Incredible movie!

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2000)

I agree with the first poster that the film might seem soporific. It took me several tries to get through it. It is very subtle, and the English and Scottish accents have a tendency to obscure the dialogue for Americans, I think. On the other hand, I have never seen such an amazing commentary on the motivations of Great Men. The film is really a contrast between two types: the internally and the externally motivated man. On the one hand is Harold Abrahams, a man who has never been beaten in a race, coming up against his own limitations. He is the externally motivated man--he runs to fight the racism he finds in England because he is Jewish--he feels compelled, driven to race to prove that he is better than the non-Jews around him. ON the other hand, there is Eric Liddell, his polar opposite. A man who feels compelled to run because of his Scottish Presbyterian religion: " When I run, I feel God's pleasure." He has hurdles to overcome, himself, in the form of his family who feels that his life is better devoted to missionary work.
The real crux of the matter is which one is the greater man--a question that is not resolved when they race against each other. This movie is rich in subtlety and understanding of human character. And the music is, obviously, amazing. But you will leave still wondering: which is better, to be motivated by competitive spirit, or to be motivated by a sort of Wordsworthian joie de vivre, in which excelling at something is its own reward.
I think the answer to this may be found in another quote (or misquote), "and Alexander wept, for he had no more worlds to conquer." The externally motivated man is a bit of a neurotic, as Abrahams trainer remarks in the movie. But his world-beating is done when he achieves certain goals to prove his point against those who surround him--this type of man tends to accomplish everything while he is young. He is driven even beyond his limits by competition with others. The internally motivated man is less neurotic and less compulsive, appearing more god-like, as the movie shows. Yet he is not driven in the same way to surpass his own limits, relying more on his natural born gifts. True world-beaters are single-minded like Abrahams. Internally motivated men tend to be more rounded, more of a renaissance man like Eric Liddell, who does not hold winning above all else.
The question the movie leaves us with is who is greater.
Abrahams went on to become a great statesman of British athletics. Liddell was killed in missionary work to China while he was still young.