Chariots of Fire won the Academy Award for best picture and a great deal of fanfare in 1981. It is one of few entirely family-friendly (unobjectionable) and PG-rated films to win for best picture and, though I'd never seen it before, I thought we'd love it.
Specs:
Two hours; rated PG (though I honestly can't think of a thing that would have kept this from a G rating).
Our family's average rating on a scale from 1-10:
7.75
More about the film and our reaction to it:
This is a hard film to review. On the one hand, it is beautiful - to look at and to listen to. The cinematography, period details, direction, acting and story are clearly all masterful, and yet, I'm sorry, but it is rather dull and definitely hard to follow.
Owing to the English and Scottish accents, we missed about half of the dialog. Even if we had heard the dialog, I'm not sure how much of the plot intricacies any of us were really following. For this reason, I'm not sure I'll even attempt a plot synopsis here. A short summary is that it follows the lives and training of several young British track athletes and their Olympic competition. It is about life and perseverance and strength. But, mainly, I think it is "about" gorgeous camera work. It feels like an "art" film more than mainstream cinema. Maybe this is why it received so much attention at the time. It must have felt extremely special and unusual back then.
Although it is a sports film, it doesn't follow the typical pattern of sports films. It is very subtle and character-driven and the competition scenes are minimal. Still, it is uplifting and inspiring and has a strong positive message.
I am quite sure that upon subsequent viewings additional layers of meaning and clarity would be apparent, but I can't say I'm dying to pop it back in the dvd player.
It is an example of a film that you can see is exceptional and well-made, yet we didn't fall in love with it. It happens. We don't particularly recommend it for families, only because it is unlikely that it would be a hit for those who aren't adults and/or fascinated with running, antisemitism or the 1920s. But if you are a more mature audience, then please do watch - the iconic power of the opening scene and the soundtrack will surely get to you.
Iconic Image:
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