“The British are coming!” screenwriter Colin Welland famously proclaimed, Oscar in hand. While this sporting saga ultimately proved not to herald a British celluloid renaissance, it certainly flew the flag for the industry’s craftsmanship and acting talent. Although perhaps remembered as a celebration of gritty Brits triumphing over much-fancied Americans, Chariots of Fire is actually a portrait of social outsiders making their contribution to the greater national good—Ian Charleson’s God-fearing Scot, who refuses to run on the Sabbath, and Ben Cross’s Jewish sprinter. First-time director Hugh Hudson was—like Alan Parker and Ridley Scott before him—recruited by producer David Puttnam from the advertising world, his skilled commercial aesthetic exemplified by the striking juxtaposition of 1920s athletes and Vangelis’s modern electronic score.