Chariots of Fire
Title: Chariots of FireGenre: Sports
Rating: 4/5
Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Ian Holm
When I first heard of a movie called "Chariots of Fire", I thought it would be of "Greek" or "Roman" battles, or something involving gladiators. I also remembered the legendary chariot race from "Ben-Hur", but to my surprise it wasn't anything of these matters. This film is actually about the preparations of the "British" athletes to the "1924 Summer Olympics", focusing on the journey of "Harold Abrahams", an "English Jew", and the "Flying Scotsman Eric Liddell" who compete for the 100 M. race. Through their story, we are introduced themes such as class distinction, patriotism, national pride, human dignity, and of course running!
To begin with, I must point out what is probably on of the most important thing in this film if not the most, the music. It was composed by "Vangelis". The main theme, "Chariots of Fire", is probably one of the cheesiest and corniest things ever written, but I loved every second of it. The opening scene with the athletes running on the shoreline and the music playing, and this has been parodied a lot, is simply beautiful. I wouldn't mind being taped jogging with a cheeky smile on my face and this music playing. The whole album is great and the music gave each running scene in the film a sense of grace that sense added greatly to the aesthetics of this film. I must also point out that the music was quiet unconventional for a period film, with the heavy use of synthesizers and piano instead of and orchestra or music suitable for the time the events had happened. It's quiet lovely and I recommend you to watch the opening seen with the theme playing to understand my point.
Now on the technical merits of the film. One of the best aspects I've noticed is the elegant cinematography of "David Watkin". The opening scene is one of the best opening scenes I have ever seen, and one of the most memorable. In each running scene everything is slowed down so we can carefully observe the faces of the runners. The camera in a classy manner captures for us the tensions, fatigue, nerves, pressure, drive, and ambition of the runners. The director, "Hugh Hudson", went along fine with this was able to let us relive that atmosphere, whether we are fans or competitors, though I noticed the film as a whole is greater than him. Unlike other film such as "Raging Bull" where we can clearly see the director's mark, in this one I didn't. For the acting, I don't think the actors were meant to shine or show greatness, but to make this whole film a full circle which added to its class, neither it is a study of human psychology such as "Raging Bull".
I basically have two objections to this film, the first is that it got slightly boring at times and the other is some historical inaccuracies were made. I felt that the script was stalling at times along with the director and spending more times at moments that didn't need to be prolonged, this thing will bore people. I choose not to say any details lest I spoil it. Not to forget the historical inaccuracies such as the circumstances surrounding "Eric's" change of race. I think all these were made to suite the director's demands. I know there isn't such a thing as a 100% historically accurate film, but films like "The Message", "A Man for All Seasons", "The Lion in the Winter", and "The Passion of Joan of Arc" come close to that.
All in all, this is a good movie. For those who are interested in sports movies, this is something they must watch. It's simple, light hearted, yet with a touch of condescending attitude. We can believe it with ease, and after I have seen it, I truly see how the name is appropriate.
"Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold:
Bring me my Chariot of fire! "
- William Blake -
Rating: 4/5
Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Ian Holm
When I first heard of a movie called "Chariots of Fire", I thought it would be of "Greek" or "Roman" battles, or something involving gladiators. I also remembered the legendary chariot race from "Ben-Hur", but to my surprise it wasn't anything of these matters. This film is actually about the preparations of the "British" athletes to the "1924 Summer Olympics", focusing on the journey of "Harold Abrahams", an "English Jew", and the "Flying Scotsman Eric Liddell" who compete for the 100 M. race. Through their story, we are introduced themes such as class distinction, patriotism, national pride, human dignity, and of course running!
To begin with, I must point out what is probably on of the most important thing in this film if not the most, the music. It was composed by "Vangelis". The main theme, "Chariots of Fire", is probably one of the cheesiest and corniest things ever written, but I loved every second of it. The opening scene with the athletes running on the shoreline and the music playing, and this has been parodied a lot, is simply beautiful. I wouldn't mind being taped jogging with a cheeky smile on my face and this music playing. The whole album is great and the music gave each running scene in the film a sense of grace that sense added greatly to the aesthetics of this film. I must also point out that the music was quiet unconventional for a period film, with the heavy use of synthesizers and piano instead of and orchestra or music suitable for the time the events had happened. It's quiet lovely and I recommend you to watch the opening seen with the theme playing to understand my point.
Now on the technical merits of the film. One of the best aspects I've noticed is the elegant cinematography of "David Watkin". The opening scene is one of the best opening scenes I have ever seen, and one of the most memorable. In each running scene everything is slowed down so we can carefully observe the faces of the runners. The camera in a classy manner captures for us the tensions, fatigue, nerves, pressure, drive, and ambition of the runners. The director, "Hugh Hudson", went along fine with this was able to let us relive that atmosphere, whether we are fans or competitors, though I noticed the film as a whole is greater than him. Unlike other film such as "Raging Bull" where we can clearly see the director's mark, in this one I didn't. For the acting, I don't think the actors were meant to shine or show greatness, but to make this whole film a full circle which added to its class, neither it is a study of human psychology such as "Raging Bull".
I basically have two objections to this film, the first is that it got slightly boring at times and the other is some historical inaccuracies were made. I felt that the script was stalling at times along with the director and spending more times at moments that didn't need to be prolonged, this thing will bore people. I choose not to say any details lest I spoil it. Not to forget the historical inaccuracies such as the circumstances surrounding "Eric's" change of race. I think all these were made to suite the director's demands. I know there isn't such a thing as a 100% historically accurate film, but films like "The Message", "A Man for All Seasons", "The Lion in the Winter", and "The Passion of Joan of Arc" come close to that.
All in all, this is a good movie. For those who are interested in sports movies, this is something they must watch. It's simple, light hearted, yet with a touch of condescending attitude. We can believe it with ease, and after I have seen it, I truly see how the name is appropriate.
"Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold:
Bring me my Chariot of fire! "
- William Blake -
Comments
Post a Comment