Chariots of Fire
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Hugh Hudson
Ben Cross
Ian Charleson
Nicholas Farrell
Ralph Lawton
Dennis Christopher
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Committed long-distance runners strive for the 1924 Olympics.
Director
Hugh Hudson
Cast
Ben Cross
Ian Charleson
Nicholas Farrell
Ralph Lawton
Dennis Christopher
David Kivlin
Phil Tait
Alan Polonsky
Cheryl Campbell
Colin Bruce
David John
Peter Cellier
Kim Clifford
Paul Mahoney
Nigel Havers
Daniel Gerroll
Benny Young
Michel Lonsdale
Patrick Doyle
Peter Jones
Graham Brooke
Sarah Roache
Tommy Boyle
Jack Smethurst
Rosy Clayton
Alice Krige
Gordon Hammersley
Nigel Davenport
Alan E Lorimer
Gayle Grayson
Patrick Magee
Struan Rodger
Teresa Dignan
Doreen Sloane
Stephen Mallatratt
Yves Beneyton
Andrew Hawkins
Sue Sammon
Eddie Hughson
John Young
Paul Howard
Lindsay Anderson
Linda Wallis
Philip O'brien
Garth Jones
Jeremy Sinden
Leonard Mullen
John Rutland
Ian Holm
Brad Davis
John Gielgud
Peter Egan
Edward Wiley
Linda Boyland
Ruby Wax
Yvonne Gilan
Dave Turner
David Yelland
Carole Ashby
Wallace Campbell
Alan Dudley
Michael Jeyes
Steve Ambrose
James Usher
Gerry Slevin
Richard Griffiths
Crew
Dave Allen
Tony Allen
Jonathan Amberston
Dorothy Andrew
Nadia Arthur
Graham Attwood
Diane Bates
Jonathan Benson
Matthew Binns
Simon Bosanquet
Don Bradburn
Paul Bradburn
Des Bradley
John Brady
Kenteas Brine
Jane Buck
Richard Burgess
Alison Campbell
Milena Canonero
Ray Caple
Ana Cardosa
Esta Charkham
Michael Connor
James Crawford
Hazel Crombie
Marina Drecker
Roy Evans
Dodi Fayed
Terence Fitch
Bryony Foster
Roland Fowles
Dennis Fraser
Louise Frogley
Dave Garrett
Derek Gatrell
Pat Gilbert
John Gorham
John Gorham
Alan Grayley
Alan Groush
Roger Hall
Maureen Hannaford-naisbitt
Les Healey
Kate Healy
John Hemmings
Joyce Herlihy
Mary Hillman
Joan Hills
Roger Hucharde
Dewi Humphreys
Len Huntingford
Dushko Indjic
Gill John
John Kelly
John Kelly
Brian Kemp
Kate Kilroy
Eddie Knight
John Leunenberger
Jennie Liddell
Melvin Lind
Imogen Magnus
Tom Mcnab
Billy Merrill
Ray Merrin
Diana Morris
David Murphy
Caroline Neame
John New
Hugh O'donnell
John O'driscoll
John O'driscoll
Elizabeth Bain Orr
Maggie Phelan
Les Phipps
Ron Phipps
Ray Potter
David Puttnam
Harry Rabinowitz
Jennie Raglan
Terry Rawlings
Douglas Regan
Simone Reynolds
Anna Ridley
Peter Robinson
Bill Rowe
Bill Rudgard
Andrew Sanders
Jackson Scholz
Paul Schoolman
Arnold Schulkes
Claudine Sellars
Jim Shields
Ros Siely
Iain Smith
Lynda Smith
Terry Smith
Claire Sorrell
Hilary Steinberg
Jacqueline Tager
Vivian Tozer
Anthony Turner
David Watkin
David Watkin
Colin Welland
Clive Winter
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Hosted Intro
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Wins
Best Costume Design
Best Original Screenplay
Best Picture
Best Score
Award Nominations
Best Director
Best Editing
Best Supporting Actor
Articles
Chariots of Fire
Producer David Puttnam first conceived the idea for the film when reading an Olympic record book. In it, he learned of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, two track stars that ran for England in the 1924 Olympics. Both were social outcasts of a kind: Liddell was a Scottish Christian supremely devout in his faith, and Abrahams was an English Jew relentless in his quest for social acceptance. Both, however, used running as the means to their goals: Liddell sought to honor God, while Abrahams wanted to destroy class elitism. Inspired by the history, Puttnam sought to bring the story to celluloid; as he explains, "sport is such a clean simple metaphor."
