Chariots of Fire - Special Edition  (1981)

Rating: PG

Distributor: Warner Home Video

Release Date: February 1, 2005
Review posted: February 13, 2005

Reviewed by Dylan Grant

SYNOPSIS

Winner of the 1981 Best Picture Academy Award, Chariots of Fire tells the story of an unlikely pair of young athletes competing for Great Britain at the 1924 Olympic games in Paris.  Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) is a devout Protestant whose running makes him feel closer to God, while Jewish Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) is a highly competitive Cambridge student out to beat class prejudice and anti-Semitism.  This film also features a classic, Oscar winning score by Vangelis.

CRITIQUE

I was surprised by Chariots of Fire.  Until the DVD arrived at my door, I had missed the film all these years.  Part of it was opportunity, and part of it was that I had very little interest in seeing it.  A British film about running, a score that is probably better known that the film itself (and has become something of a punch line): nothing about this film grabbed me.  There is a great deal of tension in this film, the story of two men driving themselves to their limits.  Chariots of Fire is a great story and a great film.

The film employs an interesting device, a double flashback, to tell the story.  We open with a funeral, and we flashback first to the early 1920’s, that famous shot of the men running on the beach.  This is the British Olympic team, training to compete in the 1924 Games in Paris.  This shot is repeated twice in the film, at the beginning and at the end, and at this point, we do not know who any of these men are, but we are soon to find out.  From this classic opening shot we flashback a second time to Cambridge University, 1919, where we are first introduced to incoming freshman Harold Abrahams.  The Great War was over, but the country was still reeling from its devastation, and Abrahams is part of the first class to start school after the war.  He meets casual anti-Semitism the minute he walks in the door.  “With a name like that he won’t be singing in the chapel choir,” says the man.

But Abrahams does sing in the chapel choir.  He is a secular Jew, whose only concern about faith comes in having to overcome other people’s aversions to it.  The son of a Lithuanian financier, Abrahams is determined to overcome not only blatant anti-Semitism, but also the economic prejudice he encounters.  Abrahams knows how the world works, what greases the corridors of power, and he knows what he has to do to get where he wants to be.  His racing is an extension of that.  He is the fastest man in school when he arrives, and he races only for himself.  Personal excellence is far more important to him than “helping out the team.”  It is when Abrahams sees Eric Liddell win an impossible race that he sees the level to which he must rise.

There could not be a more polar opposite to Abrahams than Eric Liddell.  Liddell is the ideal Scotsman, the proverbial Great White Hope.  He runs like a wild animal and never loses a race.  On the track he seems totally invincible.  Born in China to missionary parents, Liddell plans to return after the Olympics to carry on their work.  Liddell preaches the word everywhere he goes, gives all thanks to God, and tells children that the Sabbath is no day for playing ball.  Liddell’s piety does not make his life any easier or him.  When they arrive in Paris, he learns that his race is scheduled for a Sunday and flatly refuses to run.  When pressured by his coach, the Olympic committee, and even the Prince of Whales himself, Liddell refuses to back down.  The only solution comes when another runner offers to trade places with him.

When Liddell and Abrahams race, Liddell wins easily, and Abrahams is distraught enough that he considers quitting.  There is no point in running if he is not going to win, he thinks.  It is only the interest of trainer Sam Mussabini (Ian Holm) that encourages him to keep training.  Mussabini teaches Abrahams how to sprint, not only how to run faster but how to run smarter.  Mussabini contends that Liddell is a great runner, but he is not unbeatable.  Holm does not have much screen time, but he makes the most of it.  His performance is brilliant.

Abrahams and Liddell are both picked for the Olympic team, both slated to run the 100-meter dash.  They are competitors on the same team, and that is all the same to Abrahams.  When Liddell moves to another event, both men are left to run their own races, literally and metaphorically.  Both win Gold, but that is really beside the point.  The race itself is what matters.  Abrahams competes against two Americans, Charles Paddock and Jackson Scholz, the two fastest men in the world coming into the 1924 games. 

The 1924 games are the climax of the film, and they are beautifully done.  Hudson infuses these scenes with so much tension we actually root for these guys to win.  We also get an interesting glimpse into the Games at that time.  The makers of Chariots of Fire had a keen eye for detail, which we see throughout the film, but the games themselves are particularly well done.  The track events were performed on a dirt track, with the runners carrying spades to dig out their own “starting blocks.”  The games in those days were truly amateur, no frills, and we get an interesting look into that time with this film. 

Chariots of Fire is well written, well directed, and well acted from the ground up.  Aside from the two main performances, there are a number of familiar faces: Sir John Gielgud, Alice Krige, Dennis Christopher, and more.  Some might recognize the actor playing Jackson Scholz, Brad Davis, the star of Midnight Express, among others.  There is so much in this film in which to revel.  This DVD offers the perfect opportunity to discover this film, or to see it all over again.

THE VIDEO

Chariots of Fire is presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and the transfer is beautiful.  The rich colors of this film are brilliantly translated, from the lush greenery of the Scottish highlands to the overcast grays of the Paris Olympics.  The image is sharp.

THE AUDIO

This DVD offers a remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation.  Sound is used very effectively in this film, and the new audio presentation makes the most of that.  From the sweeping crowds to the quite heartbeats to the starting guns, the presentation on this DVD is superb.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentary by Director Hugh Hudson: The director gives a lot of background and technical information about the film, where things were shot, the conditions and intentions.  He talks about the famous opening shot of the athletes running on the beach, among many other things.  A very interesting commentary.

Wings On Their Heels: The Making of Chariots of Fire: A retrospective look back at the making of the film, from the development of the script to the casting to the finished product.

Chariots of Fire: A Reunion: The director, producer and some of the actors have a roundtable and look back at the making of the film, what they were all thinking, and what the experience was like.

Additional Scenes: Seven deleted scenes or varying length, cut out for various reasons.  Includes the “Cricket in the Ballroom” scene, which was in the European version but was cut out for the American release.

Screen Tests: Cross and Charleson perform two key scenes from the film.  This is a test, but the costumes and performances did not change greatly between what we see here and the finished film.

Theatrical Trailer: The original theatrical trailer.  This one focuses more on the romanticism of the film than the athletics.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Chariots of Fire is a dynamic film, rich in characterization.  The writing and direction is solid, making for a singular cinematic experience.  The special features are insightful and add a layer of understanding to the film.

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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