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Chariots Of Fire [1981] [DVD]
 
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Chariots Of Fire [1981] [DVD]

DVD ~ Ben Cross
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
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Chariots Of Fire [1981] [DVD]
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Chariots Of Fire [1981] [DVD] 4.2 out of 5 stars (24)
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Product details

  • Actors: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers, Daniel Gerroll
  • Directors: Hugh Hudson
  • Writers: Colin Welland
  • Producers: David Puttnam, Dodi Fayed, Jake Eberts, James Crawford
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English, French
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: U
  • Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 6 Aug 2001
  • Run Time: 118 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0000560Y5
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 8,210 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

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 synthesised 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

Amazon.co.uk Review

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
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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (2)
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 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant film - lousy DVD, 3 Oct 2001
By A Customer
Probably one of my favourite films of all time and the film deserves 6 stars!! The cast, acting, filming and music are all superb. Of course there is a lot of 'poetic license' in the content but it captures the spirit of the age beautifully. I must have seen it dozens of times but a tear still comes to the eye when Sam hears the national anthem following Abrahams' victory in the 100 yards dash final and also when Eric breaks the world record in the 400 yards final, a discipline he didn't specialise in.

An interesting fact (not mentioned in the film) is that Harold Abrahams also set the British long jump record which stood for 30 years !!

I already had it on VHS where the sound quality was somewhat iffy (even in a NICAM player) so I splashed out on the DVD. The sound quality if anything is even worse. You have to crank up the volume to hear the dialogue to the point where there is an annoyingly audible hiss, and then the music deafens you when it comes in.

As has been stated before there are no extras (apart from subtitles)

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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars great film, terrible DVD, 31 Aug 2004
This review is from: Chariots Of Fire [DVD] [1981] (DVD)
Film: 5
DVD: 0

The film is, of course wonderful. I will not go over ground covered in the other reviews here, except to say that this is a beautiful, moving and inspiring film. I remember seeing it in my school hall when I was 9 years old and hadn't seen it again until I viewed this DVD. The years have only sderved to improve the film; comparing it to modern movies is a bit like comparing the 1924 Olympiad to Athens 2004- we seem to have lost something wonderful in the interim.

The DVD, however, is terrible. Others have mentioned the sound: this is not an isolated problem. Throughout the film the speech is muddy, the music harsh and distorted. Often there is mismatch between speech and film- an unforgivable offence. For such a beautiful film the picture itself is grainy; although this may be a deliberate cinematic effect (I can't quite believe that!), given that the sound is so bad it is more likely just poor transfer. As for extras, erm... what extras? I'm not usually too bothered but in a film like this, a Best Picture Oscar winner and a historical tale to boot, I would expect a little more, even a short documentary of the true facts, pictures of the athletes or brief biographies of the protagonists would be nice. Particularly galling as that this is billed as a "Special Commemorative Edition" yet is identical to the previous edition bar a cardboard slipcase bearing the words "Commemorative Edition"!; commemorative of what, exactly? 80 years since the events shown? Then why no documentary abut the 1924 Olympics or the development of the Olympic movement? Or perhaps commemorative of this year's (Athens) olympics? I suspect the words "cash" and "in" are involved here.

I can't help but feel that the producers of this DVD have betrayed the ideals which they promote so highly in this film.

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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Atrocious - what a letdown., 3 Nov 2004
By TheMelster (Edinburgh, UK) - See all my reviews
This DVD is awful. I watch on a portable player with headphones and the sound was so bad it made the movie unwatchable. A pity as the film itself is one of the greatest made in britain post sixties (the academy award winning soundtrack it's centrepiece) and certainly a favourite of mine. The picture was a little better but the dark tones are extremely grainy (would definitely benefit from an anamorphic release) and the picture at the start of the film is full of scratches and marks. Is this supposed to replicate a cinema going experience? I have serious doubts about some of the colour values too. This is just laziness by 20th century fox. Other films of this era have been successfully transferred to 5.1 sound and if this was an example of the best film negative they could find to transfer onto DVD then a full digital restoration is urgently called for. Until then, you'll enjoy this movie more on VHS.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic
Great movie - timeless
Don't get your hopes up about the bonus DVD though
Published 12 days ago by Mr. J. M. Gray

5.0 out of 5 stars Chariots of Fire: classic movie
I enjoyed this movie when I saw it so many years ago but especially wanted to see it again when I had the
privilege of meeting one of Eric Liddels missionary... Read more
Published 4 months ago by P. Diamanti

5.0 out of 5 stars Bring it out on Blu-ray - but this will do in the meantime
Two runners strive for glory against their own personal demons.

This is a low budget film - without villains or violence - that has to take you back to another place... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Peter H

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST OF THE BRITISH A OUTSTANDING FILM
THIS IS THE BEST BRITISH MOVIE OF THE 1980S WHICH IT TELLS THE TRUE STOREY OF TWO RUNNERS[BEN CROSS AND IAN CHARLESON] RUNNING FOR GLOREY IN THE 1924 OYLIMPICS ONE RUNNING FOR... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mr. Nicholas R. Muller

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT A BRILLIANT FILM!
CHARIOTS OF FIRE MUST BE ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER MADE. IT IS UP THERE WITH THE LIKES OF BEN HUR, THE 10 COMMANDMENTS AND IT IS BASED ON FACT NOT FICTION.
Published 7 months ago by C. M. Mercer

5.0 out of 5 stars David Puttnams Finest Hour
What can I say about this film? Great Direction. Great Production. Magnificent acting. Yet the two main leads, unknown actors at the time, acted the pants off the likes of John... Read more
Published 10 months ago by S. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Cambridge Runner
I live and work in Cambridge (at one of the Colleges) and have just competed in the charity chariots of fire relay race that is held there every year and whose course runs through... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Formula

5.0 out of 5 stars Still a Winner!
I was delighted to find this DVD, as I was shopping for a suitable Christmas present for my son, who is consequently going to receive a used one, since I could not resist... Read more
Published on 24 Dec 2007 by F. S. L'hoir

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Story of Commitment, Faith and Glory
Many great sports movies are about self-sacrifice for the sake of selfish goals. Rocky Balboa fought to prove something. Lou Gehrig wanted to persevere. Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2007 by A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com

5.0 out of 5 stars Holds your attention
It is the 1924 Paris Olympics. Who will represent Great Briton? The decision will not only be based on athletic abilities but on social standing and religion. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2005 by bernie

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