Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 01/11/2008 Run time: 123 minutes Rating: Pg
The come-from-behind winner of the 1981 Oscar for best picture, Chariots of Fire either strikes you as either a cold exercise in mechanical manipulation or as a tale of true determination and inspiration. The heroes are an unlikely pair of young athletes who ran for Great Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics: devout Protestant Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a divinity student whose running makes him feel closer to God, and Jewish Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), a highly competitive Cambridge student who has to surmount the institutional hurdles of class prejudice and anti-Semitism. There's delicious support from Ian Holm (as Abrahams's coach) and John Gielgud and Lindsay Anderson as a couple of Cambridge fogies. Vangelis's soaring synthesized score, which seemed to be everywhere in the early 1980s, also won an Oscar. Chariots of Fire was the debut film of British television commercial director Hugh Hudson (Greystoke) and was produced by David Puttnam. --Jim Emerson
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Chariots of Fire and Wings on Their Feet:
I never saw Chariots of Fire when it was in the theater in the early 80's, but I became interested in it after I saw some of the sites where it was filmed when I was in Scotland recently. It's based on the true story of the track team of Great Britain in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Eric Liddell has become one of my heroes -- standing for what you know is right even in the face of incredible pressure and sacrifice. It's an amazing film!!
Great Movie:
This DVD came in great shape. I enjoyed it very much. Great price too!
FRAUDULENT:
The movie is excellent, but the presentation isn't. I'd read reviews claiming the Two Disc Special Edition version isn't presented in actual widescreen. Now that I've compared this DVD to my VHS full screen version, side by side, I'm forced to agree. Galling, but true: The "1.85:1" aspect ratio is achieved merely by slicing the top and bottom off the panned and scanned version! I'm angry at Warner Brothers for foisting this lie onto us and disappointed with Amazon for perpetuating the fraud. Buyer beware!
My favorite movie:
I first saw this movie at 18 and it has remained my favorite. The themes and messages are timeless - about having integrity and beliefs - and about "running" for all of the right reasons.
