Review: Chariots Of Fire
This evening I re-watched Chariots Of Fire. I’ve seen it many, many times, and I have a tradition of re-watching it every Olympiad. If you haven’t seen this film, I can’t recommend it highly enough. It came out the year I was born and won four Oscars, including Best Picture.
It’s the story of the British athletes who competed in track events in the 1924 Olympics and primarily focuses on two runners, Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. Of course as with any historical drama the movie has its embellishments, but much of what is portrayed in the film either really happened or happened very similarly to what is portrayed on screen.
Liddell is Scottish, the child of Christian missionaries to China. He faces the tension of competing in track events and pursuing his missionary work, constantly fretted over by his sister who is concerned that he might be so preoccupied with his hobby that he misses his calling. Abrahams is Jewish and the son of an immigrant. He navigates a world full of anti-semitism while striving to embody what it means to be British. He’s also driven to achieve immortality by winning the 100m race and thereby become the fastest man in the world.
As a Christian, I love the story of Eric Liddell. Ian Charleson portrays him in such an earnest way, and this is that rare film that portrays Christian faith and principles in a sincere, sympathetic light. Liddell uses his notoriety as a platform to share the Gospel and tells his sister that when he runs, he can feel God’s pleasure. Later in the film he’s challenged in his dedication to principle when he faces pressure to run on Sunday, something he feels would violate his beliefs.
As much as I love Charleson’s performance, Ben Cross is absolutely incredible in the role of Harold Abrahams. He’s one of those actors who’s able to convey deep emotion with his eyes and face and it’s an absolute delight to listen to him recite dialog.
As a Star Trek fan, there’s a neat Trek connection in the fact that Ben Cross played Spock’s father, Sarek, in Star Trek (2009) and Alice Krige, who plays Abrahams’s girlfriend, played the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact. There’s actually a neat symmetry between Abrahams in Chariots Of Fire and Spock in Star Trek (2009) in that they’re both portrayed as outsiders who don’t quite fit into the worlds they find themselves in. In fact, the scene in Chariots Of Fire in which Abrahams is grilled by the university faculty is very similar to the scene in Star Trek (2009) where Spock confronts the Vulcan science academy.
This movie lands in a lot of sweet spots for me. In addition to everything mentioned above, it’s a period film and I love a good period film. This particular era is so rarely portrayed on-screen, and it’s great to see it come alive. If you love the Olympics, you should watch this movie. Getting a glimpse at what the 1924 Olympics looked like is wonderful.
The Vangelis score is one of the more unique soundtracks in movie history. It won the Oscar for best score in 1981. The mix of piano, synth, and high hat in the iconic opening theme is unlike anything else in movie history. While it’s impossible not to like that theme paired with the iconic shot of the athletes running on the beach, I’m not sure I love the overall Vangelis sound, but it’s certainly distinct. I do love all of the Gilbert and Sullivan tunes that are peppered throughout the film.
I recently purchased this film in HD on iTunes for $7, replacing my old DVD copy. It looks amazing in HD, and the movie was originally presented in 1.85:1, so it’s perfectly suited to a modern HDTV. My only regret is that currently the film has no iTunes Extras content. I’d love to have hours of behind the scenes videos to pore through, but unfortunately none are to be found in the iTunes edition.
Once again, if you haven’t seen Chariots Of Fire, do yourself a favor and watch it!













