Simply the greatest movie ever made. Period.

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 2001)

What can you say when a wholesome, G-rated film -- about the cultural and religious odysseys of a Christian missionary and a Jewish law student that converge as they compete in the 1924 Olympics -- gets named "best picture of the year" ... by Playboy magazine?! And THEN gets the Best Picture (and several other) Academy Awards, as well? Legendary actress Lilian Gish said it was the best movie ever made -- and who should know films better than the silent star who had witnessed the ENTIRE history of film up 'til then from the inside?
I remember, I first went to see Chariots of Fire for one reason -- I was one of only 3 known Vangelis fans in the Western Hemisphere in 1981, and this was now the first musical score he had composed and performed for a movie. Those Brits and Scots all looked alike and the accents made me wish for subtitles. AND I had missed the first 15 minutes, out getting popcorn for my girlfriend. So I HAD to go back a 2nd time to try and figure out what was happening (and to hear the music again). And then a 3rd, and 4th, and eventually a 12th (yes, in the theater!) time, because this movie gripped me -- and my best friends -- in a way we'd never experienced.
The uncomplicated mind will see a good story of 2 track athletes in their 20s in the 1920s, in the ultimate contest, the Olympics. Those who like character psychology will appreciate the heroes' struggle to find their identities and purposes in life. The spiritual viewer will find cinematic soulmates. Those who strive (or want to strive) for greater purposes will find inspiration. Observers of culture will find that "British humor" isn't ALWAYS an oxymoron. There are trials, growth, stress, neuroses, honor, vanity, painful decisions, wrenching defeats, and the triumph of the soul. Music-lovers will love the helping of Gilbert and Sullivan, not to mention the stirring and majestic (and Oscar-winning) Vangelis score. This film has heart and soul and warmth and nobility. It IS, simply, the best. Ever.