Award-winning film is very craftworthy, yet glitched.

Rating: 7/10 (20 March 1999)

CHARIOTS OF FIRE has everything its got to be a true film classic...except for "The Award-Winning Mistake". A truly dramatic chronicle of the running sport, it has unbelievable craftsmanship in its masterful screenplay about competing athletes, and shows us how the mind and soul can possess a willful spirit of hoping for the best, making a winning statement for itself. Holding up exceptionally well in the test of time is the visuals that recreate 1924, much like rivaling TITANIC eighteen years later. Vangelis' electronic music score has been sensational, including the breathtaking theme music that still gets played on some easy listening stations. Put these pieces together and you have a fine work of cinematic art for all the future generations to see. And now, I present to you "The Award-Winning Mistake"! A black boom mic shows in front of two kissy-pies who are about to say goodbye, and we have news reporters who carry paper and pencils, but no high-tech microphones (see, they didn't even exist in the 20s!). There should have been further examinations of this scene by the A.M.P.A.S. judges before giving this a 1981 Best Picture Oscar. Without any other doubts, this is a disgusting piece of matter that makes a fine film look bad! Minus one point, there! It's still a captivating masterpiece to behold, and you wouldn't mind the visibly minor glitch that can never make a difference to the whole program.