A film is directed by Hugh Hudson and starring Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell, follows two rivals (Britons Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell). Harold & Eric are both naturally talented sprinters, however the approach running and how it fits into their believes differently - one a Jew and the other a Christian. They take part in 1924 Olympics.
The film is not just about the race between Abrahams, the Jewish law student (Ben Cross), and Scottish missionary Eric Liddell (the late Ian Charleson). It's a character study and a social history too.
The appeal will always be there for people to revisit Hudson's award-winner in a year of both the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, despite perhaps being remembered a little too fondly.
Like every element in this picture, the actors look right; they seem to emerge from the past, instead of being pasted on to it, as so many characters in historical movies seem to be.
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.
