Chariots of Fire (1981)
81%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: Won 4 Oscars
18 wins & 19 nominations total
Decidedly slower and less limber than the Olympic runners at the center of its story, the film nevertheless manages to make effectively stirring use of its spiritual and patriotic themes
Chariots of Fire is the ultimate underdog story that will make you want to run a marathon, even if you can’t hobble a step. The film’s iconic opening scene of young men racing barefoot along the beach, backed by Vangelis’s now famous anthem, is enough to give anyone goosebumps. While some critics may find the film lacking in active conflict or narrative engine, it’s the character study and social history that make it a classic. Plus, who doesn’t love a good triumph over adversity story? It’s the perfect movie to watch when you need a little inspiration to chase your dreams, even if it’s just to the fridge for a snack.
Production Company(ies)
ARTE Bavaria Film International, Corazón International,
Distributor
Warner Home Vídeo, 20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
The Oval Sports Centre, Bebington, Merseyside, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1982
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 3m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 26, 1981 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 16, 2007
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Ian Charleson, Ben Cross, John Gielgud, Nigel Havers, Nicholas Farrell, Ian Holm, Alice Krige, directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Alexander Walker, Bruce McCabe, Gary Arnold, Derek Malcolm, Kate Muir, Dave Calhoun, Kenneth Turan, Mike Massie, Tim Brayton, Larry Vitacco, Lawrence O’Toole, Mark Jackson, PG, United Kingdom, Paris Olympics, Eric Liddell, Harold Abrahams, anti-Semitism, class bias, spiritual, patriotic, Vangelis, soundtrack, sports, character study, social history, David Puttnam, Warner Home Vídeo, 20th Century Fox, Surround Sound
Worldwide gross: $59,303,359
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $187,500,149
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 735
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 20,447,126
US/Canada gross: $58,972,904
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $186,455,346
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 396
US/Canada opening weekend: $68,907
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $217,864
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,638
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $5,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $17,389,417
Production budget ranking: 1,438
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,364,201
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $160,746,532
ROI to date (est.): 601%
ROI ranking: 214
Ian Charleson – Eric Liddell
John Gielgud – Master of Trinity (as Sir John Gielgud)
Nigel Havers – Lord Andrew Lindsay
Nicholas Farrell – Aubrey Montague
Ian Holm – Sam Mussabini
Director(s)
Hugh Hudson
Writer(s)
Colin Welland
Producer(s)
David Puttnam
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 4 Oscars
18 wins & 19 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (75) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (13)
It doesnt matter if you cant hobble a step. This film’s touching, affected, overwhelming triumph is catching you up in the collective experience through the honesty of the individual achievement and intention.
June 17, 2022
Alexander Walker
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
It reminds us of the affirmative aspects of life, of the hope that endures in it as well as the cynicism.
April 26, 2018
Bruce McCabe
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Despite its bombastic tendencies, Chariots has a healthy glow that’s charming.
August 4, 2015
Gary Arnold
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
The film is not just about the race between Abrahams, the Jewish law student (Ben Cross), and Scottish missionary Eric Liddell (the late Ian Charleson). It’s a character study and a social history too.
February 21, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
From the opening scene of pale young men racing barefoot along the beach, full of hope and elation, backed by Vangelis’s now famous anthem, the film is utterly compelling.
February 21, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
Kate Muir
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Oddly, for a film about triumph over adversity, there’s nothing as uplifting as the opening and closing jogs along a windswept beach.
February 21, 2015 | Rating: 2/5
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
How is it that the unlikeliest of subjects often make the best of films? Chariots of Fire is the most sweetly satisfying movie, sure to appeal to the widest possible audience, yet it sounds like it wouldn’t interest a soul.
January 21, 2022
Kenneth Turan
New West/California
The sequences that could have been unmistakably victorious are flatly documentary-like at best.
August 31, 2020 | Rating: 4/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Devoid of active conflict or any sort of narrative engine.
August 1, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/5
Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
[Ian Charleson and Ben Cross] bring an unrestrained passion to their roles that is both refreshing and invigorating to watch.
May 27, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4
Larry Vitacco
Philadelphia Gay News
While the audience doesn’t fully experience the spookiness of the sports arena where pain and ecstasy shake hands, it is given more than gratuitous glimpses into the lives of two young men out to better their best.
February 5, 2020
Lawrence O’Toole
Maclean’s Magazine
“Chariots of Fire” reveals the origins of the modern Olympic competitive mindset; the doping, lying, and cheating. Lance Armstrong, anyone? This is the true story of two 1924 Olypians; one a man of deep faith, the other wanting to win at all costs.
November 11, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Mark Jackson
Epoch Times…
Plot
It’s the post-World War I era. Britons Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell are both naturally gifted fast sprinters, but approach running and how it fits into their respective lives differently. The son of a Lithuanian Jew, Harold, who lives a somewhat privileged life as a student at Cambridge, uses being the fastest to overcome what he sees as the obstacles he faces in life as a Jew despite that privilege. In his words to paraphrase an old adage, he is often invited to the trough, but isn’t allowed to drink. His running prowess does earn him the respect of his classmates, especially his running teammates, and to some extent the school administration, if only he maintains what they consider proper gentlemanly decorum, which isn’t always the case in their minds. Born in China, the son of Christian missionaries, Eric, a Scot, is a devout member of the Church of Scotland who eventually wants to return to that missionary work. He sees running as a win-win in that the notoriety of being fast gives him an added outlet to spread the word of God, while he sees his speed as being a gift from God, and he wants to run to honor God and that gift. This view does not sit well with his sister, Jennie Liddell, who sees his running as only taking away time from his work to God. Harold and Eric’s lives do intersect in national races, but it is the one hundred meter track event at the 1924 Paris Olympics which the two men and their supporters most anticipate. Beyond the fact that Americans Charles Paddock and Jackson Scholz are favored in the event, the much anticipated head to head between Harold and Eric may be further shadowed by other issues, especially as it affects Eric’s Christian beliefs.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Chariots of Fire.
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