Parent reviews for Chariots of Fire

This is a great movie using the story of the British Mens Olympic Team to highlight and contrast the experiences of two men: one is a Jew who feels the outsider status implied in every snide remark or limp handshake. The other is a Scottish missionary who has to balance his fervor for sharing God's word and his desire to run. The cast is rounded out by aristocracy and upper class British values. The nudity is a man's backside in the shower during a panning shot in a locker room. I read that the producers put this in to make sure the movie didn't receive a G rating back in the 80s--which would have doomed it from serious artistic/Academy consideration.

Great movie with strong moral spine

Amazing true story about perseverance, loyalty, and staying true to onself and ones's beliefs; of a world full of contradictions; of triumph and failure; of altruism; of what makes us human.

PG-13: mild thematic elements

This movie was solid with positive themes of not giving up on your goals and continuing to strive until you succeed. There was very little questionable content except for one scene in a locker room where you can see a guy's rear-end briefly but it is not the focus of the camera. Also closer to the end of the film, the trainer is giving Abraham's a massage of his shoulders and it's just a little bit awkward to watch. Overall it was a good film, but I think it wouldn't really be appreciated by anyone under the age of 12 just due to the slow nature of it. Even as an adult I had to break it up into several nights to get through it.

CHARIOTS OF FIRE is a very interesting movie with a good story and a great score. However, at the end, I wasn't near as inspired as I thought I would be. The movie is quite slow, but I have no problem with the pace. It's the execution of the story that feels choppy. On the plus side, however, the film features an amazing score by Vangelis and some great acting performances by Ian Holm, Ian Charleson, and Alice Krige. The dialogue is well-written. This isn't a bad movie, but the fact that it beat out brilliant RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK for Best Picture in 1981 stuns me. The only thing standing between this movie and a G-rating is one "s" word (which was dubbed in by the director so he could get a PG rating). Other than that, there is no language, no violence, and no sexual content/nudity. Drinking was hardly noticeable.

The story is positive and I really admire someone for standing for something (in this case a runner who chooses not to run on the Sunday as it is the Sabbath day). However, parents should know there is a lot of drinking and smoking throughout the movie - especially by athletes. Also, a male locker room scene that displays brief nudity.