Product Description

An absorbing drama dealing with the personal struggle of two very different men who are distance runners competing in the 1924 olympic games in paris. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 02/01/2005 Starring: Ian Charleson Ben Cross Run time: 124 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Hugh Hudson

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1104 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2005-02-01
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, Surround Sound, Special Edition, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 124 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
The come-from-behind winner of the 1981 Oscar for best picture, Chariots of Fire either strikes you as either a cold exercise in mechanical manipulation or as a tale of true determination and inspiration. The heroes are an unlikely pair of young athletes who ran for Great Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics: devout Protestant Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a divinity student whose running makes him feel closer to God, and Jewish Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), a highly competitive Cambridge student who has to surmount the institutional hurdles of class prejudice and anti-Semitism. There's delicious support from Ian Holm (as Abrahams's coach) and John Gielgud and Lindsay Anderson as a couple of Cambridge fogies. Vangelis's soaring synthesized score, which seemed to be everywhere in the early 1980s, also won an Oscar. Chariots of Fire was the debut film of British television commercial director Hugh Hudson (Greystoke) and was produced by David Puttnam. --Jim Emerson

DVD features
It took 24 years for the 1981 Best Picture Oscar winner to receive a widescreen home video version. Although this is far better looking and sounding than previous versions (especially TV airings and the ho-hum original DVD), the print isn't as flawless one would hope. A second disc includes two documentaries with new interviews from many members of the cast and crew. In 25 minutes, a good deal of the passion behind the project--created by many first-time film talents--is communicated along with pictures of the real-life figures. Director Hugh Hudson gives more insight with an ordinary commentary pointing out where dramatic license works (Liddell's Olympic plight) and keeping silent when it doesn't (the run around the college campus). A 19-minute reunion with two supporting actors plus the director, writer, and cinematographer drop by producer David Putnam's house to reminisce about the making of the film; it's a lot more interesting than it sounds. Eleven minutes of deleted scenes are nice snippets of character development and a cricket scene that was in all cuts of the film except the American version. It's a real curio since it was the original introduction of the athletes and could have been integrated in this DVD. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

Chariots of Fire and Wings on Their Feet
I never saw Chariots of Fire when it was in the theater in the early 80's, but I became interested in it after I saw some of the sites where it was filmed when I was in Scotland recently.

It's based on the true story of the track team of Great Britain in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Eric Liddell has become one of my heroes -- standing for what you know is right even in the face of incredible pressure and sacrifice.

It's an amazing film!!

Great Movie
This DVD came in great shape. I enjoyed it very much. Great price too!

My favorite movie
I first saw this movie at 18 and it has remained my favorite. The themes and messages are timeless - about having integrity and beliefs - and about "running" for all of the right reasons.