Classic sports movie set in the 1920s

Rating: 9/10 (14 December 2006)

I recently watched Chariots of Fire again and it's still enjoyable. I first saw it back in 1981, when it was something of a phenomenon and a refreshing change. It was an old fashioned feel-good movie that looked good, told an uplifting story and had a brilliant score by Vangelis.
It's essentially about two British athletes and their quest for gold at the 1924 Paris Olympics. It tries to explain what drove them and like all good sports movies you become a fan and part of their inevitable success. The film is based on real events but Colin Welland's script doesn't let the facts stand in the way of a good story. In his defence, the liberties taken probably help the story and add to the drama.
Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) is an ambitious sprinter at Cambridge University who is desperate win. Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) is a Scottish rugby international and a devoted Christian who becomes a missionary in China after the games. Liddell believes that God made him fast for a purpose so he gives up rugby and focuses on sprinting. His sister Jennie (Cheryl Campbell) believes that his running is a silly waste of time.
Both runners compete against each other in 1923 and Liddell comes out on top. Over the winter Abrahams hires a professional coach Sam Mussabini (Ian Holm) to help him prepare for the games. Meanwhile Harold meets and falls in love with Sybil Gordon (Alice Krige) a light opera singer. On the eve of the games Liddell discovers that the heats of the 100 meters are being held on Sunday and switches to the 400 meters.
All the actors give excellent performances, but Ben Cross and Krige are exceptionally good. Welland's script contains a long list of historical inaccuracies. Liddell knew months before the games that his heats would be on a Sunday. In the film, Abrahams, who was a Jew, claims that he is being discriminated against. Many people dispute this. The story claims that Mussabini was desperate to coach an Olympic champion for the first time. However, he also trained Reggie Walker (winner of the 100 meters in 1908) and Albert Hill (winner of the 800 and 1,500 meters in 1920). Welland creates new characters like Lord Andrew Lindsay (Nigel Havers)and omits Douglas Lowe who attended Cambridge with Abrahams and won the 800 meters in Paris. I could go on.
The film came at the right time when the world was ready for noble heroes. The film still retains some magic and is well worth watching.