Often misunderstood

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2003)

Chariots of Fire is perhaps the finest movie ever filmed. As other reviewers have pointed out it excels in many dimensions. The cinematography and historical recreation of the 1920's are beautifully done. It has an outstanding score and a wonderful cast with many superb performances. The writing and directing is excellent and I believe the film has some of the best editing in the history if film making.
The reason so many have found it disappointing is, I believe, because they have approached the film with one dimensional thinking. If the film is viewed as a "film about running" or "about racial prejudice" it will be misunderstood and not fully appreciated.
Chariots of Fire is a film that digs deep into the human spirit. It not only presents us with a story of two men and the motivations they have for running, it goes to the very heart of the questions of why we exist and what significance our lives will have.
As Harold Abrahams discovered before his most decisive race; his life had all come to the point of a few seconds in which he would attempt to justify all he had done and who he would become. Eric, the other main character struggles with the same issues in a different form. I won't give away any more plot than that to those who may not have seen the film.
While I enjoy many different film genre, my favorite films are those which examine the human spirit and what it is that makes us the people we are. Movies such as "The trip to Bountiful", "All Passion Spent" and "Chariots of Fire" are among the best and because they spend so much time on character development they are often criticized as "slow moving" or "boring".

If properly understood and viewed with discernment, Chariots of Fire can be a film that elicits self examination and may even inspire a person to become more than they are or would have been otherwise. What more could anyone ask of a film?