Chariots of Fire (1981)

Actors: Peter Jones (actor), Ian Holm (actor), Patrick Doyle (actor), Nigel Havers (actor), Yves Beneyton (actor), Lindsay Anderson (actor), John Gielgud (actor), Richard Griffiths (actor), Kenneth Branagh (actor), Stephen Fry (actor), Ben Cross (actor), Nigel Davenport (actor), Nicholas Farrell (actor), Patrick Magee (actor), Michael Lonsdale (actor),

Plot: The story, told in flashback, of two young British sprinters competing for fame in the 1924 Olympics. Eric, a devout Scottish missionary runs because he knows it must please God. Harold, the son of a newly rich Jew runs to prove his place in Cambridge society. In a warmup 100 meter race, Eric defeats Harold, who hires a pro trainer to prepare him. Eric, whose qualifying heat is scheduled for a Sunday, refuses to run despite pressure from the Olympic committee. A compromise is reached when a nobleman allows Eric to compete in his 400 meter slot. Eric and Harold win their respective races and go on to achieve fame as missionary and businessman/athletic advocate, respectively.

Keywords: 1910s, 1920s, actress, american, anti-semitism, arrogance, athlete, athletic-training, audio-flashback, autograph
Genres: Drama, History, Sport,
Taglines: This is the story of two men who run...not to run...but to prove something to the world. They will sacrifice anything to achieve their goals...Except their honor. With Wings on their Heels and Hope in their Hearts Two men chasing dreams of glory!

Quotes:

Eric Liddell: You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape - especially if you've got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe you're dinner's burnt. Maybe you haven't got a job. So who am I to say, "Believe, have faith," in the face of life's realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.

Eric Liddell: I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.

Harold M. Abrahams: If I can't win, I won't run!::Sybil Gordon: If you don't run, you can't win.

Sam Mussabini: Eric Liddell? He's no real problem...::Harold M. Abrahams: [Eric has already beaten Harold once] You could have fooled me.::Sam Mussabini: Yeah, he's fast! But he won't go any faster. He's a gut runner, digs deep! But a short sprint is run on nerves. It's tailor-made for neurotics.

Sam Mussabini: Do you want to know why you lost today?::[Harold nods]::Sam Mussabini: You're over striding. [Sets coins in a row] Now these coins represent the steps in your sprint. [Pushes coins together] Can you find me another two coins, Mr. Abraham? [Harold looks up] Remember, over striding. Death for the sprinter [shakes his head]. Knocks you back. [Slaps Harold across the cheek. Harold winces] Like that! [Slaps Harold again] And that! [Sam laughs and grabs Harold by the arm].

Harold M. Abrahams: That was the miscalculation of my life.

Harold M. Abrahams: You, Aubrey, are my most complete man.::Harold M. Abrahams: You're brave, compassionate, kind: a content man. That is your secret, contentment; I am 24 and I've never know it.::Harold M. Abrahams: I'm forever in pursuit and I don't even know what I am chasing.

Henry Stallard: [the athletes are playing cricket in the ballroom of their hotel. Henry Stallard is the umpire; Aubrey Montague bowls a delivery to Eric Liddell, batting] No ball!::Harold M. Abrahams: [desperate to get into bat] Come on, Aubrey, the old leg-break!::Harold M. Abrahams: [Aubrey bowls another delivery, which deceivingly appears to have gotten Eric out] HowZAT!::Henry Stallard: Not out!::Harold M. Abrahams: What do you mean, not out? You could've heard it from bloody Bournemouth! Come on, Liddell, my innings.::Eric Liddell: I didn't touch it, I swear it, must've been the crack of my wrist!::Harold M. Abrahams: He's out I tell you, you're all deaf - deaf and bloody blind! Aubrey I ask you, for God's sake!::Harold M. Abrahams: [No response from Aubrey, dramatic pause] [punching the air] It's not FAIR! [the athletes break into laughter, Abrahams eventually joining them]

Harold M. Abrahams: And now in one hour's time I will be out there again.::Harold M. Abrahams: I will raise my eyes and look down that corridor; 4 feet wide, with 10 lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But WILL I?

Harold M. Abrahams: Aubrey, I've known the fear of losing but now I am almost too frightened to win.