As a winner of the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Chariots of Fire won the hearts and minds of millions of people all over the world. The story is centered on two young, English men striving to achieve nothing less then the Olympic gold medal.
Who can not admire any person who strives with a constant, determined effort by the sweat of his brow, and the rush of his adrenalin, in order to be first - or nothing at all. Starring Ian Charleson and Ben Cross as two long distance runners in early 1900s England. For either of these men, second place is as good as a defeat.
Driven by desperate desires, Eric Liddell, played by Ian Charleson, and Harold Abrahams, played by Ben Cross, compete in arduous endurance training to give world Olympic glory to the United Kingdom. Liddell is a man of stern, Christian faith and believes God has given him a fateful gift, the ability to be one of the fastest runners in the world. Described by a bystander in the sidelines, "He runs like a mad man", as they watch him race, Liddell yearns to have victory for God first, and then Great Britain.
Likewise, Harold Abrahams looks at winning as a repudiation of the creeping anti-semitism within Europe and America. As a student at Cambridge, England, he is confronted with the long standing tradition of using only amateur trainers from the athletic department at school. His response is to make his point known to the president of the school; "You want what I want and that is to win, and that takes a professional trainer, not an amateur."
The two men run in both the rain and sunny skies alike, through the beautiful English countryside and along the beach. Both endure extreme workouts to build and tone their bodies. Both men sacrifice their personal lives to completely devote their time to training in order to get that extra few seconds of speed over each other, and all other rivals.
In the meanwhile, Harold Abrahams falls head over heels in love with a popular singer that does not understand his relentless ambition to always win every single race. Even though she walks away, later she decides to wait for him as he trains for the Olympics, even if it means him leaving her for a long extended period.
At the same time, Eric Liddell works at a feverish pace at both his missionary purpose and his running, often ending his races with a sermon on winning for God's glory. Later, the story takes a turn when he decides to lets his love, and fellow lady missionary, take over the mission - at least until he wins at the Olympics for God.
This movie shows the pressure put on these two men by the elaborate English culture filled with pomp and circumstance characteristic of the elite and royal families of that era. Even the Prince of Wales, the future King of England, gets involved with Eric Liddell in a politically sensitive matter. Thankfully help arrives, but from a totally unexpected source.
Based on a true story, Chariots of Fire won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1981 and is rated PG.
Tom Straub is a successful author, and webmaster of the Game Center web site, which offers DVDs of both the latest, classics and your favorite DVD releases.
