If you’re looking for an awe-inspiring sports drama film, then you’ve come to the right place. Today, we will tell you all about the British sports movie, Chariots of Fire, starring Ben Cross. Furthermore, I’ll also let you in on where was Chariots of Fire filmed.
The British sports action film, Chariots of Fire was released in the early ‘80s. This incredible film was directed by none other than Hugh Hudson and written by Colin Welland. As per reports, the original storyline of this film was inspired by the 1924 Olympics.
The basic premise of Chariots of Fire revolves around two British athletes, Harold Abrahams, and Eric Lidell. The story gets interesting when these two talented athletes give everything to win the Olympic gold medal.
Apart from winning 14 major awards, Chariots of Fire also bagged 4 Academy awards and collected several nominations. The commercial performance of this amazing film was impressive as well. Chariots of Fire went on to gross over $59 million at the box office against the production budget of just $6 million.
If you’re ready to find out where was Chariots of Fire filmed, then without taking much longer, let’s dive right in.
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Where Was Chariots Of Fire Filmed? Let’s Know This Sports Comedy Flick Closely!
As I’ve mentioned earlier, the story of Chariots of Fire is set in France, since the 1924 Summer Olympics took place in Paris. However, the shooting of this film was done entirely in the United Kingdom.
Hudson decided to shoot the entire movie in the UK, instead of shooting in France, because of the production budget. The shooting was too low to sustain filming in France. Besides that, the director had full faith in the well-equipped studios in England to recreate the backdrop of Paris.
So, during the initial stages of production, Hudson and his team not only scouted ideal filming locations in and around England, but they also traveled to Scotland. Since the director wanted to showcase the backstory of one of the athletes, who came from Scotland, he thought it would be best to shoot some scenes there.
After the filming locations were finalized by Hudson, he instructed the crew to arrange the filming permits. This was mainly done to avoid any last-minute changes or any sort of confusion during the course of filming.
Soon, the production members arranged the required permissions and prepared to commence shooting. The principal photography of Chariots of Fire began in the third week of April 1980 and continued for almost two months.
The production members were able to complete the shooting within the estimated timeline mainly because the crew didn’t face any major challenges while filming in England or even Scotland, for that matter.
Some minor scenes were captured in and around The Highlands of Scotland, whereas the majority of the filming of Chariots of Fire took place in England. Even the interior shots of the film were captured in England inside well-designed studios.
After the shooting process was over, the production members started working on the promotion of the movie since it was intended to release the next year.
Let us now take a closer look at where was Chariots of Fire filmed. After that, I’ll walk you through the plot of this sports drama movie.
Scotland
The opening scene of the movie was filmed in Scotland. Interestingly enough, the closing scene of Chariots of Fire was also filmed in the same location. The production members selected a picturesque shooting spot located near West Sands Beach, St. Andrews, and filmed the opening scene.
Other important sequences in Scotland were captured in and around Edinburgh. The scene where one of the lead actors appears to be having dinner with a friend was filmed inside Cafe Royal, located in the downtown area of Edinburgh.
The scene where Lidell handouts the winning prizes during the Highland games was shot in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. After these scenes were filmed, the production members moved to England.
England
The second half of Chariots of Fire was filmed entirely in England. The scene where Lidell and Abrahams leave for the Paris games was actually filmed near Birkenhead, England. Other important scenes of the Olympic games were shot inside The Oval Sports Centre, located in Bebington, Merseyside.
The production members had to take special filming permission from the stadium authorities before using the race track for shooting. After these sequences were shot, the production members filmed a couple of other scenes and then wrapped the entire shooting process.
If you’re planning to visit England in the upcoming days, you can look up Manchester, Liverpool, Chelsea, Birmingham, Oxford, York, and Brighton. These iconic places are visited by tourists from all over the world.
So if you want to spend your holidays in England, you can definitely make reservations in any of the above-mentioned locations. And now, let me give you an overview of Chariots of Fire. Meanwhile, you can also read How to restrict Netflix profile, Cringey Shonen Anime Tropes, and The Woman in the Window.
Plot Of Chariots Of Fire | What’s It About
The basic premise of Chariots of Fire revolves around the characters of Harold Abrahams and Eric Lidell, two British athletes competing against each other in the 1924 Olympics. At the very beginning of the movie, the character of Eric appears to be judging the Highland games in Scotland.
As the story progresses further, Eric finally meets Harold while preparing for the 1924 Olympics in England. Both athletes soon build up a rapport while training in the camp and then depart for the final games together. However, when they reach France, the relationship between Harold and Lidell completely deteriorates.
Watch Chariots of Fire and find out which British athlete came out on top and won gold for England.
Final Words
I’ve listed all the important filming locations of Chariots of Fire. I hope now you finally know where was Chariots of Fire filmed. But if you still have any questions, feel free to add them in the comments section.
If you wish to read similar blogs, then I would suggest you browse through other entertaining articles on Viebly.
