veteran actors Sir Ian Holm, Sir John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, and Nigel Davenport, the collective people together shaped a film whose impact is still lasting and unique. From its bracing footage of competition and pagentry, to the haunting image of the English runners on the beach, to the extraordinary music score by Vangelis, Chariots Of Fire has left its mark on film fans everywhere. It also has proven that British filmmakers and film crews are the best, and only the best, in the world.

If you are looking for the finest in entertainment, art films, or otherwise, you need not look any furthur than Chariots Of Fire. The finest of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Competition and Character
Chariots of Fire is an outstanding epic based on the lives of two men (among others), Eric Liddel and Harold Abrahams. Eric Liddel, a Scotsman and a missionary believes he can succeed as a testament to his undying faith. Harold Abrahams, a Jew wishes to succeed to prove that Jews are no inferior to others in post WWI England. This movie is one of refinement, ambition, commitment and integrity. In that era, there are tempers when the Masters of Cambridge do not take lightly to Harold being trained by a professional as they pride in the amateur aspect of the sport and the esprit de corps. His interaction with his girl friend when he loses a race is a special point. She says, "He won fair and square. There is nothing you can do about it." Then he retorts, "I do not run to compete, I run to win, if I cannot win, I should not run." She replies, "If you do not run, you cannot win." It ends with her frustration and saying, "Grow up". As compelling as the racing scenes are, it's really the depth of the two main characters that touches the viewer, as they forcefully drive home the theme that victory attained through devotion and sacrifice is the most admirable feat that one can achieve.

I am glad that I have a wide screen edition of this DVD, however this is a region 3 and cannot play in a regular DVD player, as they play only the region 1 version. It is similar to the version released in UK. Even this version does not have a good audio and video transfer. There are dots in the video and the audio should be better considering the outstanding score by Vangelis. The widescreen edition is farbetter than the one released in US though. I am sad that they are not releasing this one here. I got this one in US through another website, thanks to my enhanced DVD player. So, I would give 5 stars for the movie and 4 stars for the transfer (I am being very generous here).

With hope in our hearts and wings in our heels!
The athletes of the British running team who went with hope in their hearts and wings in their heels in the VIII Olympiad in Paris in 1924 is the focus of this movie, but there's also the dynamics of what it means to be English, and the reconciliation of one's soul and religious convictions in the Modern Age. Three of them are students from Cambridge. There is the quiet and soft-spoken Aubrey Montague, Lord Andrew Lindsey, and Harold Abrahams. As the head of Caius (pronounced Keys) College tells them when they first attend in 1919, they are the first post-war generation who have inherited the dreams of a generation that perished on the fields of France, a generation embodying "goodness, zeal,...and intellectual promise."

The two main athletes here are a contrast from one another. One is Harold Abrahams, a Jew who wants to be seen as English as the fellow next to him. Hence his enrolling in all these clubs and fraternities in Caius College, from track, tennis, and even the Gilbert and Sullivan glee club-he wants to enter the Christian, Anglo-Saxon corridors of power, i.e. the old school tie. He succeeds in getting to an English girl in the form of Sybil Gordon, who doesn't mind he's Jewish. He can run like the wind, and nothing would fulfill his dream of being English more than winning so he'll be accepted, but he's so driven, hinging so much of his success on his winning, that he acts like its his own funeral when he loses in a race. He engages Sam Mussabini, a private and professional coach, which is contrary to the implied rules of Cambridge. When the heads of Trinity House and Caius House, (Sir John Gielgud and Lindsay Anderson) use their prep-school mentality to chastise him, saying Cambridge prided itself on the amateur attitude as opposed to the professional, and an esprit de Corps as opposed to individual glory, Abrahams tells them off.

Scottish Eric Liddle, on the other hand, is a missionary born in China, who plans to return there to continue God's work, but the "muscular Christian" runs like a wild animal. With religion as a metaphor, he compares faith to running a race, describing the energy of the soul, the elation of breaking that tape, but he says that the power comes from within. "If you commit yourself to the love of Jesus Christ-that is how you win a straight race." To win is to honour God, and the gift he was given. His faith is tested twice, between the missionary work and running, and his respect for God and running on the Sabbath. He's clearly more Victorian, but also a Scot, choosing God over country instead of the more secular British. But will his faith help him triumph over favoured Americans Jackson Scholz and Charles Paddock?

The slow-mo shots of the running athletes, the looks of elation, the disappointment of those who didn't qualify shows the various reactions of the soul. And New Age composer Vangelis Pathaniossou made his mark with his score, during the races and the scenes of Americans training, but especially the moving main theme that opens and closes the movie as the athletes are running along the ocean shore. This sequence itself is repeated twice, once where we know nothing about these athletes on who the cameras pan in on, but by the end, when the camera does its work, we know these people better, and they have names, as the credits identify actor and role. This was an early role for Nicholas Farrell (Montague), who was Horatio in Branagh's Hamlet. But Ben Cross as the driven Abrahams, Ian Charleson as the debonair blond Christian Liddell, Nigel Havers as Lindsay, Ian Holm (Mussabini), and Alice Krige (Sybil) do well. And yes, the Head Porter at Caius College is Richard Griffiths, best known as Harry Potter's Uncle Vernon, and quite thinner too.

As the winner of four Oscars including Best Picture, Chariots Of Fire remains an unpretentious film where the finish line is a moral, spiritual, and of course a physical goal, and how one must be true to oneself to reach that goal.

Refined, inspiring, intelligent
Even though this has an air of Merchant-Ivory crossed with Masterpiece Theater, and no genuine movie stars (at least at the time, except Sir John Gielgud), the movie shines from beginning to end.

