Chariots of Fire (1981)
Directed by Hugh Hudson
In the class-obsessed and religiously divided UK of the early 1920s, two determined young runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell, a devout Christian born to Scottish missionaries in China, sees running as part of his worship of God's glory and refuses to train or compete on the Sabbath. Harold Abrahams overcomes anti-Semitism and class bias, but neglects his beloved sweetheart in his single-minded quest.
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What critics compared Chariots of Fire to
All of it's wasted, really, on another run-of-the-mill slapstick cartoon that, after a marvellous hallucination culminating with a hippo dressed as the Statue of Liberty, becomes a procession of the usual pop-smart references to stuff like Cast Away , Planet of the Apes, The Mission, Chariots of Fire, "Hawaii Five-O", and that "To Serve Man" episode of "The Twilight Zone".
For all the grown-up caregivers who are sitting in the theater, however -- the ones for whom, presumably, all the hipper-than-thou references to HMOs, Tom Wolfe, "Planet of the Apes," "Chariots of Fire" and Washoe the sign-language-using chimp are meant -- it would be nice if the movie didn't insult our intelligence by withholding a real ending in favor of one that, in more ways than one, merely runs out of gas.
A screwball adventure about four animals who escape from their supposedly cushy captivity of the Central Park Zoo and eventually end up lost in the wild, "Madagascar" has good energy, fairly steady chuckles for kids (fart jokes and spit-takes galore), and a few out-loud laughs for adults, mostly stemming from hilarious homages to movies from "Chariots of Fire" to "American Beauty" to "Planet of the Apes."
In short, Madagascar is a violent place kids at the screening I attended were crying and the filmmakers (Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath) layer in lackluster nods to Chariots of Fire, Castaway, and Planet of the Apes that didnt make them laugh.
The plot in "Madagascar," however, is frequently interrupted (or all but overwhelmed) by the gags; halfway through the film's brisk 80 minutes the screenwriters still haven't established where the movie is heading, although they have squeezed in references to Tom Wolfe, "Chariots of Fire," "Saturday Night Fever," "Hawaii Five-O," "Cast Away," "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and one of Earth, Wind and Fire's greatest hits.
If we're not suffering poo-flinging or butt-biting, we get the theme songs from Chariots of Fire and "Hawaii Five-O."
As with the original film, Greek composer Vangelis is the real star here—his keening keyboard themes have been acid-washed by today’s re-scorers, Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer, yet the Chariots of Fire wizard’s aural signature echoes through these urban canyons like a welcoming beacon.
He launches into a Jack-Blackian set-piece in a DVD store, amusing Iris by humming famous themes—Jaws, Gone with the Wind, Chariots of Fire—and so providing suitable diversion from the still hanging-around Jasper (he’s called to ask her help in editing his manuscript, claiming that he needs “some Iris").
There's an homage to Chariots of Fire which felt like a forced gag.
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Running through rhythmic calisthenics and Olympic-level tongue twisters ("I'm a thistle sifter"), Rush and Firth might as well be Ian Holm and Ben Cross in Chariots of Fire.
At times, Desmond seems like a GI version of Eric Liddell, the runner in Chariots Of Fire who still manages to win a gold medal in spite of refusing to run on Sundays.
As we watch the figure we will come to know as Private Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) a grand cinematic language is invoked with all the strength of a visual blast: the iconic closing scene of François Truffaut’s 400 Blows and the stunning running montages of Chariots of Fire; but here Tommy is running into limbo.
Near the end of a second viewing, I was struck with a comparison to Chariots of Fire, of all things.
It was entitled Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, and that was handled by Oscar nominee Hugh Hudson of Chariots of Fire fame.
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Moore's story addresses only a few key theories, including the possible involvement of Queen Victoria's grandson, Prince Albert, and the queen's personal physician, William Gull -- the latter masterfully portrayed by veteran actor Ian Holm ("The Madness of King George," "Chariots of Fire").
And you know what you want to see in a “Top Gun” movie: hazy sunrises and sunsets; the opening soundtrack that was originally stolen from “Chariots of Fire,” the one with the church bell added in; Micky-mouse-eared deck hands doing ritualistic cat-shot-prep dance moves; warplanes screaming off carrier decks; deafening jet engines; pilots carousing in bars; Maverick motorcycling; beach volleyball; arrogant stick jockeys; flat spins; and of course, dogfight mayhem in the skies.