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In 1924 two British runners, one a determined Jew, the other a devout Christian, race against each other for Olympic gold.
BTW: ?for those who obsess about the structure of plotting and writing loglines (like yours truly), this logline ?does not have the conventional inciting incident.Because neither does the film! ?Not in the first Act. ?Not in the sense of any event that dramatically changes the status quo of the 2 chRead more
BTW: ?for those who obsess about the structure of plotting and writing loglines (like yours truly), this logline ?does not have the conventional inciting incident.
Because neither does the film! ?Not in the first Act. ?Not in the sense of any event that dramatically changes the status quo of the 2 characters, that directly triggers the engagement of their rivalry. The first 1/2 of Act One focuses exclusively on Harold Abraham’s story line in 1919. ?The second 1/2 of Act One focuses exclusively on Eric Liddell’s story line in 1920.
The two story lines don’t intersect until the beginning of Act 2 — after 30 minutes of screen time — when, ?in June, 1923 ?Abraham travels 300 miles to Scotland to watch Liddell run.
[On a Saturday — the Jewish Sabbath, no less. ?On June 2, specifically as shown in a quick shot of a poster advertising the meet. In contrast, during the Olympic games, Liddell is at church on the Christian Sabbath, not in the stands watching races.]
Anyway, this gets my nomination as the inciting incident. ?Abrahams realizes how formidable a rival Liddell is. He translates his ambition to be the fastest runner into articulating a specific objective goal — to win in the ?upcoming 1924 Olympics. ?He tries to engage the services of a professional trainer, ?Sam Mussabimi, to help him beat Liddell and achieve his objective goal.
Only then is the plot, the rivalry between the two runners, ?formally and fully set in motion.
And while Abrahams eventually achieves his primary objective goal of winning Olympic gold, he never achieves his subsidiary goal of ?defeating Liddell.
See lessIn 1924 two British runners, one a determined Jew, the other a devout Christian, race against each other for Olympic gold.
>>>what is the conflict that drives the other 90 minutes or soThere can be many conflicts in a story -- ought to be. ?But there is one primary conflict driving the plot ?and in "Chariots of Fire" it's their rivalry, to wit, "racing against each other" per the logline. ?All the other conflicRead more
>>>what is the conflict that drives the other 90 minutes or so
There can be many conflicts in a story — ought to be. ?But there is one primary conflict driving the plot ?and in “Chariots of Fire” it’s their rivalry, to wit, “racing against each other” per the logline. ?All the other conflicts arise from their goal to be the fastest runner culminating in ?the grand prize, Olympic gold.
Even though the film is (less or more) framed around Harold Abraham, it was Eric Liddell’s refusal to run on Sunday that hooked producer David Puttman’s interest, got him to hire ?Colin Welland ?research and write a script. ?And I daresay, Liddell’s refusal to compromise his conscience, was and remains the compelling story hook for many fans of the movie.
See lessIn 1924 two British runners, one a determined Jew, the other a devout Christian, race against each other for Olympic gold.
I realize the story is framed around the character of the English Jew, Harold Abrahams. The movie begins and ends with his funeral in 1978.If one insists on assigning the tag of "protagonist" to a character, then I suppose ?Abrahams gets the tag. ?But the devout Scot, Eric Liddell, is not your stockRead more
I realize the story is framed around the character of the English Jew, Harold Abrahams. The movie begins and ends with his funeral in 1978.
If one insists on assigning the tag of “protagonist” to a character, then I suppose ?Abrahams gets the tag. ?But the devout Scot, Eric Liddell, is not your stock antagonist; he’s more of a rival than an opponent and a virtuous one at that.
So it seems to me that the story is really about dual and dueling protagonists, contrasting and competing rivals for the same objective goal.
Abrahams?is the conflicted character, driven by resentment over the prejudice he must overcome. ?So driven that he’s willing to break the Inviolate Rule of that era that Olympic athletes were to train as amateurs without professional coaching.
Liddell, is his mirror opposite, driven by religious passion and unwilling to break his Inviolate Rule of never running on Sunday. Even if he must defy his sovereign, Prince Edward, and forfeit his chance for Olympic glory.
The nucleus of the story is their rivalry. ?For different reasons, they are racing for the same McGuffin, Olympic gold and glory. and it looks to be zero sum contest where ?there can only be one winner.
Until…
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