“Chariots Of Fire”. A Review Of The 1981 Film - Now Fully Restored And Reissued On A 30th Anniversary BLU RAY/CD Double-Pack In 2012.

 
"Bring Me My Arrows Of Desire…Bring Me My Chariot Of Fire…"

 

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE USA 'BOOK PACK' BLU RAY REISSUE  ***

Little will prepare fans of "Chariots Of Fire" for this BLU RAY reissue - the picture quality is SENSATIONAL - and for a British film made on a budget in 1981 - that says a lot. 

Also - re-watching it in 2012 (the year of the 30th Olympiad in England) - it's nice to find that this homage to Sporting achievement and human spirit hasn't lost any of its capacity to stir the soul and bring a tear to the eye. It was rightly nominated for 7 Oscars at the time and won 4 - including Best Picture.

PACKAGING/CONTENT/PICTURE QUALITY:

The first thing to note is that even though the print quality and abundant extras are the same for the UK and US versions - they differ greatly in their 'packaging'. Also the UK issue comes in two versions - a simple uninspiring plastic clip-case with just 1 disc (type in barcode: 5039036052344 into Amazon) and a second issue with the music CD as well (type in barcode: 5039036051163).

This US Warner Brothers version that I'm reviewing however comes in a beautifully presented 36-page embossed hardback 'Book Pack' (or Digibook as its sometimes called) with an outer page attached to the rear (type in barcode: 883929093946). Regardless of which issue you buy - ALL are 'REGION FREE' issues so will play on every machine.

The booklet for the US variant is beautiful - featuring articles and pictures on Producer David Puttnam, Director Hugh Hudson and Writer Colin Welland. There's also text and photos on the principal cast members as well as notable supporting roles by John Gielgud, Ian Holm, Alice Krieg and Cheryl Campbell. There's also a page on the huge contribution made by Greek keyboardist VANGELIS - whose musical score has been both revered and parodied in equal measure ever since (most notably in the opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics just a few days ago).

This US issue and the UK double also house a 4-track music CD by VANGELIS (13:47 minutes) that features 2006 remasters of "Titles" (A Number 1 US hit in February 1982), "Abraham's Theme", "Eric's Theme" and "Jerusalem" (Vangelis with The Ambrosian Singers).

But the big news is the print - which has been FULLY RESTORED and defaulted to 1.85:1 aspect ratio - thereby filling your entire screen. Even in the notoriously difficult-to-light indoor sequences there is only slight blocking and grain - but on all outdoor scenes (of which there are many) - the clarity is exemplary. The DTS-HD Master Audio is English 5.1 Dolby Digital and Subtitles are English for Hard-Of-Hearing and French. Extras are discussed below...

THE FILM:

Taking its name from William Blake's preface to the epic "Milton: A Poem" - it focuses on the team who secured 4 medals for Britain in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris - in particular the two Gold winners - Eric Liddell for the Men's 400 metres and Harold Abrahams for the Men's 100 meters. Nicholas Farrell (as Aubrey Montague), Nigel Havers (as Lord Andrew Lindsay) and Daniel Gerroll (as Henry Stallard) make up the other runners. Blink and you'll miss them cameos are - two sightings of American Comedienne Ruby Wax as a lady spectator in the Olympic crowds towards the end of the movie and an uncredited Stephen Fry in the "HMS Pinafore" chorus line-up.

Born in China but raised in Edinburgh - Eric Liddell (nick-named "The Flying Scotsman" after the famous steam train) was the son of a devout Missionary - and like his father before him cherished and practiced his religious convictions. Played to perfection by Scotsman Ian Charleson - Liddell often said that he was 'running for God' or 'felt His pleasure' as he speeded around track after track leaving all in his wake. Both King and Country would sorely test these implacable beliefs in Paris when they asked him to run on the Sabbath - and he refused. A little jiggering of racing dates saved face and the day...but it was the measure of the man that he withstood all that pressure and still won...