I saw this in the theater when it first came out and was very pleasantly surprised. It's a true story with a great message that still plays like Rocky with a brain -- exciting, funny, dramatic, well-acted, beautifully photographed. Unfortunately, not everyone will like it, though, because it brings back the days when drama meant dialogue, subtlety and intelligence, not explosions, predictable plots and computer-generated imagery. You have to watch and listen and have an appreciation of history. You can't watch this one and be distracted. Best to watch when you have time and can savor the moments, not when you have a room full of children, for instance. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Kept thinking about it
When I first watched this movie, I agree it seemed campy and rough. But, I kept watching it and it was engaging enough to keep me following it until the ending, and I liked the ending a lot. It brings up a lot of interesting ideas about alien life and what left-over artifacts might be found.
The really interesting part is that I've thought of this movie many, many times since I saw it. Its seems to stick in my mind. So, based on this, I've decided to write this review and give it 4 stars, in an attempt to raise the rating on the movie a little. Its really a lot better movie than most of these reviews say it is.

This movie is Fantastic
Well, it seems that some of you think that this movie is boring and
predictable, but this movie is extremely provocative, and extremly
creative. It is similar to the creative movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Vincent Gallo is an artistic Genius, his style of Acting is so creative, that it blows my mind. Kudos to you, Vincent. Check out Vincent Gallo in the movie Buffalo '66; a movie Masterpiece, which i recommend anyone and everyone to watch. This movie deserves to be considered among the best of the independent industry: Requiem for a Dream, Kids, Lost in Translation, 21 Grams, etc.

For those of you who are lost in Hollywood babble !!!!Open your mind!!!!.

Good movie, bad DVD
I enjoyed this film very much... although it bears hardly any resemblance to the original film or book, it's very cleverly done. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the guys in this film are very good looking... wink wink.

The DVD however... total bomb. There is nothing in it except the 'scene selection' and 'play film' options. I would have loved to have seen deleted scenes, or making-of's. I would have loved to see more of Andrew Lee-Potts (Jacob) seeing as he was my favorite character... but since the film itself is so good, I give the DVD 4 stars.

Best Hallmark film
This would have to be my favorite Hallmark film ever (well ok... tied with Secret Garden). The movie is simply fantastic. The scenery, acting, and story are perfect. However, I couldn't give this DVD edition 5 stars because the Disc is practically empty. All it contains is the movie and a scene selection menu. In an age where we expect to see original trailers, filmographies, and "making of" featurettes, one cannot expect to be happy with a DVD this bare. The sound, although really nice, is a tad bit disappointing as well. With 5.1 as the norm, 2.0 doesn't quite please. I really wish that they had put a little more work into giving this wonderful film the release that it deserves. Still, this disc is the best way to see this masterpiece. If you love great stories, get it =)

Great Film!
This movie was absolutely captivating. From the very beginning my attention was caught and lasted throughout the entire film. The whole build-up of the Jacob storyline was what really moved me. The one thing that prevented me from giving it 5 stars was how the ending seemed a bit rushed. I feel they should have explored the feelings of all members of the family a bit more. I would love for them to make a sequel to this film about Sarah, Jacob, and Earnst going back into society. But all in all, it was a truely moving movie. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Kept thinking about it
When I first watched this movie, I agree it seemed campy and rough. But, I kept watching it and it was engaging enough to keep me following it until the ending, and I liked the ending a lot. It brings up a lot of interesting ideas about alien life and what left-over artifacts might be found.
The really interesting part is that I've thought of this movie many, many times since I saw it. Its seems to stick in my mind. So, based on this, I've decided to write this review and give it 4 stars, in an attempt to raise the rating on the movie a little. Its really a lot better movie than most of these reviews say it is.

This movie is Fantastic
Well, it seems that some of you think that this movie is boring and
predictable, but this movie is extremely provocative, and extremly
creative. It is similar to the creative movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Vincent Gallo is an artistic Genius, his style of Acting is so creative, that it blows my mind. Kudos to you, Vincent. Check out Vincent Gallo in the movie Buffalo '66; a movie Masterpiece, which i recommend anyone and everyone to watch. This movie deserves to be considered among the best of the independent industry: Requiem for a Dream, Kids, Lost in Translation, 21 Grams, etc.

For those of you who are lost in Hollywood babble !!!!Open your mind!!!!.

Good movie, bad DVD
I enjoyed this film very much... although it bears hardly any resemblance to the original film or book, it's very cleverly done. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the guys in this film are very good looking... wink wink.

The DVD however... total bomb. There is nothing in it except the 'scene selection' and 'play film' options. I would have loved to have seen deleted scenes, or making-of's. I would have loved to see more of Andrew Lee-Potts (Jacob) seeing as he was my favorite character... but since the film itself is so good, I give the DVD 4 stars.

Best Hallmark film
This would have to be my favorite Hallmark film ever (well ok... tied with Secret Garden). The movie is simply fantastic. The scenery, acting, and story are perfect. However, I couldn't give this DVD edition 5 stars because the Disc is practically empty. All it contains is the movie and a scene selection menu. In an age where we expect to see original trailers, filmographies, and "making of" featurettes, one cannot expect to be happy with a DVD this bare. The sound, although really nice, is a tad bit disappointing as well. With 5.1 as the norm, 2.0 doesn't quite please. I really wish that they had put a little more work into giving this wonderful film the release that it deserves. Still, this disc is the best way to see this masterpiece. If you love great stories, get it =)

Great Film!
This movie was absolutely captivating. From the very beginning my attention was caught and lasted throughout the entire film. The whole build-up of the Jacob storyline was what really moved me. The one thing that prevented me from giving it 5 stars was how the ending seemed a bit rushed. I feel they should have explored the feelings of all members of the family a bit more. I would love for them to make a sequel to this film about Sarah, Jacob, and Earnst going back into society. But all in all, it was a truely moving movie. ... Read more