Review of Chariots of Fire (1981) by Simon H — 18 Jun 2014

Remembered at the Oscars for Best Picture going to a British film, Chariots of Fire is one of those movies that will be remembered for a long time to come. Based on a real event, Chariots of Fire can't get anymore British if you tried. The story is simple with well cast characters connecting with one another. Locations have been chosen which both add to the film, as well as become memorable.

There were two things that popped out to me as successful. One is the choice of showing the races in slow motion. It gives you time to really capture the emotions and looks on the competitors faces. To add to this, you also gain the electronic music from Vangelis. The music is not too overpowering and the classic theme is not overused.

However, I wasn't 100% impressed with the movie personally. I felt that more emotion was needed in the characters for the audience to go by. The ending just seemed to arrive without any real build up. I feel that to really give the characters what they were "fighting" for all this time, they should have showed more emotion between one another with the big payoff at the end. Still, I can't fault for Chariots of Fire as a classic British film that many people will love.