His principal rival was Harold Abrahams (played with huge gusto by Ben Cross) - a Jewish Cambridge University intellectual determined to deal with society's bigotry towards his kind by crushing all detractors in his path - including Liddell - whom he both feared and admired. But when he finally faces Liddell in a run and looses by a ticker-tape inch - the outsider is crushed. But help is at hand in the shape of an unorthodox Jewish coach called Sam Mussabini (a fabulous turn by veteran actor Ian Holm) who promises to make Harold faster and better (and does).

These indomitable boors inhabit a world of privileged chums wearing boater hats and striped blazers - men who sing Gilbert & Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore" songs with alarming relish. This is Britain after the senseless generation-depleting butchery of World War I - but still with that inbred sense of Empire coursing through their veins. You'd be right in thinking that all this snobbish elitism could become quickly tedious (and it threatens to do so for the first half hour), but the script rightly concentrates on something all the more compelling - their dedication, self-sacrifice and guts. Genuinely inspiring a hurting-country hungry for something noble to celebrate - you could even say they joined Christianity and Judaism on the Sports field for the National good. And on it goes to the 8th Olympics Games in 1924 and a funeral in London in 1978 (making it contemporary).

The wad of extras are superb - modern day interviews with all the protagonists - Ben Cross and Nigel Havers particularly animated and witty and pouring praise on Ian Charleson who sadly passed away in 1990. And again when they use the old stock footage of the film - you see just how glorious the full restoration truly is.

Like "The King's Speech" in so many ways - "Chariots Of Fire" is filled with British pride - but in a good way. This is a story about people worth remembering - their struggles - their heartbreaks and triumphs - their journey. Having not seen it in probably 30 years - I found it moving, inspirational and not in the least bit dated. And now it has the transfer and format it deserves. I know the US version may cost twice as much as the UK issue - but if you can go the few quid - then do so.

When Screenplay Writer Colin Welland accepted his Oscar - he famously announced "The British Are Coming!" Well, they're back...because this really is a fantastic reissue of a great movie.

I'm off now to run in slow motion by the sea and surf with that synth riff pounding through my very tight Speedos...nice!

“Papillion”. A Review Of The 1973 Prison-Drama Movie Starring Steve McQueen And Dustin Hoffman – Now Reissued Onto A US ‘Book Pack’ BLU RAY In 2011.

"...I'm Still Here!"

PACKAGING:

This is the first US Warner Brothers 'Book Pack' (or Digibook as they sometimes call it) that I've bought on BLU RAY and I'm impressed. It's beautifully presented - and more important - the print has been restored to a truly fantastic degree throughout. There are rarely any occasions when the transfer doesn't show the sweat and grime of this protracted prison drama with anything less than properly gorgeous clarity. It didn't look this good on DVD and that's for damn sure (and it's reasonably priced too).

Released May 2011 (barcode: 883929172764) - the other good news for fans outside of the USA is that it's a REGION FREE issue - so will play on every machine.

The booklet is 36-pages long and features both full-colour and black-and-white prints of the actors, Director Franklin J. Schaffner ("The Caine Mutiny", "12 Angry Men" and "Planet Of The Apes") and on-set photographs and key scenes from the movie. There's also an info-page pasted to the back of the hardback sleeve but it's flimsy and creases easily - so you might want to put the whole thing in a protective plastic. The disc itself not surprisingly sports a Butterfly logo. But I'd have to say that the side is let down somewhat by the supposed 'Special Features'. Apart from a "Theatrical Trailer" - the lone extra is called "The Magnificent Rebel" which lasts just over 12 minutes. Hoffman says a few words, McQueen nothing - however - it does feature the real Charriere revisiting the set designed by people who'd worked on "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Patton" - a full scale rebuilding of his prison - complete with gates, walls, cells and guillotine. His ruminations are not surprisingly bitter - "Society does not want free men...it wants men to march like sheep..." - all police are corrupt - the judicial system vengeful. An unexpected up is that it does at least let you see just how bad the original footage was before restoration - covered in scratches, washed out and undefined...

