This did not deserve Best Picutre for 1981

Rating: 7/10 (4 April 2008)

After finally seeing "Chariots of Fire", I now understand what all the fuss is about it. Vangelis' score is simply brilliant, a well-deserved Oscar. The costume and set-decoration add to the authenticity of the film's time period. The work of cinematography gives the dramatic feeling of the film. The screenplay and actors are good. But of the other nominees for Best Picture in 1981, I found this to be a feeble win at the Academy.
Unlike "On Golden Pond", the movie does not develop great characters nor does it have memorable performances like Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn delivered. The motives of the two runners, Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) and Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) are understandable. Both are competitive individuals and with such a competition, they push themselves harder and harder. But they both come from different religious families.
Harold, who's Jewish, feels it is his obligation to make himself the best, for fame and to escape prejudice. However, there is no external conflict shown in the movie that makes him feel so determined to be the best. For most individuals, it takes something from the past to spark someone's heavy interest in such a thing. A person just doesn't wake up one morning and say I'm going to be a runner. I felt his character wasn't developed, just thrown into Cambridge, running laps, saying, "I need to do better than this" to the amusing Ian Holm.
It is also the same with Eric. As a catholic Scot, he feels it's his job to win for God. Well, why? Sure, the film shows that he has a religious uptight family, but the story does not broaden off of that. The movie doesn't even bother to develop his relationship that diminishes with his significant other. So, I am left as a mere observer rather than being pulled into the film.
The only thing that pulled me into the film was Vangelis' score which made the movie. I enjoyed the slow-motion images of the runners running, but it got very tiresome after awhile, particularly at the end of the movie with the Olympic Games. I couldn't help but laugh at the actor's faces as they ran in slow-motion. It almost made me think of the different expressions Bruce Banner would make as he's mutating into the Hulk.
In addition without strong character development, the accents are very thick. I have no problem with Brits, but when I have to put subtitles on the DVD in order to understand what the people are saying, it becomes a real hassle. It's not a bad movie, but nothing that deserved close to Best Picture. 7/10 If you won't great movies of 1981, see "Raiders of The Lost" or "On Golden Pond".