He enlisted the writing skills of Colin Welland to script the project. Through newspaper advertisements seeking information on the men, Welland tapped into a network of athletes and graduates with memories, news clippings, and letters about the 1924 Olympics and the two runners. The letters became the narrating backdrop for the film. Connections with a studio president garnered three million towards the financing, and a few months later Allied Stars, a production company headed up by Dodi Fayed, matched the amount. Fayed would gain his greatest exposure, however, with the tragic 1997 Paris auto accident that killed him and his companion Princess Diana. Puttnam hired novice director Hugh Hudson to helm the picture, a man whose previous experience was mainly television commercials. Nevertheless, Hudson pulled off the whole thing for six million.
In order to maintain a strong sense of realism, the filmmakers wanted to use unknown actors as the leads. Ian Charleson was cast as Liddell. Although he had had limited exposure in some BBC productions, he was chosen for his calm demeanor and the ability to project a sense of grace under fire. Ben Cross, with considerable experience from the Royal Shakespeare Company, was cast for his sensitivity and boundless energy, qualities exemplified by his character Abrahams. More notable actors were cast in supporting roles: Ian Holm plays Abrahams' Italian-Arabic running coach, and Sir John Gielgud appears as a crusty, anti-Semitic Cambridge master. Holm was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but in a twist, Gielgud won for his performance as Hobson the butler in Arthur (1981). On a random note, Ruby Wax shows up in a bit part 0 she would later achieve English celebrity with a popular talk show series.
Vangelis, who used a single moniker (probably for the best, his last name was Papathanassiou), composed, arranged, and performed the entire soundtrack using only a keyboard. Although some critics denounced the inequity of a period piece punctuated by synthesized sound, Vangelis collected an Academy Award for Best Score for Chariots of Fire and the soundtrack has endured as one of the most popular soundtracks of all time. The first few bars of the opening pieces invariably bring to mind the slow motion shot of the men running on St. Andrew's beach.
William Blake's Milton is credited for inspiring the film's title; in it he asks, "And did those feet in ancient time walk upon England's mountains green?" Two stanzas down he urges:
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.
As if stirred by these powerful words, a group of underdog filmmakers exploded out of the blocks and onto the screen for a sprint no one could quite believe until the race was over and the victors declared. Chariots of Fire is a lesson in the spirit of human perseverance, both on and off screen.
Producer: David Puttnam
Director: Hugh Hudson
Screenplay: Colin Welland
Cinematography: David Watkin
Costume Design: Milena Canonero
Film Editing: Terry Rawlings
Original Music: Vangelis
Principal Cast: Ben Cross (Harold Abrahams), Ian Charleson (Eric Liddell), Nigel Havers (Lord Andrew Lindsay), Nicholas Farrell (Aubrey Montague), Alice Krige (Sybil Gordon), Daniel Gerroll (Henry Stallard),Ian Holm (Sam Mussabini), John Gielgud (Master of Trinity), Nigel Davenport (Lord Birkenhead), Dennis Christopher (Charles Paddock), Brad Davis (Jackson Scholz).
C-125m. Letterboxed. Closed captioning.
by Eleanor Quin
Chariots of Fire
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Summer September 1, 1981
Released in United States October 1981
Released in United States September 1981
Released in United States July 1984
Shown at New York Film Festival September 1981.
Released in United States Summer September 1, 1981
Released in United States October 1981
Released in United States September 1981 (Shown at New York Film Festival September 1981.)
Released in United States July 1984 (Shown at FILMEX: Los Angeles International Film Exposition (50 Hour Sports Movie Marathon) July 5¿20, 1984.)
Released in USA on video.
The United Kingdom