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12 Oct 2013: I stumbled across "Chariots of Fire" just underway on one of the HBO hd channels last night, and although I have (1) the VHS tape, (2) the initial standard-screen DVD, and (3) the later so-called "TWO-DISC SPECIAL EDITION" DVD with widescreen and oodles of extra features, I was drawn inexorably into it, and this time paid more attention to how director Hugh Hudson and composer Vangelis wove that magical very 20th century electronic music into a story set in 1923 and 1924, a juxtaposition that I've always thought was startlingly effective. I saw the film when it was first released and went back a few times to introduce friends to it, who also loved it, and have long viewed it as a movie about sports for people who don't like movies about sports, and remember being elated when it was the upset winner for Best Picture (over, as I think I recall, "On Golden Pond" and "Reds," which probably split the vote and allowed "Chariots" to slip past them). I well remember the first time I watched the movie after Ian Charleson had died of AIDS, and when it got to the scroll at the end that tells us that Eric Liddell died in occupied China at the end of WWII, tears suddenly filled my eyes, knowing that the actor who played him had just died himself. Both he and Ben Cross are soooooooooooooooo perfect in that film. But what a brilliant, if improbable, choice for director Hugh Hudson to pick Vangelis to score it! The soundtrack has long been a favorite of mine, from LP to CD, although it only has about 40 minutes of new music, half of which is taken up by a long riff on themes, which I never felt built to the explosive finale I wanted, so back during the tape era I used my Nakamichi to switch, at the 13.19 point, to a far grander and explosive finale I took from another cue of the score, and have always wished that Vangelis would go back and re-do that long cue, which was mostly a set of variations of his principal themes. How do others react to this soundtrack and how Vangelis integrates it into the film?
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I'm just really glad the Blu-ray included an isolated score for this one 
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The power of muzak can be quite potent. I've been known to ride elevators for hours under its spell. But whenever Chariots Of Fire comes on, I panic and push the open button and get out as quick as I can.
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. . . and get out as quick as I can.
So you mean it inspires you to run fast? Good for Vangelis.
I never warmed much to Vangelis, but this particular assignment seemed a good fit. It was going to need some kind of hummable anthem, and he certainly delivered one, and the use of electronics gave the story a feeling of "timeless myth."
I'd compare it (in terms if timelessness) to Jerry's use of electronics in the period picture "Hoosiers." Jerry took it a step further by sampling the sound of a bouncing basketball to keep the beat. Perhaps Vangelis' sound effects can be imagined to represent the heartbeat of a runner, footsteps, or something else specifically related to the film's subject.
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So you mean it inspires you to run fast?
No, to get out fast. There is a difference!
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CinemaScope Kid: Re: No, to get out fast. There is a difference!
So you equate Vangelis' score for "Chariots of Fire" to muzak. Pity. Your loss indeed.
And to MutualRevolver: With so many copies of that movie, I've just not been able to convince myself to buy it again, even if it's Blu-ray. But last night, watching the hd broadcast on HBO, I found myself considering it. And having an isolated music score would be a bonus, but I've found that it's hard to sit through a familiar movie, even a favorite movie, with absolutely nothing except the music -- no dialog, no sound effects, nothing but the music. It's a great feature if you want to record the music off of it, and I'm sure that there are people who love that feature. But when I've tried it, such as the isolated score for Jerry Goldsmith's great score for "Rudy," I missed some of the other sounds, like the big tear-jerking finale when everyone is screaming as that glorious score builds up to sweep us away, usually in tears. It makes me realize how important everything is to the finished product. Last night, while watching "Chariots of Fire," I wanted to know who edited that movie, because he or she did an amazing job, especially with the music perfectly accompanying the action on screen.
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Not a fan of the album but Abraham's Theme and 100 Metres are pure Blade Runner.
Alex
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Dana Wilcox: Re: Beyond water-boarding: Tie me to a chair and force me to listen repeatedly to CHARIOTS OF FIRE, the ROCKY victory theme and Lara's Theme from DR. ZHIVAGO, and I'll tell you anything!!!
Wow! First someone compares Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire" score to muzak, and now you equate it with water boarding? I sat there last night, absolutely thrilled by the music and the film and with my usual positive assessment of them even kicked up a notch or two. Interesting. Different strokes, I guess.
And now, at 1:02 a.m. my time, I just ordered the Blu-ray of "Chariots of Fire" -- you probably think the devil made me do it, but I happen to love that movie and its thrilling soundtrack!
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To MusicMad Mitch: First off: I've never watched the film so my comments relate solely to the album.
I love that main title theme ... so much so that back in the early 1980s I thought about buying it on vinyl 45rpm single from my local Newsagents when they stocked a few copies of some popular records. Only, by the time I'd decided to do so it was no longer available.
Then I got hold of the album (I think it would have been vinyl LP but it might have been an early CD) ... and I didn't keep a recording of anything other than that iconic theme. The album (score?) did nothing for me and I derided the fact that it was so popular as I believed (with no facts to support my belief, I hasten to add) that it would turn the general public off film soundtrack music: just how many people bought that album only to find that after track 1 it was largely a total bore?
Some 30 years on my tastes have broadened greatly and maybe I'd enjoy it more but as I have that theme and the track Five Circles - which I find less than interesting - I'm unlikely to bother acquiring the album now. I do play the odd track from the compilation album Themes but as a complete listen it is not engaging and thus does not inspire me to expand my collection of his works....
There's far more to the soundtrack CD than the very little (just 2 cues) you tell us you remember hearing, one that you once liked and one you didn't, and it includes some hauntingly lovely pieces and a nearly 21 minute medley of variations of the score that Vangelis put together just for the album. Essentially you write that you used to like the theme, almost bought it on LP but didn't, and, apparently, have never cared for the entire soundtrack nor seen the film. So what did you expect to add to my discussion? May I suggest that, for your next project, you take the time to finally see this wonderful film with its very unusual but still quite effective soundtrack? Then you can report back here and tell us something that might be worth reading. Thank you. And please forgive my obvious frustration, because I feel you've given short-shrift to a soundtrack you've never truly heard.
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Posted: |
Oct 13, 2013 - 8:32 AM
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By: |
Dana Wilcox
(Member)
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Dana Wilcox: Re: Beyond water-boarding: Tie me to a chair and force me to listen repeatedly to CHARIOTS OF FIRE, the ROCKY victory theme and Lara's Theme from DR. ZHIVAGO, and I'll tell you anything!!!
Wow! First someone compares Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire" score to muzak, and now you equate it with water boarding? I sat there last night, absolutely thrilled by the music and the film and with my usual positive assessment of them even kicked up a notch or two. Interesting. Different strokes, I guess.
And now, at 1:02 a.m. my time, I just ordered the Blu-ray of "Chariots of Fire" -- you probably think the devil made me do it, but I happen to love that movie and its thrilling soundtrack!
To each his own, I fully understand. Whatever gets you going!
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Re: Talking about that, anyone else experience some soundeffects on the isolated track during a few scenes??
jacky: I'll watch for that when I watch the Blu-ray, although, as I've written elsewhere, I get a little impatient trying to watch an entire film with just the isolated music score.
And yes, Urs, I guess I was overly harsh, and don't usually have such a knee-jerk reaction when sacred cows are more or less gored. But I felt that the negative comments were being based on such inadequate exposure to all the music as well as the film itself that, in the wee hours, it troubled me. And I agree that many of us listen to and buy soundtracks for films we've never seen and may never see. But if we are going to publicly dismiss them, I would hope we would do it based on a certain degree of familiarity with what we are writing about. But I should have been a little more tactful about it.
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