Chariots of Fire (1981)'s comments

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frankqb

A painstakingly boring film crafted out of bits of melodrama and the idea of epic scope, rather than an actual epic scope itself. Vangelis' iconic main theme is one of only two bright spots (and the rest of the score is jarringly bizarre for this film) -- the other being the photography which is superb. Chronology is not a pre-requisite for an easy to follow film, but a film that starts at an irrelevant ending and then rushes back to a more relevant one before rushing backward again to tell the story properly is hardly worth spending time on as a film viewer. Not one moment of the races seemed dramatic, and the story had little of value to say beyond a clichéd sense of personal victory.

2 stars out of 4.

11 years 3 months ago

Forrester

Ironically, for a movie about running, it's pretty slow. Running is one of my hobbies, so I was really interested in this one. The biggest problem for me is that the main characters weren't interesting at all. The scenes in which they actually run are the best parts of the movie, mainly because of the music by Vangelis. Not a bad film, but I can't say it's good either.

12 years 8 months ago

jacktrewin

hasn't aged well. i can see why it appealed so greatly at the time it was made, but it's far too drawn out, the story is too generically crafted and the dramatic moments don't work well, feeling overdone and yet lacking substance.
4-5/10

5 years 2 months ago

Adamov10

Worst Oscar Winning Picture of All time. Took me 2 weeks to finish it, sent me to sleep every time I put it on

Will probably be remembered forever for its amazing theme song

8 years 3 months ago

John Milton

One of the 20 most overrated films according to premiere or empire, forgot which one. I kinda can see why....

It has it's merits, but it's certainly not one of the great movies, in my humble opinion.

@Lisa - What are you saying?

11 years 5 months ago

L Lawliet

It doesn't deserve to be in top 10 lists.

11 years 8 months ago

jhhayes

Not a bad film, although quite dull in some parts.

13 years 8 months ago

Torgo

Combines everything I can't stand about sport films, typical Academy Best Pictures and the 80s. Now that's something. Nonetheless, it works somehow as a relic.

10 years 7 months ago

nadasj

so many characters , so little about their backgrounds .. but it had a good run overall ..

10 years 8 months ago

HunterAdams

That's it, I've watched enough films about rich white men's problems in my life.

1 year ago

zmertes

It's surprising to see so many negative comments.

Personally I found this movie to be very inspiring.

8 years 8 months ago

Typically Thomas

Pretty slow. I can see why there's so many negative comments. I was quite bored by this one. Also struggled to root for rich, posh Cambridge boys, but that may just be me rather than the film.

11 months ago

TomReagan

I’m trying to check off all Best Picture winners and this was one I was dreading. It was exactly what I expected - boring. I’m ok with slow-paced films, as long as the story and characters are interesting, but this lacks both. It’s mainly focused on two characters, but then introduces a few others and I can barely tell them apart. Abrahams was the most interesting, mostly because of his claim that him being Jewish proved to be a challenge, but it’s barely shown in the film. The main theme and Ian Holm were the only two things I enjoyed. Felt like the entire movie was in slow motion.

3 years 1 month ago

gama_jr

Boring movie, boring theme.

9 years 1 month ago

corchap

did Moet sponsor this movie?! every other scene features a bottle with the label clearly facing forward.

also-- the presence of Lindsay Anderson as a Cambridge master was a nice touch, especially when they are discussing upperclass expectations

4 years ago