Organically cinematic. A solid Best Picture winner for the 1980s.

Rating: 7/10 (25 August 2014)

I've been sitting for many years without having seen all the 1980s Best Picture winners and considering keeping track of the winners is something I do on a regular basis, I may as well watch them now. Chariots Of Fire was quite a pleasant surprise, though one still held back by fundamental flaws. It's pretty hard to try and raise the stakes for this in a meaningful way and it tries in the form of religion, but to a contemporary secular society it's hard to connect to or have faith in. Other than its religious themes, its biggest personality is how it's unbearably British. I can see where all the clichÃ©s perpetuated in cartoons come from now, it's all our fault. Otherwise a lot of the film's shortcomings isn't necessarily its fault, just the way film history turned out.
There may not be a familiar face outside of Ian Holm to latch onto but the performances are still impressive at least for their running. Vangelis' score is now more associated with the dystopian vistas of Blade Runner so some moments are hard to take seriously, but some still retain the magic, especially with its unassuming but pleasing golden brown cinematography and keen editing tricks borrowed from the 70s with slow motion and subjective flashbacks. Even ignoring its attempts at religious meaning and its character development which are hit- and-miss beside some heartbreaking talks with the otherwise extraneous love interests, it's still an entertaining rivalry movie. Chariots Of Fire is an underrated and solid best picture winner from the 1980s, if nothing remarkable, but 1981 was a weak year outside of Das Boot anyway.
7/10