Chariots of Fire 1981
Despite being on my high school track team around the time this movie was released, it is not one I ever saw, though I always felt like I should see it, not just for the famous songs by Vangelis, but it also won the Oscar for Best Picture. I was able to borrow the movie using a Screen Pass and can now say I have seen it. It is a pretty stodgy movie with not a huge amount of drama or suspense. There are way better sports movies. Instead it is more of a costume drama as you see all of these fashions, cars, and weird exercises from the 1920’s. The movie splits most of its attention between two British athletes of the time, Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. However there is minimal tension or even interaction between those two. Instead each has a somewhat similar story as Abrahams sees some discrimination for his Jewish faith while Liddell refuses to run on Sundays due to his Christian faith, giving up the chance to win Olympic gold in some of his best events.
It is a little hard to get excited about these two characters I had never heard of. The character development seems a little by the numbers, though both have interesting backgrounds, with Liddell being born in China to a family of Scottish missionaries, and Abrahams born in Britain to Jewish immigrants. There is also a decent supporting cast of some other athletes as well as crusty and mostly antagonistic British administrators and politicians. There are also a couple of Americans as the primary competition, but they barely have speaking parts. Instead of any kind of intense drama, the movie takes its time to tell its story and establish the characters. Performances are good, though mostly understated. While these are two good stories, they certainly aren’t revelatory. Abrahams' was accepted because he was a great champion and Liddell’s problems were self-imposed and in reality not as dramatic as the movie depicts. So while it is well made, it is also a litle ho hum, and whereas the period details seem perfect in every aspect of the movie, the electronic score by Vangelis (which also won an Oscar) seems very dated today.
Written: 19 Aug 2021
Owned on: Digital