esrosedotblog

RUN!!!

What a great film!

Today's movie was
Chariots of Fire (1981).

It is a NYTimes 1176 Great Film film. At the end, we were saying the same.

We also wondered at the emotion that it generates almost from the beginning; men running barefoot on the beach.

And, at the same time, the musical theme; one of the first on synthesizer. Pounding out it's electric (yes) theme.

The two protagonists (who never actually race each other except early on) are outsiders.

They fight the arbitrary class system. They win over serious odds. They maintain their values and beliefs. They have lives afterward. And so on. But none of this explains the grip of the film. This is all head stuff. The grip is in the heart.

I suppose that if we knew how this was done on-screen, we would be directors or actors. The mystery of the art.

Of the young actors, Ben Cross has had a rich career. Ian Charleson died at 41 while performing Hamlet. The late Brad Davis (AIDS) has one line and a lot of yards of film as an American Olympian. He had already been in Midnight Express which made his career; as short as it was. Sir Ian Holme, who we love, is a trainer who is also an outsider. We last saw him as a hobbit. The cherry on the top of the whole sundae; SIr John Geilgud as the Master of Trinity in Cambridge.

This will be a 5 out of Netflix5! Maybe a 6.