Chariots of Fire
1981 Directed by Hugh Hudson
Synopsis
Based on the true story of British athletes preparing for and competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four, including Best Picture.
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That famous beach slo-mo scene? They're still moving faster than the London traffic will be when the Olympics starts. Zeus help us.
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I can't believe this snoozefest won best picture. The story was just not interesting, much less the characters.
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I once ruined a relationship by saying that this movie deserved its Oscars.
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It's a good feel good movie, but you mostly see it because of Vangelis's iconic score
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This movie is pretty well written and well acted, but it never engaged me. I never really cared what happened.
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Review from my VOD column "This Week on Demand".
A film which never quite lives up to the iconic stature earned by its immediately recognisable opening scene, Chariots of Fire is a nonetheless solid sports-centric drama tackling the idea of personal fulfilment in the face of nationalistic duty. Hugh Hudson’s film thrives on the strength of its leads, Ben Cross and Ian Charleson starring as Cambridge students selected to run at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, whose various personal problems complicate matters at every turn. Strong support comes in the form of a terrific Ian Holm as the former’s coach, a memorable character who steals every scene he features in. It’s all well conveyed with some very fine direction;…
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This movie never gets old to me. Great acting, great score, great film
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Hadn't seen it since sometime in the late 80s on VHS. For this revisit, I didn't have huge expectations of the film, but I was surprised at how bland it was. I guess it had that "classy" thing going on that convinced the Academy to call it the best picture. That, and it was the Reagan Era, that helps to explain it.
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Its like watching a beige wall dry
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I once ruined a relationship by saying that this movie deserved its Oscars.
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Chariots of Fire has heart, that's for sure, but it runs at a strangely slow pace. The iconic music is occasionally distracting with its out-of-period synthesizer, but for the most part is fine. It's certainly not a bad film, it's just not terribly interesting.
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A story that I don't know at all. But music that I know very very well. It was good, some of the Olympic games footage was amazing, especially considering it was the 80s redoing the 20's, but the back story was the clincher for the film. The off the track stories were more the reasons the audience could or should feel for the characters, and those were the bits that lacked for me. They were slow and sometimes unneeded. Maybe its the topic, the narrative form felt like Grand Prix but without the actual drama. Or an interesting way it was shot. Unfortunate but still a good true story.
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I can't believe this snoozefest won best picture. The story was just not interesting, much less the characters.
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super gay...
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Memorable images and music. Holds your attention.