PRE-OSCAR LOOK AT MOVIES THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON ME, PART 6 OF 12: CHARIOTS OF FIRE

 We are at the half point of this series, and you may be wondering, "Will Jeff let us know what his favorite movie is?" I'll be glad to, but we need a rolling drum... or better, the pounding low D-flat on Vangelis' synthesizer. Oh, you've already guessed "Chariots of Fire,' because that's the name of the film and the picture. I suppose I'll need to make it more challenging next time.

This is the 1st Best Picture in my collection (my list contains one other best picture winner and two nominees - including "Mary Poppins", which did win best  actress). Unlike the other winner (which you'll see at some point in the second half), this was a surprise, winning over "Reds" and "On Golden Pond." It also won for best original screen play, costumes, and, unsurprisingly, Vangelis' score. (It also was nominated for director, editing, and supporting actor Ian Holm, who lost out to John Guilguld; Guilguld won for his role in "Arthur," but also was in "Chariots.")

I heard producer David Putnam interviewed. He commented some people said about "Chariots," "Great movie about Harold Abrahams, and the Eric Liddle character was interesting," and others commented, "I love that movie about Eric Liddle, and that Abrahams character was intriguing." 

I've watched it about 9-10 times. The last time was about two years ago, and I noticed something in it I didn't before: in one scene Vangelis played "Eric's Theme" in a minor key, and that definitely added to that scene.

 

PRE-OSCAR LOOK AT MOVIES THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON ME, PART 1 OF 12: MARY POPPINS

 

I saw one person in the film industry (maybe Spielberg? Don't remember for sure) comment you can learn a lot about people from their favorite movies. With Oscar's 2 weeks away, I thought I'd use that time to share 10 movies that made an impact on me. Some of these would be in my top 10 favorite list, others aren't far, but I'm focusing on those that I think had an influence on me.

So should I do it as a list of how I'd rank those ten movies either ascending or descending? Maybe alphabetic order? Well, considering that this is dealing with the impact it made on my life, I'll start in basic chronological order. There might be one or two that I might have goofed between two I saw in close proximity; hopefully that's forgiveable.

Thus, I'll start with Mary Poppins. This is the first movie I fell in love with. I also listened frequently to the soundtrack and albums that included Mary Poppins music. I was disappointed, because most did not have my favorite song from the movie: "Step In Time." However, it did not make it to me reading the books - I was just learning to read.

It influenced me both with the movie itself and the music, but I'd also call it the first "event movie." There are few movies that I'd put in that category: these are ones that I consider its viewing an event. Some of them I became familiar with the story before seeing the movie, such as Disney's "The Jungle Book," the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine," or "Star Wars." 

Others are among the five I'd include as seeing on opening night. You might say "Star Wars" fit that category - I saw that on the second showing of its appearance at the Rialto Theater in Cottonwood. Of course, considering that movies didn't reach Cottonwood till the end of their run, this was after being part of the Christmas program at church in '77. I saw both "Hanky Panky" (starring Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner) and "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan" the night they both opened; I went with some friends to the theater and both Star Trek and "Rocky 3" were sold out, so we saw the other movie. Then, one of the guys who had friends at the theater got us in for the final showing of Star Trek that night. Also in this category was "Batman Forever" and on a lesser scale, "Prodigal Planet" (the final of the four part "Thief in the Night" series.

Without a doubt, though, the one that made the biggest impact on me was "Mary Poppins."