Brilliant movie

Rating: 10/10 (23 January 2011)

While I do think Raiders of the Lost Ark is the better film, Chariots of Fire is still an brilliant movie. To be honest, I wouldn't have minded which of these two films won Best Picture, they are both as good as each other.
At the time, Chariots of Fire was dismissed as an empty exercise in cheap schmaltz. I personally think that is an unfair distinction. What Chariots of Fire is in my view is a powerful tale about two British athletes aiming for glory in the Olympics with a certain old-fashioned innocence. The whole film is beautifully photographed, and Vangelis's score is suitably triumphant and one of his best. The direction is clever, and the script is wonderful. The story is both powerful and intriguing, and if anything it is a character study and a compelling one it is too. The film rarely drags either, and the characters(particularly the lead characters) are well-developed and credible when they could have easily been clichéd. The acting is excellent across the board, Ian Charleson and Ben Cross are both superb in their roles, likewise with Ian Holm.
All in all, it is a brilliant movie. Maybe not my immediate choice for the Academy Award, but I cannot deny that it is more than good as a movie. 10/10 Bethany Cox