It's the kind of movie that Academy voters love to recognize

Rating: 7/10 (8 December 2016)

Even though it may not have been the most memorable among the nominees (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), On Golden Pond (1981)) that year, this film took home the gold for Best Picture, and won Oscars for Original Screenplay, Costume Design, and unforgettable Score by Vangelis (who hasn't really been heard from since he dropped his Greek surname Papathanassiou).
The great character actor Ian Holm received his only Supporting Actor nomination (two years after he helped Alien (1979) make an unforgettable debut). Director Hugh Hudson and Editor Terry Rawlings were also nominated.
The story is a fictionalized account of the real miraculous achievement by Great Britain's male Olympic sprinters (e.g. over the favored U.S. team) at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, France. There are two religiously-based background stories which stay above melodrama (if barely): Ben Cross plays a Jew battling anti-Semitism - his situation is complicated by the controversy of his having hired a professional trainer (Holm) for his quest to become the fastest man in the world (e.g. the 100m champion) - and his Christian opponent, Ian Charleson as Eric Liddell, who runs for the glory of God and thus refuses to run a heat on the Sabbath; Liddell competed in (and won) the 400m instead.
The cast also includes some recognizable Britishers John Gielgud, Nigel Davenport and Patrick Magee, and a post-Breaking Away (1979) Dennis Christopher and a post-Midnight Express (1978) Brad Davis as American sprinters.