Review of Chariots of Fire (1981) by Garrett ! — 17 Dec 2010

Granted, the opening sequence of barefoot, white-clad men running on the shores with that immortal Vangelis musical score(a piece that has since been the companion music of the Olympics) was a great "spirit-soaring" image, but after that, only a few parts of the film really did caught my interest.

I have nothing against "Chariots of Fire's" slow pace, I even generally prefer it more, but its build-up of an uninvolving story of two runners on different sides of the religious spectrum and competing for different principles was too redundant for a 2-hour film, let alone to carry the whole picture into a Best Picture Oscar.

Furthermore, the opening scene that showed some of the athletes as old men then quickly dissolving into a flashback was a tiring cliche commonly seen on award-chasing films(usually with the award-giving body letting itself be chased and caught.

Ha.). "Chariots of Fire", again with its opening sequence, promised a great story of determination and to make competitive running as a symbolism of overcoming obstacles. But what it has done, having all the time in the world, was to turn that tale of men passionate of sprinting into a film a lot slower than a leisurely walk in the park, and considering the intensive sport focused throughout the film, lacked the urgency to perform a compelling run for a memorable finish.

Derek Redmond's tear-inducing Olympian effort affected me more.