"They shall run and not be weary."

Rating: 8/10 (6 March 2019)

A pair of conflicted athletes are central to this story of runners preparing for the 1924 Olympic Games. By coincidence, their particular faiths are central to their conflicts as well. When Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) reaches the pinnacle of his running career, he's forced into a decision not to run on the Sabbath Day, placing him at odds with his Cambridge professors who seek glory for their institution. In the case of Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), he's made a decision to set aside his missionary calling in order to give glory to God in another way, by winning an Olympic gold medal. The story involves how both men managed to turn their circumstances into favorable solutions so that they could compete in their respective contests. At times the picture gives the impression that the runners were destined to race against each other, but that wasn't the case. That would have been noteworthy as one of them would have had to face being second best, which was anathema to them both.
"Chariots of Fire" was a Best Picture winner in it's day against a widely diverse array of films. One could argue it's strength against competition like "Reds", "On Golden Pond", "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Atlantic City", but it's probably safe to say that the movie would have found it hard to muster the same level of support during the present time. With both Christianity and Judaism under fire in the popular culture, the story's emphasis on religious faith would likely make it a weak contender, if even considered a candidate for the top award. It's also presented as a meaningful character study as opposed to dynamic action or adventure, which seems to turn off modern day viewers who crave over the top thrills. When this film opens it's set in London in 1978, with elderly benefactors of an English college honoring the past glory of the school and it's graduates. When it was over, the impression one's left with is that in a way, the movie speaks to the past glory of movies the way they used to be before the present day craving for gigantic explosions and computer generated special effects.