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Chariots of fire. In the Old Testament, the prophet Elijah was carried into heaven by a chariot of fire. “Chariots of Fire” was also the title of a famous British film in 1981 with stirring music by Vangelis, centred on the 1924 Olympics.
Aug 5, 2024 · Memories of the Olympic feats of Abrahams and Liddell faded from memory until they were resurrected in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, winner of four Oscars including the Academy Award for Best...
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome ...
In History looks at the real story behind the Chariots of Fire movie myth. The son of Christian missionaries, Eric Liddell was born in China in 1902 and died there 43 years later in a Japanese...
- Overview
- Production notes and credits
- Cast
- Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)
Chariots of Fire, British dramatic film, released in 1981, that tells the true story of two British runners who brought glory to their country in the Olympic Games of 1924 in Paris. The film won both the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for best picture and also garnered the Golden Globe Award for best foreign movie.
The film begins at the 1978 memorial of the runner Harold Abrahams. It then moves back to 1919 when Abrahams (played by Ben Cross), the son of a wealthy Jewish financier, arrives at the University of Cambridge. He becomes the first sprinter to complete the Trinity Great Court Run—to circle the courtyard in the time it takes for the clock to strike 12, beginning at the first chime. In addition to winning national running contests, Abrahams becomes involved with a Gilbert and Sullivan company and falls in love with a soprano, Sybil (Alice Krige). In Scotland, Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), the son of Scottish missionaries, also engages in running competitions. Though his sister, Jennie (Cheryl Campbell), fears that running will distract him from missionary activity, Liddell feels that his victories glorify God. Eventually, Abrahams and Liddell meet in a British open race, and Liddell wins. The driven Abrahams is crushed at his defeat, but noted trainer Sam Mussabini (Ian Holm), offers to take him on, telling him that he can teach him to run faster than Liddell. The Cambridge college masters (Sir John Gielgud and Lindsay Anderson) think accepting professional coaching is ungentlemanly, but Abrahams sees their objections as anti-Semitic and class-based in nature.
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Liddell, Abrahams, and the Cambridge runners Lord Andrew Lindsay (Nigel Havers), Aubrey Montague (Nicholas Farrell), and Henry Stallard (Daniel Gerroll) are chosen for the British Olympic team. As they depart for Paris, Liddell learns that the 100-metre heat in which he was to compete is to be held on Sunday. His religious convictions will not allow him to compete on the Sabbath, and he resists the arguments made by the Prince of Wales (David Yelland) and the British Olympic Committee. However, Lindsay offers to yield his place in the 400-metre race, scheduled for the following Thursday, to Liddell, and he accepts. At the Games, American runner Charles Paddock (Dennis Christopher) easily outpaces Abrahams to win the 200-metre race, but Abrahams is triumphant in the 100-metre contest, winning the gold medal. Liddell is not expected to do well at the 400-metre distance, but he nonetheless goes on to take gold. After the team returns home, Abrahams reunites with Sybil, and Liddell takes up missionary work in China.
Chariots of Fire was director Hugh Hudson’s first feature film. The soundtrack, by Vangelis, became iconic, being used as theme music for sporting events as well as in countless films, TV shows, and commercials.
•Studios: Twentieth Century–Fox Film Corporation, Allied Stars Ltd., and Enigma Productions
•Director: Hugh Hudson
•Writer: Colin Welland
•Music: Vangelis
•Ben Cross (Harold Abrahams)
•Ian Charleson (Eric Liddell)
•Ian Holm (Sam Mussabini)
•Alice Krige (Sybil)
•Picture*
•Supporting actor (Ian Holm)
•Costume design*
•Direction
•Editing
•Music*
- Patricia Bauer
Originally composed as the theme for the British film Chariots of Fire, which tells the story of two athletes competing in the 1924 Olympics, the song gained immense popularity and became a symbol of triumph, determination, and human achievement. Its slow, uplifting melody, combined with the grand electronic soundscapes for which Vangelis ...
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Plot. During a 1978 funeral service in London in honour of the life of Harold Abrahams, headed by his former colleague Lord Andrew Lindsay, there is a flashback to when he was young and in a group of athletes running along a beach.
