Review #182: 'Chariots of Fire' (1981)

As the 1924 Paris Olympics approach, two different but equally determined young British men prepare themselves for a chance at glory. One, Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) is an English Jew attending Cambridge University, along with his friends and fellow athletes Aubrey Montague (Nicholas Farrell), Lord Andrew Lindsay (Nigel Havers) and Henry Stallard (Daniel Gerroll). The other, devout Christian and proud Scot raised in China, Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), seems to have the ability to leave anyone he races against in his wake. One is racing against prejudice, the other for the God he believes gave him the ability to run. But with the Americans dominating the sport, do they have a chance at taking the gold medal?

Because of the amount of times I've seen this film lampooned, with the use of its music played over something in slow-motion, I was expecting this film to have become a parody of itself. I was not expecting something as brilliant and profoundly moving as I did experience. From the opening scene that depicts the main characters running along the beach in slow-motion to that score, I was hooked. How a film that begins in 1919 and is steeped in period detail can work with a very 80's synthesised score is beyond me, but it works wonderfully, and was a massive risk that is pulled off.

Slight historical inaccuracies and tweaks from the sake of narrative aside, the film strongest point comes in its authenticity. For all the films that try and look wonderful in the period dress and detail, few actually feel like its set in the time. For example, Gangs Of New York (2002), was gorgeous and I'm sure the costumes and sets were very accurate, but it always feels like you're watching actors on a set. Chariots Of Fire convinces while seeming effortless, with the clothes and props having a 'lived-in' feel.

Apart from the visual delights, there are the two leads who both went criminally unrecognised at the Academy Awards. Ben Cross is all steely determination and frustrated rage as Abrahams, who is the inferior runner to Liddell. And Ian Charleson, a celebrated stage actor who tragically died nine years after this film was made, is just a naturally fine actor who plays the devout Christian Eric Liddell with such an ease and intelligence that he deserved an Academy Award nomination at the very least. But those Oscar voters don't get it right very often, although the film did bring home Best Picture.

It has been criticised for its inaccuracies. Lord Lindsay didn't exist and is a stand-in for the real-life Lord Burghley, and Aubrey Montague attended Oxford, not Cambridge. The note that is handed to Liddell just before his big race by the American runner Jackson Scholz (Brad Davis) that wishes him luck was actually given to him by an American masseur, and it is said that Abrahams faced very little persecution due to the fact that he was Jewish at Cambridge. They are others too, but, to me, this is a film about two great sportsmen using their ability to speak for what they believe in. If you want an accurate account of what actually happened, you can read a biography or look on Wikipedia. The film makes changes for more power and to get its point across, while keeping the majority of the true-life story correct.

A wonderfully intelligent film that is packed with great performances, stunning cinematography, and subtle period detail, with a distinct Britishness about it that seemed to have been lost in the 1960's. And as much as that score is made fun of, it still packs the same power and remains oddly stirring.


Directed by: Hugh Hudson
Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell, Ian Holm, Nigel Havers, John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, Nigel Davenport
Country: UK

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie