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Chariots Of Fire

“The British are coming!” – Colin Welland, Academy Awards, 1981. “What we’ve actually given the audience is a very powerful laxative” – Colin Welland, How To Stay Alive, 1975. And it doesn’t matter how many times they show it, the results of the race stay the same.

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Richardpd

    July 9, 2023 at 10:22 pm

    Stephen Fry & Ruby Wax are extras in this.

    • David Smith

      July 13, 2023 at 5:22 pm

      And it was exec produced by Mohamed and Dodi Fayed.

  2. Sidney Balmoral James

    July 10, 2023 at 2:41 pm

    Watched this recently and realised what an incredibly cheapo production it is (and doesn’t look terribly distinguished on a large-screen TV these days, although the performances, particularly of Ian Holm and Ben Cross, are good). Is this THE prime example of a film made by its music? Incredibly, Jackson Scholz, the legendary American runner played by Brad Davis, was still alive and well when they made this film!

  3. Glenn Aylett

    July 10, 2023 at 3:51 pm

    Chariots was made when the British film industry was close to death as the sitcom spin off boom had come to an end, Lew Grade’s attempts to save the industry had collapsed with Raise The Titanic, and Channel 4 was a year away. The film did raise the British film industry’s hopes for a better future, but it’s not that thrilling to watch. I think our big earner then was using Pinewood for the James Bond and Superman sets, showing that while we may no longer made blockbuster films, our set designers and techinicians were still world class.

  4. Droogie

    July 14, 2023 at 1:26 am

    Chariots Of Fire is a fine film. Time Out gave it a stinky review at the time saying something like the screenplay was written by a Young Conservative with liberal sensibilities. There’s loads to enjoy in this movie. Ian Holm, Ben Cross and Ian Charleson are all great. You also have wonderful actors like John Gielgud, Nigel Davenport, Patrick Magee, Peter Egan etc too. The running scenes are brilliantly filmed. The Vangelis soundtrack too 😍.

  5. Palimpsest

    July 14, 2023 at 5:06 pm

    It has been said that the film is about the 1980s and that it should be viewed through this perspective. As I hevn’t seen this I’ve no interpretation to give.

  6. Richardpd

    July 15, 2023 at 2:36 pm

    I heard they had some real locations were reluctant to be used by the production due to the alleged anti-Semitism shown to Abrahams, that was claimed to be exaggerated in the script.

    Eric Lidell’s later life is worth a film, becoming a missionary in China then being interred by the Japanese before dying because he refused to be part of a prisoner exchange.

    • Droogie

      July 16, 2023 at 1:43 am

      @Richarpd There was indeed a biopic of Liddel’s later years – 2016’s On Wings Of Eagles starring Joseph Feinnes. I don’t believe anyone saw it.
      https://youtu.be/9leUpwFGCxc

  7. Richardpd

    July 16, 2023 at 1:04 pm

    Thanks I hadn’t heard of that.

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