UK (1981): Drama
This come-from-behind winner of the 1981 Oscar® for best picture 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. The cast also features Nigel Davenport, Cheryl Campbell, Alice Krige, Brad Davis and Patrick Magee. 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. (Jim Emerson, Amazo.com)
7 nominations, 4 Awards
· Best Picture 1981: David Puttnam - Producer (Enigma, The Ladd Company/Warner Bros.)
· Writing (Best Screenplay written directly for the screen) 1981: Colin Welland
· Costume Design 1981: Milena Canonero
· Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Score) 1981: Vangelis
· Supporting Actor 1981: Ian Holm
· Directing 1981: Hugh Hudson
· Film Editing 1981: Terry Rawlings