THE FILM:

Cited by one drama teacher in the early Sixties as "least likely to succeed as an actor" - DUSTIN HOFFMAN had just come off a stunning run of layered performances in "The Graduate" (1967), "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), "Little Big Man" (1970) and "Straw Dogs" (1971). But for me his best nerd-in-over-his-head character is in 1973's "Papillon" where he absolutely aced it again with his beautifully controlled portrayal of Louis Dega. Dega is a weedy counterfeiter given life imprisonment for money fraud that cost several members of the French Government dear. Such is the severity of life in these tropical prisons and their inhospitable environs (chained communal bedrooms to swamp detail and back again) - Dega with his sticky-taped bifocals is unlikely to live let alone make parole. When the warden warns the arriving inmates in the yard talk to "Make the best of what we offer you...and you will suffer less..." he isn't joking. Those who attempt escape (and are caught) are publicly beheaded. If he doesn't rot to death in solitary - Dega will be stabbed in his sleep for his knowledge. The only way for Louis to survive is to buy protection. In this he is unwillingly paired with Henri Charriere (played by STEVE McQUEEN) - a man claiming he's innocent because he was framed for murder - but an inmate genuinely capable of handling himself and others. Charriere sports a Butterfly tattoo on his chest ('Papillon' in French) and is a spirit that will not be contained no matter what the dehumanizing regimes throw at him (long spells in solitary on barely subsistence food). Across 14 years that feel like 40 and 8 failed escape attempts - the wildly differing duo are then finally sent to the notorious penitentiary on Devil's Island - a rock in the Atlantic off the coast of South America (owned at that time by French Guiana) that also houses a leper colony. Surrounded by cliffs and an unforgiving sea - escape (they are told) is not possible. But even bruised, battered and considerably older by the end of the film - Papillon has other ideas...

It has to be said that this is a long movie - and decades of incarceration and brutality may not be everyone's idea of a fun night in. But the fantastical twisting story (which at times beggars belief - the nun's segment in particular) and the two leads firing on all sixes - produces a damn near irresistible combination. Both McQueen and Hoffman wisely avoid the trap of a buddy-buddy movie. These are two prisoners who don't even like each other much but have to co-exist in a living Hell. Yet both actors got under the skin of their characters so much that there are moments when Dega and Charriere simply look at each other and silently 'know' - dreams of freedom must be repressed - just thinking about it is too painful and wearing...

McQueen's 'Papillon' in particular (whether based on a real man or not) is a fantastic creation. Wilful yet somehow kind - bloody-minded yet fair - his Papillon is infused with an indomitable spirit. When in one of his long solitary confinement stretches (surviving on pacing the cell and eating cockroaches) - he looks up at the shaft of light above him coming through the steel bars he can't reach and croaks with defiance "Hey! You bastards! I'm still here!" Waist-deep in stinking rivers and thick mud, bedding on hard concrete floors and traipsing around in bedraggled rags in the ever-present swelter (partially filmed in Jamaica) - McQueen suffered for the part. But he knew it had substance and soul - so he dug in to find his man...and succeeded with grace and dignity. The role even replaced Steve McQueen 'The Star' with Steve McQueen 'The Actor' - ditching his 'coolest man on Earth' persona and proving his critics wrong.

"Papillon" is a magnificent film - still resonant to this day nearly 40 years after the event. It may leave you feeling like you've taken a day-long hike through the desert with the Foreign Legion followed by a nice relaxing full body dip in a cesspool to cool down afterwards - but it's a difficult watch that is 'so' worth the difficulty.

Recommended big time...

BLU RAY Specifications:

PICTURE: 1080p High Definition, 16 x 9 and 2.4:1 Aspect Ratios (Fills Full Screen)

AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1

SUBTITLES: English for Hard-Of Hearing, French and Spanish

EXTRAS: Theatrical Trailer and a 12-minute featurette called "The Magnificent Rebel"

PS: I'm sure I speak for many film fans when I say this - my wish would be that Warner Brothers would start reissuing their superb classic back-catalogue in this 'Book Pack' style here in the UK. Why are the British and European marketplaces being so short-changed on this?

Also - if you want an idea of what titles are available Stateside that play on UK machines - see my List Number 81 on Amazon UK entitled "US BLU RAYS That Are Better Than UK (And Play Here Too)"