Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 285: The Brits Run Away With It

Way back on Day 22 of the Challenge I wrote a post entitled 'The British Are Coming' which was dedicated to the first British film to be nominated for Best Picture, The Private Life of Henry VIII. However the quote itself is attributed to screenwriter Colin Welland who let out the exclamation after winning the Original Screenplay Award for his work on Chariots of Fire. The film itself, described as a Cinderella story by its producer, is a British production featuring on two very different athletes both attempting to compete at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Cambridge University student Harold Abrahams faced anti-Semitism during his time at the establishment but impressed his superiors with his athletic ability. Meanwhile, Scottish missionary worker Eric Liddell is viewed as an extraordinarily quick runner and its his wish to compete in the 100m. But his dreams are quashed by his sister, who feels that his love of running is stopping him from fulfilling his true purpose of spreading God's word. Eventually he's able to convince her that it was God who gave him the ability to run so fast and that he'd be doing his God a disservice if he didn't run. The plot follows both Harold and Eric over the course of a number of years as they race against each pursue their racing dream. It also explores how the world of athletics is a tricky place for both especially the Jewish Harold who is forced to deal with anti-Semitic comments from those at Cambridge. Harold later hires a trainer to help him improve his game with the two forming somewhat of a bond ahead of the Olympics. At the games themselves, Eric and Harold find themselves matched against the superior American team. But, like the film itself, both the British runners find themselves beating the heavy favourites and finding glory when it counted.

As this was my first time watching Chariots of Fire, I was searching for some semblance of patriotic pride that I'm sure the film was going for. My knowledge of the film going in was that it was the little British film that could and had indeed been described as a 'Cinderella Story'. However, I have to admit that for large portions of Chariots of Fire I was thoroughly underwhelmed. My personal problem was that the film never really grabbed me and in a way was almost too polite, just like any decent Brit I suppose. In fact possibly the best scene occurred during the opening credits which included the famous running scenes on the beach accompanied by Vangellis' Oscar-winning score. Welland's script was full of moments of pride and self-reflection but at times I found these scenes almost too worthy. In the roles of Abrahams and Liddell, Ben Cross and Ian Charelson are full of charm but I found neither possessed enough intrigue to truly make me care about their characters. Even the usually reliable Ian Holm, who was Oscar-nominated for his role as professional trainer Sam, didn't really set the screen alight. That's not to say that Chariots of Fire isn't a good film with one of its best qualities being that it lacks the mawkish melodrama that has been present in most of the 1980s Best Picture winners so far. Visually, the film is stunning with the costumes, period detail and exterior locations all proving to be aesthetic treats. The characters were well-drawn even if the stiff upper lips they possessed really prevented me from getting to know them all that much. Ultimately Chariots of Fire is the little film that could and it needs to be applauded for that fact even if I wasn't as engrossed as I possibly should have been.

Next time we focus on a star who really came into her own in the 1980s and in particular two films in which she was nominated for Best Actress.