If you don't run, you can't win.

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2009)

Chariots Of Fire charts the path of two young British runners, Eric Liddell & Harold Abrahams, both of whom differ greatly in motivation, to the Olympic Games in Paris 1924.
Produced by David Puttnam, directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and sublimely scored by Vangelis. Chariots Of Fire was the winner of four Academy Awards for 1981, best film, best screenplay, best score and best costume. It was also nominated in three other categories, director, supporting actor {Ian Holm} and editing. It's with the Academy Awards that a lot of Chariots Of Fire's aura, for better and worse, exists. What most assuredly is a inspirational true tale period piece, seems to suffer for being named the finest picture of its particular year. It's as if it's just not cool to say a film such as this is fashionable. Shame, because although it's far from being an across the board masterpiece, it certainly doesn't deserve some of the nonsensical mud that has been thrown at it over the years.
We open with what has now become an almost legendary sequence of slow motion athletes running thru the surf, accompanied by Vangelis' beautiful score. We then follow the dovetailing Liddell and Abrahams on their paths to destiny. Liddell {Ian Charleson} is a devout Christian, he runs for God, but this throws up a problem as racing is scheduled for a Sunday and Liddell simply will not race on that day. Abrahams {Ben Cross} is Jewish, he races out of a need to be accepted, the need to win eating away at him as he strives to fight off prejudice.
This is no blinking boring sports period piece, this is, within its sport framework, a film about identity and beliefs. Charleson and Cross are both excellent because they give the characters a grounded reality, essential since this is a true story not glossed up by artistic licence. Backing them up is the nominated Holm, Nigel Havers, Nicholas Farrell, John Gielgud and impressive turns from the ladies, Cheryl Campbell & Alice Krige. Hudson gives his film a grandeur befitting the outcome, with his race sequences particularly memorable and easy on the eye. A fine film indeed, one that not only left myself feeling suitably learned about two very interesting men, but also left me feeling a sense of exhilaration as well. 8/10