Chariots of Fire: 2-Disc Special Edition (DVD)

This was my first time ever seeing the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire and while this is a highly celebrated film, and it is extremely good, I don't see it as anything so spectacular that it warrants any more than a pat on the back and an "Atta boy!"

Warner Bros. has recently released all of its Best Picture winning films on DVD and in doing such Chariots of Fire is getting the 2-Disc Special Edition treatment. On top of the widely popular film you also get a very good commentary track by director Hugh Hudson but a second disc of all new bonus features including 16 minutes of deleted scenes.

First off, Chariots of Fire tells the story of two men as they use racing to define their lives. Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish missionary runs because he knows it must please God. Harold M. Abrahams, the son of a newly rich Jew runs to prove his place in Cambridge society. Together the two men are on a collision course for the 1924 Olympics where their abilities will be put to the test in a way not immediately expected, but altogether celebrated.

In listening to Hugh Hudson's commentary track you will get tons of insight into the making of this film, bits of information that actually make the second disc's features that much better, especially the deleted scenes. Plus he will point out an example where the word "shit" was included simply to get a higher rating from the MPAA so the film would appeal to a wider audience, not to mention it is in the same scene, which was shot solely for American audiences and was replaced by a cricket scene, which you will find in the Deleted Scenes.

Besides the deleted scenes the second disc of this special edition includes two brand new documentaries, both of which are rather short and to the point, but include insight from anyone and everyone that was available including the primary cast and even composer Vangelis, whose Oscar award-winning score is more recognizable than any song pumped over the airwaves nowadays.

The first featurette is more of a making-of featurette talking about the production of the film and the research that went into getting the details just so. This bleeds into the second featurette quite nicely as we are treated to a "round table" reunion with two of the supporting actors plus the Hugh Hudson, writer Colin Welland and cinematographer as they sit around and discuss the film from producer David Putnam's house. While it may sound boring, some of the tidbits that come up from the discussion are extremely interesting.

Overall, this is a good film, but I can't say it was as good as I expected. As for the DVD it definitely serves its purpose without overdoing it. Often times special editions such as this offer up 90-120 minute making-of documentaries that run longer than the actual feature, with this DVD they got to the point quickly and Hudson's commentary makes it well worthwhile.