DVD Review - Chariots of Fire (1981)
Arts & Entertainment → Television / Movies
- Author Thomas Straub
- Published March 30, 2007
- Word count 463
A first class movie for anyone that loves a winner that strives by the sweat of his brow, and all the adrenalin he can muster, in order to win the International Olympic Gold Medal. This film stars Ian Charleson and Ben Cross as two long distance runners struggling to compete in early 20th century Great Britain.
Fueled by disparate desires, Eric Liddell (played by Ian Charleson) and Harold Abrahams (played by Ben Cross) compete in arduous training to bring Olympic fame to Great Britain.
Liddell is a man of strong Christian faith and feels God has given him a gift, of being very fast. He runs "like a mad man" as one of the spectators describes him in the movie. Liddell yearns to have victory for God first, and then for Great Britain.
On the other hand, Harold Abrahams views winning as a repudiation of the growing anti-Semitism in Europe. As a student at Cambridge, he contends by using a professional trainer outside of the school's athletic department. This causes a row within the school, but he prevails by making his point to the president of the school: "You want what I want and that is to win, and that takes a professional trainer, not an amateur."
Both men train by running after cars, through the beautiful english country side, through the water on the beach, in both rain and sunny skies alike. Each struggle with extreme workouts to build and tone their bodies to be the best. In the interim, both men must sacrifice their private lives to completely devote their time to training in order to get that extra few seconds of speed over each other, and every other rival.
In the movie Harold Abrahams falls in love with a popular actress and singer that doesn't understand his obsession with always winning every race. It is interesting to watch, however, as later she decides to wait for him as he trains for the Olympics, even if it means that he will be leaving her for a long extended period.
Eric Liddell works feverishly at both his missionary cause and his running, until he decides to let his fellow lady missionary and love, take over their mission, that is, at least until he wins at the Olympics for God.
The story shows a great deal of how the English culture, filled with pomp and circumstance brought down from many generations of tradition and royalty, affects both men. Even the Prince of Wales, the future King of England, gets involved with Eric Liddell in a politically sensitive matter. Thankfully help arrives, but from a totally unexpected source.
This is a riveting tale based on a true story.
Chariots of Fire won the 1981 Oscar Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and is rated PG.
Tom Straub is a successful author and webmaster of the DVD Reviews website featuring online reviews of all your favorites.
Article source: https://articlebiz.comRate article
Article comments
There are no posted comments.
Related articles
- “The Elusive Muse: Greta Garbo and the Art of Disappearing.”
- “Dream Logic and Cinematic Reality.”
- “Glamour, Blood, and the Spotlight: Lana Turner, Johnny Stompanato, and Hollywood’s Most Notorious Scandal.”
- “Blood, Dust, and Honor: How “The Wild Bunch” Shattered the Western Myth.”
- “Dean Martin: From Small-Town Beginnings to Timeless Legend of Music and Film.”
- “Daniel Day-Lewis— Deep Immersion and Subtle Gesture in There Will Be Blood.”
- “Shadows of Youth: How The Graduate Still Echoes Across a Lifetime.”
- "Louise Brooks: The Icon Who Defied Hollywood."
- “Play It Again, World: Why Casablanca Still Speaks to Us All These Years Later.”
- “From Spotlight to Parliament: The Fearless Journey of Glenda Jackson.”
- “Drifting Rooms and Vanishing Faces: Confronting the Abyss in The Father.”
- Mastering Cinematic Camera Movement: The Art and Science of Fluid Heads
- "Grace Beyond Glamour: Audrey Hepburn's Timeless Reign in a World of Glitter and Excess."
- “The Relentless Ascent of Tom Cruise: Hollywood’s Tireless Risk-Taker.”
- “Shadows and Smoke: The Seductive Descent of Film Noir.”
- Indie Film Hack: How a Used Master Prime 50 mm Creates $1-Million Visuals
- “Godfather to Guardian: Al Pacino’s Journey to Redemption in Scent of a Woman.”
- “The Man of Steel’s Tragic Fall: The Life and Times of George Reeves.”
- “Shadowland: The Tragic Ordeal of Frances Farmer and the Machinery That Broke Her.”
- “Glenn Ford: Hollywood’s Reluctant Heartthrob Who Played by His Own Rules.”
- “From Navy Tough Guy to Hollywood Everyman: The Life and Legacy of Ernest Borgnine.”
- Used Master Prime Inspection: 5 Critical Checks to Avoid Refurbished Scams
- “Wounds That Time Couldn’t Heal: Watching The Best Years of Our Lives Through the Lens of Memory and Mourning.”
- “Mira Sorvino: From Oscar Glory to Hollywood Silence.”
- “Beyond the Spotlight: The Rise and Fall of Dorothy Dandridge.”
- “Through the Mist of Venice: Revisiting Don’t Look Now and Its Haunting Grip on Grief.”
- “Hellfire and Heresy: Ken Russell’s The Devils and the Fury of Sacred Cinema.”
- The Countdown Begins: Chicago PD Season 13 Ushers in a New Era of Grit and Drama
- “Heatwave: When Crime, Character, and Two Legends Collided in Michael Mann’s L.A.”
- TopFlix Takes Over: The New Streaming Giant Everyone’s Talking About