Prepare yourselves for another introspective episode of Highbrow! Lowbrow? The podcast where Jesse and Shaun review the Top Box Office Earner and the Best Picture Academy Award Winner of the same year, trying to see who was right: the masses or the critics. This time around we review the movies of 1981 with Chariots of Fire representing the Highbrow and Raiders of the Lost Ark representing the Lowbrow.
Chariots of Fire, directed by Hugh Hudson, is the story of two Olympic runners in the 1924 games, Eric Lidell (Ian Charleson), a devout christian forced to choose between his religion and his passion, and Ben Cross (Harold Abrahams), a jew facing persecution and racism as he rises up in the ranks. Overall, both Jesse and Shaun found this movie well, boring. There lacked a main conflict to really keep our interest or at the least, it wasn't portrayed compellingly enough. This movie is the definition of the stuffy period piece, where it really distances you from the film with a world that is unrecognizable and unrelatable. Even though the opening song has been branded culturally in our brains, the rest of the tunes throughout the movie are ill fitting and utilize way too much synth. The cinematography is decent with some special moments, from the stronger slow motion scenes to the cinema verite as Harold cruises the different social clubs. Though this may be considered a classic, these two athlete's stories are probably better represented by a documentary that recounts the true story.
The Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg, is an action classic featuring the dashing archaeologist and adventurer, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford). Jones is on the hunt for the Ark of the Covenant, an artifact of biblical times, racing against Nazi's and rival treasure hunters to save the day. This film has been emblazoned upon the pop culture landscape, an indelible classic that everyone seemingly relates to. Although the story seem fairly simplistic, it's the character of Jones and the world he lives in that makes this series such a classic. Edgy but effacing, fantastical but real, Indiana is a hero that you can believe in with enough grit to make him relatable. The special effects still stand up for the most part save for certain technicolor pre cgi effects. What really sells Raiders and the series itself is the framework they establish, via the classic sound effects, the painted posters, the emblematic music and more, it really creates an exciting world you want to be a part of. Be sure and give this one another whirl on your DVD player or other media device if you haven't in a while, because it still remains an exciting action classic.
What choice did we end up siding with? The highbrow pick of Chariots of Fire or the lowbrow pick of Raiders of the Lost Ark? Join us on Highbrow! Lowbrow? to find out!
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