Film Snail

6.8

Chariots of Fire

PG·1981·123m

Drama

History

Drama

History

Summary

In the class-obsessed and religiously divided UK of the early 1920s, two determined young runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell, a devout Christian born to Scottish missionaries in China, sees running as part of his worship of God's glory and refuses to train or compete on the Sabbath. Harold Abrahams overcomes anti-Semitism and class bias, but neglects his beloved sweetheart in his single-minded quest.

Cast

Ben Cross

Harold Abrahams

Ian Charleson

Eric Liddell

Cheryl Campbell

Jennie Liddell

Alice Krige

Sybil Gordon

Nigel Havers

Lord Andrew Lindsay

Ian Holm

Sam Mussabini

Nicholas Farrell

Aubrey Montague

Daniel Gerroll

Henry Stallard

John Gielgud

Master of Trinity

Lindsay Anderson

Master of Caius

Nigel Davenport

Lord Birkenhead

Dennis Christopher

Charles Paddock

Brad Davis

Jackson Scholz

Patrick Magee

Lord Cadogan

Peter Egan

Duke of Sutherland

Struan Rodger

Sandy McGrath

David Yelland

Prince of Wales

Richard Griffiths

Head Porter - Caius College

Patrick Doyle

Jimmie

John Young

Rev. J.D. Liddell

Yvonne Gilan

Mrs Liddell

David John

Ernest Liddell

Benny Young

Rob Liddell

Yves Beneyton

George Andre

Stephen Mallatratt

Watson

Gerry Slevin

Colonel John Keddie

Colin Bruce

Taylor

Alan Polonsky

Paxton

Edward Wiley

Fitch

Jeremy Sinden

President - Gilbert and Sullivan Society

Andrew Hawkins

Secretary - Gilbert and Sullivan Society

Jack Smethurst

Sleeping Car Attendant

Peter Cellier

Head Waiter - The Savoy

Philip O'Brien

US Coach

Ruby Wax

Bunty

Ralph Lawton

Harbour Master

Kim Clifford

Sybil's Maid

John Rutland

Caius Porter

Peter Jones

Tommy Boyle

Reporter

Wallace Campbell

Highland Provost

Gordon Hammersley

President - Cambridge Athletic Club

Alan Dudley

Caius Manservant

Tess Dignan

Schoolgirl

Michael Jeyes

Footman

David Kivlin

First Scots Boy

Eddie Hughson

Second Scots Boy

Michael Lonsdale

Garth Jones (scenes deleted)

Ted Robbins

Shot Putter (uncredited)

Kenneth Branagh

Cambridge Student at Society Day (uncredited)

Stephen Fry

Cambridge Student at Society Day (uncredited)

Barrie Holland

University Professor (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Hugh Hudson

Writer

Colin Welland

Reviews

Geronimo1967

July 2, 2022

The opening bars of the Oscar-winning Vangelis score coupled with the shot of the athletes running along the beach, barefoot, at St. Andrews is amongst the most iconic opening scenes from any film, but somehow the rest of this strays all too often into mediocrity thereafter. It tells the story of two British athletes who strove to thrive at the Olympiad in Paris in 1924. Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) comes from a Lithuanian Jewish background. who is welcomed to Cambridge University, but never quite accepted. The other is Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a devout Christian who comes from missionary stock and who believes that he must serve God before himself - and that includes not running any races on the Sabbath. Both of these men have considerable athletic skills, and the story intertwines their efforts to get to the Games, whilst both must deal with their differing priorities and challenges. It's this middle portion of the film, the prologued character development phase, that all plods along too slowly. It has too little pace and too many characters, and that just drags the film down. The last fifteen minutes liven up considerably though, not just with the events on the track - but amongst those determined to ensure that the whole team attains success making sacrifices and compromises along the way. It has a classy look to it, the costumes and settings are top drawer, but I found the leading performances rather disjointed and at over two hours long, I did struggle to stay engaged.