Brad Movies

Yesterday, my first Spout purchase arrived, "Chariots of Fire SE"  With great anticipation I popped it into the DVD player.  Anticipation that had been building since the beginning of the DVD format.  Sure, Chariots had been available on DVD since the format began.  Infact it was one of the early releases to the format.  Unfortunately, it was originally released in a piss poor pan and scan edition.  Out of rebellion to the idiots who took it upon themselves to release an Academy Awarded "Best Picture" film in pan and scan, I refused to rent or purchase it.  Satisifying my craving by watching it on TCM when it would bubble to the top of the programming schedule.  Finally, this year it was released with a restored anamorphic widescreen print and an extra disk of documentaries. 

It definately was worth the wait.  The image and sound quality are the best I have seen since it's debut in the theater in 1981.  Except for the quality of the opening running sequence which also bookends the film, the rest of the elements seem stellar.  The soundtrack sounded better then the CD. ( how about releasing the complete soundtrack someday?)  

What surprised me when watching the movie was the sophistication of the editing.  I had not noticed before how the race sequences where mixed and was impressed with the juxtoposition of the present with the past.  For instance, the scene when Harold Abrahams (played by Ben Cross) wins the 100 meters at the 1924 olympics.  First we see the scene play out in real time, no music.  Then, as Abrahams hits the string winning the event, we replay the event in slow motion with the Vangelis score at the same time we cut back and forth to the present moment as the crowds erupt, friends leap to the field, and Abrahams is congratulated.  As viewers, we already are aware of him having won the race, but the impact of the music, slow motion camera work and the anticipation of the juxtipositioning of the present makes the scene work.  In facination we relive the moment, knowing the outcome but caught up in the beauty of it.

Sure. Every sports cast for the past 30 years has used the same technique.  Live event then, instant replay.  But, the mixing the the present with the past sets up visual echos.  It visually displays what is going on in the hearts and souls of the audiance.  The ringing of the event through your mind.  Seeing it flash and replay inside your head as you are moving forward in time.