Chariots of Fire

I don’t remember specifically why, but at some point in my junior-high school years, we were required to watch Chariots of Fire as part of the curriculum. This experience was about as memorable to my adolescent mind as the film itself was. All I remember from that viewing was the enchanting and inspiring opening theme music that I mistakenly remembered playing throughout the film. It became a bit of a tongue-in-cheek joke that whenever I went for jogs, I would listen to that song and pretend that I was an Olympic sprinter. This slowly faded away, and I didn’t think about this film again until the late 1990s when I determined to watch all the Academy Award Best Picture winners. Alas, I came away from that experience once again unenlightened and forgetting almost immediately what the film was even about, besides runners. 

Fast forward to this morning. I was determined this time to really get an understanding as to why Chariots of Fire was the winner of Best Picture for 1981, beating out my favorite movie of the year, Raiders of the Lost Ark. This third time around was a much better experience for me than the other two, primarily because I am a more mature person than I was before and have gained a better appreciation for what this film had to say. Its themes are as relevant now as they ever were and provide for an inspiring drama that is far more about conviction and racism than it is about running. This is a film that is based on true events and, despite taking numerous liberties, still hews close to the facts. This is, first and foremost, a film and not a documentary.

Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) died in 1978, just three years before this film was released. The movie opens with his funeral service in London. The film then flashes back to 1919, where we see Harold entering the University of Cambridge, where he will immediately come into contact with a bit of antisemitism targeting his Jewish background. He joins the Gilbert and Sullivan club, a group dedicated to the musical theater productions of the two prolific playwrights, and becomes the first person at Cambridge to complete the Trinity Great Court Run, an unofficial race to run around the college courtyard in the time it takes the clock to strike 12. He obtains victories in several national running competitions, too, focusing much of his time on the races. Through all of this, he also finds time to fall in love with Sybil Gordon (Alice Krige), a leading soprano in the Gilbert and Sullivan Club. 

Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) is also a runner. Born in China to Scottish missionary parents, Ian is living in Scotland. He intends to follow in their footsteps with a mission to China, but first, he wants to pursue competitive running, much to his devout sister’s disapproval. Liddell sees running as a way of glorifying God for giving him a strong fast body. When Liddell and Abrahams run against each other, Liddell wins. Abrahams takes this loss badly, turning to Sam Mussabini (Ian Holm), a professional trainer, for help in improving his technique. This is seen as dishonorable by the Cambridge college masters, who view professional training as not gentlemanly. Abrahams dismisses this concern, believing it is just masking antisemitism and class-based prejudices aimed at both him and Mussabini.

Ian misses a prayer meeting because of his running, putting him in the crosshairs of his already disapproving sister. But he insists that he is glorifying God in his own way and still intends to fulfill his mission eventually. After years of training, the two men are accepted to represent Great Britain in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Ian’s determination to honor God, though, is tested when he is informed his heat is scheduled on the Lord’s Day. “God made countries; God makes kings, and the rules by which they govern. And those rules say that the Sabbath is His. And I, for one, intend to keep it that way.” He also believes that he who glorifies God, God will lift up and support. This proves to be the case when a solution is found that will allow him to compete without breaking the Sabbath. 

This would not be much of a story if either of these men lost their heats. This is never in doubt, even as Abrahams is initially struggling against the American runners. This is meant to be perseverance against the odds, not just on the track but off it, too. This is 1920s Great Britain and, while antisemitism wasn’t as high as it would get over the next few decades, it was still pretty bad. Abrahams is judged just by his last name the moment he enters Cambridge. He stands by who he is, though, and holds his head high. It’s surprising then to realize that not long after the events in this film, he converted to Catholicism, though he was not particularly active in either persuasion. It has been speculated by his adopted daughter that this was due to his need for a broader acceptance beyond the Jewish community. None of this is explored in the film, though. 

Religious themes are more thoroughly explored with the character of Ian, though. He is not shy about his convictions and attributes his athletic prowess to God, who created all things, including himself. Ian’s determination to serve a mission in China would eventually be the end for him as World War II saw the Japanese occupy that country, leading to his death. He died in the service of his God. This is a man that we believe would willingly lay down his life for his God and that is exactly what happened in the end. 

Were it not for the extremely personal nature of the depictions of these two characters, this movie wouldn’t have the heart to sustain this story. There are only so many ways you can depict sprinters before it becomes too repetitious. We need characters we can care about to overcome this weakness. The film cannot disguise that what we are seeing is a group of white male athletes running and jumping hurdles over the course of two hours. It’s not the most exciting sport to witness. But even a more exciting endeavor falls flat if we don’t care about the players involved. That’s the heart of it all, and we need that. 

Whether you’re religious or not, Eric Liddell wins you over. He’s not a hypocrite; he really does believe in God and has a strong sense of right and wrong, even if it conflicts sometimes with that of his family’s. You can respect his convictions even if you don’t share them. He attributes his success to God but also knows that he must do his part, too. He also feels that whenever he is running, he is closest to that God. That feeling drives him to push himself harder and harder, always chasing that degree of enlightenment. 

Abrahams, on the other hand, has something to prove to those around him who are always undervaluing him because he is Jewish. He takes any loss as a personal insult and is willing to do nearly anything to be a winner. He won’t break his personal morality code, though. He believes in winning honestly. This puts him at odds against the Cambridge College masters who try to get him to drop training with Sam Mussabini on the pretense that he is a professional trainer, and therefore in their eyes, cheating. The more likely reason they object is because Sam is of Syrian, Italian, and French descent. This background keeps him from even attending the Olympics in support of Abrahams, so he stays in a hotel in Paris and waits to see which flag is raised in celebration of the race Abrahams is in. Sam’s celebration as he sees the flag of Great Britain rise into the sky is one of the most heartwarming moments in the entire film.

This movie is all about overcoming immense obstacles through sheer willpower, prejudices, and sacrifice. Abrahams puts his romantic relationship with Sybil on hold while he trains for the Olympics; he’s fortunate she was the type of woman who not only understood him but supported him during this time. Liddell likewise put his life plans on hold while he strove to honor God in his racing. Both faced opposition and both succeeded in their own ways. It’s fortunate that they didn’t have to race against each other in the Olympics in Paris, allowing us to have them both win their respective heats. This allows the film to end on a double note of triumph and celebrate these two great men who did their best to succeed in a world that didn’t always respect convictions and racial heritage. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: David Puttnam (won)

Best Director: Hugh Hudson

Best Supporting Actor: Ian Holm

Best Original Screenplay: Colin Welland (won)

Best Costume Design: Milena Canonero (Won)

Best Film Editing: Terry Rawlings

Best Original Score: Vangelis (won)

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Release Date: March 30, 1981

Running Time: 124 Minutes

Rated PG

Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers, Cheryl Campbell, Alice Krige, Lindsay Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Nigel Davenport, Brad Davis, Peter Egan, John Gielgud, Ian Holm, and Patrick Magee

Directed by: Hugh Hudson