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Chariots Of Fire (U)

Release date: 13 July 2012

Running time: 123 mins

Director:

Starring: Ben Cross

The inspirational Oscar-winning Olympic drama gets a timely, digitally remastered reissue.

Thirty years ago, this Hugh Hudson/David Puttnam triumph won four Oscars, including Best Film. This famously prompted screenwriter Colin Welland to pronounce: "The British are coming!" What better moment to put this great homegrown classic back on cinema screens than during the feverish build-up to this year's Games? Based on a true story from 1924, the film follows two contrasting track athletes as they prepare for the Paris Olympics. Jewish Cambridge University student Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) endures anti-Semitism and yearns for acceptance. Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) is a devout Scottish Christian who sees running as a way of glorifying god. There are many challenges along the way. Liddell refuses to run on the Sabbath. Abraham, meanwhile, finds his last chance of winning a medal is in the 100 metres. Driven by an evocative Vangelis score, this is one of the most uplifting sporting dramas ever made.

Distributor: Fox

You should see it because: Stirring and powerful, this is the perfect patriotic scene-setter for the London Olympics.

See it if you liked: Secretariat (2010), The King's Speech (2011), Fast Girls (2012)