Review of Chariots of Fire (1981) by Kevin S — 03 Apr 2008

A wonderful film. I love the fact that the main characters were played by relatively unkown, or at least little-known, actors, and I think the whole movie is better for it.

I also love the way music is used throughout the story - the unconventional but moving film score, the sprinkling of Gilbert and Sullivan here and there at strategic points, the singing of the choir boys before a meal at Cambridge and at the end of the film - it all goes to support not just the feeling of the movie, but the story as well.

The quality of the whole production ensured that the stories of Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell were told in a way that was deliberatly inspiring, but not unrealistically heroic.