Since its release , '' Chariots of Fire '' has received generally positive reviews from critics . , the film holds an 84 % " Certified Fresh " rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 67 reviews , with a weighted average of 7.66 / 10 . The site 's consensus reads : " Decidedly slower and less limber than the Olympic runners at the center of its story , the film nevertheless manages to make effectively stirring use of its spiritual and patriotic themes . " For its 2012 re-release , Kate Muir of '' The Times '' gave the film five stars , writing : " In a time when drug tests and synthetic fibres have replaced gumption and moral fibre , the tale of two runners competing against each other in the 1924 Olympics has a simple , undiminished power . From the opening scene of pale young men racing barefoot along the beach , full of hope and elation , backed by Vangelis 's now famous anthem , the film is utterly compelling . " '' Chariots of Fire '' was very successful at the 54th Academy Awards , winning four of seven nominations . When accepting his Oscar for Best Original Screenplay , Colin Welland famously announced " The British are coming " . At the 1981 Cannes Film Festival the film won two awards and competed for the Palme d'Or
1981 Cannes Film Festival
1981 Cannes Film Festival
Chariots of Fire