‘Chariots of Fire’ immortalized the 1924 Paris Olympics. Decades later, film has taken on ‘a life of its own’
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- Jul 21, 2024
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âWhatâs beautiful about athletics as opposed to almost any other sport is its lack of complexity,â David Puttnam, the producer of âChariots of Fire,â tells CNN Sport. âYouâre throwing something, youâre jumping over something or youâre running. Itâs a quintessence, really, of human effort.â
Itâs perhaps for this reason that the film, more than four decades after its release, remains as popular and relatable as ever.
Based on the lives and gold-medal-winning performances of sprinters Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams ahead of the 1924 Paris Olympics, âChariots of Fireâ won four Oscars â including Best Picture. It has been ranked among the greatest British films of all time, and was a favorite of former and current US presidents Ronald Reagan and Joe Biden.
More than four decades after its release, âChariots of Fireâ remains as popular and relatable as ever. Based on the lives and gold-medal-winning performances of sprinters Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams ahead of the 1924 Paris Olympics, it has been ranked among the greatest British films of all time.
Warner Brothers Twentieth Century Fox
As the Olympics return to Paris this year, public viewings have been held in several countries, offering a timely reminder of how âChariots of Fireâ still carries a charming appeal and uplifting â even life-saving â message.
âAfter the film came out, I must have got â and this is not an exaggeration â at least half a dozen letters from people who said that the film had made them decide not to commit suicide, that life was worth living,â says Puttnam.
âThe film has got a way of really, really speaking to people ⦠something much more than we envisaged or probably had been put into it. Itâs got a life of its own.â
âChariots of Fireâ charts the athletic careers of Liddell and Abrahams â both talented sprinters â in the years leading up to the 1924 Olympics.
Courage is central to âChariots of Fire,âÂ
one of the most iconic sports films ever made.
Warner Brothers Twentieth Century Fox
Liddell is a kindly figure with fierce religious beliefs, a missionary in his native Scotland who withdraws from the 100 meters at the Olympics because the heats are held on a Sunday. Instead, he enters â and wins â the 400 meters, despite having limited experience of running the longer distance.
This moment forms the emotional climax of âChariots of Fire,â as Liddell, played by Ian Charleson, describes how his running has become bound up with religion: âGod made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.â
A Scottish rugby international before he was an Olympic champion, Liddell has been celebrated for his selflessness as well as his sporting feats. He was born in China and returned there to serve as a missionary teacher after the Olympics, mostly remaining in the Asia until his death in a Japanese internment camp 20 years later.
âI had a lot of room in my heart for him,â former Scottish sprinter Allan Wells, who won 100m gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, tells CNN Sport. âHeâs a very special person and put himself out there big-time, really. Itâs a huge legacy and we should remember him.â
Wells recalls being asked after his race in Moscow if heâd like to dedicate the victory to Abrahams, Liddellâs counterpart in âChariots of Fireâ and, until then, the last British man to win 100m gold.
Harold Abrahams crosses the finish line at the AAA Championships in 1924.
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