Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Chariots of Fire: 1981

Sometimes when I watch these best pictures, I learn where iconic images, sayings, and scenes are from. This was the case with Chariots of Fire's opening scene of the British Olympians running on the beach:



Besides seeing the origination of that particular scene and music (the music is all original in Chariots of Fire), I didn't find the rest of the film all that interesting. It's the true story of two men who were runners for Great Britain for the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. One of them, Eric Liddell, is a Scotsman who grew up in China as a missionary, where he plans to return after his running career. Liddell runs because he believes God gave him this gift and he should use it. Prior to the Olympics, Liddell would preach after his races. As his father points out, he proves that Christians can be physically strong. The other man is Harold Abrahams who is running to known more for his accomplishments than his religion. Abrahams is Jewish and has had to deal with anti-Semitism. Running is his way to prove that he matters.

Unfortunately, Abrahams' quest in this film comes across as less important when compared to Liddell's quest. As the film progressed, that became more and more apparent, and it troubled me. II'm not sure how true that is to history, but in telling this story, it seems like more could have been done to make the men both have noble reasons. Abrahams went on to hold a roll in British athletics, and Liddell did become a missionary (who died during WWII when China was occupied).

My other problem with this film is not much was done with the film elements, other than score, to enhance the story. While the story could have been exciting, it seemed flat. I wasn't interested in seeing how things turned out. I knew they must have done well because why else would there be a movie about these men, but typically sports movies play up the drama enough through editing that it becomes more a question of can they do it. That isn't present in Chariots of Fire. To be fair, though, it came after two movies I really enjoyed, ones that made me think and had excellent acting. The acting here was fine, but nothing like what I have just watched.


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