80s Movie Review - Chariots of Fire

Director: Hugh Hudson
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 123 minutes
Year: 1981
Starring: Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers, Ian Charleson, Ben Cross, Daniel Gerroll, Ian Holm, John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, Nigel Davenport, Cheryl Campbell, Alice Krige, Dennis Christopher, Brad Davis, Patrick Magee, Peter Egan, David Yelland, Struan Rodger    
 
Description: Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, compete in the 1924 Olympics.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 34: A MOVIE FROM THE 80S
 
Review: “Chariots of Fire” tells the true story of two men in the early 1920s. Harold Abrahams, an Englishman of Jewish-Lithuanian descent. He is studying at the University of Cambridge and is adored by his fellow students. Yet he still feels he is not fully accepted due to his religion. The other is Eric Liddel, a Scotsman and  son of a missionaries who is also expected to devote his life to spreading the word of God. He intends to do just that, but he actually has the dream of going to the Olympics. With both different lives and characters, Harold and Eric have one thing in common: they can run really fast. Eric runs purely for fun, when Harold runs mainly to prove himself and to silence his critics. Both men are selected for the 1924 Olympics in Paris, but they have some obstacles to overcome before they van achieve their goals.
The film doesn’t focus on whether Harold and Eric win at the Olympics, but mainly how they do it. The psychological battles with themselves are strong. Eric especially struggles to combine his faith with his sport and Harold mostly struggles with himself and the people around him. It’s more of a character study than a sports movie.
“Chariots of Fire” does feel a bit outdated now and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted. It’s a classic, but I believe that the opening and closing shots in combination with the legendary music by Vangelis are the most memorable parts of the film. They are more iconic then the film itself. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good movie, but for me it doesn’t feel like a classic.

Rating: 3,5/ 5