MOVIE · 1981

Chariots of Fire

Drama125 min

Early-1920s Britain frames the parallel paths of two young runners bound for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Ian Charleson is Eric Liddell, a Scottish sprinter born to missionaries in China whose Christian faith shapes every part of his training, including his refusal to run on the Sabbath. Ben Cross’s Harold Abrahams, a Cambridge student and determined competitor, pushes against anti-Semitism and class prejudice with a relentless focus on winning. Around them, coaches, classmates, and family members turn the track into a stage for questions of belief, status, and national pride.