Movie Review: Chariots of Fire

I have an easier time remembering the theme song to this movie than the movie title itself. I was blanking on the name if when I sat down to write my review! But the theme song is etched into my brain. I was disappointed that the theme song only appeared at the very beginning and at the very end. But the music was good in between too, and it gained an Academy Award.

Chariots of Fire also won Best Picture in 1981. Courtney and I had been looking forward to watching it, because it is from the year of our birth.


Somehow I was under the impression that the movie was about a guy named Prefontaine who was a famous runner. Maybe that is what someone mistakenly told me once. But it was about runners in England in the 1920s.

Now this movie is quite peculiar and impressive.

1. It is about runners, so there are a lot of running scenes. I was impressed how the runners were genuinely exhausted from running fast. I don't think there's any way you can "act" like people feel after a sprint. We wondered how often they had to run, and the complexity of having different takes.
2. There are instances where the tape is slowed down, or running scenes are repeated. Kind of like instant replay. That way the movie can maximize those scenes.
3. The movie is about people from different religious backgrounds, and how they overcome the challenges surrounding that. For the Jew, he is discriminated against, and wants to prove himself. For the Christian, he is asked to compromise, and has to choose between honoring God and running in the Olympics.
   

The Christian runner (Eric Liddell) causes a stir when he refuses to run time trials on the Sabbath. My view of the Sabbath is subject for a separate blog post. My views are not that extreme, but I do have some ways that I honor it. Anyway, my favorite part was when an American runner gave him a note that read "Those who honor me, I will honor", says the Lord. And he clenches that note in his hand the entire race.

Another quote that has been often quoted in Christian literature and sermons is when the Christian runner (Eric Liddell) says to his anti-running sister, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel his pleasure". And the usual application is that religious activities are not the only activities that honor God.

It was tougher for me to relate to the Jewish runner (Abrahams), because I'm not an ultra competitive person, and the things that motivated him aren't the things that motivate me. He eventually gained the respect he sought, and he was treated like a true Englishman.

Anyway, it's hard to know where to rank this movie, but it's toward the top. I didn't ever get bored with it, and it is an epic story, which are is favorite kind.

Here's a video with the theme song: