Movies Like Chariots of Fire (1981)

Chariots of Fire is a 1981 drama, history film from Hugh Hudson with a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Eternity and Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know.

Drama History

Eternity

2025

In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.

7.0

MagicScore

Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know

2020

Black holes stand at the limit of what we can know. To explore that edge of knowledge, the Event Horizon Telescope links observatories across the world to simulate an earth-sized instrument. With this tool the team pursues the first-ever picture of a black hole, resulting in an image seen by billions of people in April 2019. Meanwhile, Hawking and his team attack the black hole paradox at the heart of theoretical physics—Do predictive laws still function, even in these massive distortions of space and time? Weaving them together is a third strand, philosophical and exploratory using expressive animation. “Edge” is about practicing science at the highest level, a film where observation, theory, and philosophy combine to grasp these most mysterious objects.

6.6

MagicScore

Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony

2024

On 26 July 2024, the largest-ever Olympic Games Opening Ceremony took place, beginning at 7.30 p.m. CET. The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 was an unprecedented experience drawing on the natural light of the setting sun with all its nuances to illuminate the world’s best athletes as they travelled down the Seine, in the heart of the French capital.

5.3

MagicScore

Berlin '36

2009

Berlin 36 is a 2009 German film telling the fate of Jewish athlete Gretel Bergmann in the 1936 Summer Olympics. She was replaced by the Nazi regime by an athlete later discovered to be a man. The film is based on a true story and was released in Germany on September 10, 2009. Reporters at Der Spiegel challenged the historical basis for many of the events in the film, pointing to arrest records and medical examinations indicating German authorities did not learn Dora Ratjen was male until 1938.

5.5

MagicScore

Eddie the Eagle

2016

The feel-good story of Michael 'Eddie' Edwards, an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself—even as an entire nation was counting him out. With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach, Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

7.2

MagicScore

Personal Best

1982

Young sprinter Chris Cahill is having difficulty reaching her potential as an athlete, until she meets established track star Tory Skinner. As Tory and her coach help Chris with her training, the two women form friendship that evolves into a romantic relationship. Their intimacy, however, becomes complicated when Chris' improvement causes them to be competitors for the Olympic team.

5.8

MagicScore

Race

2016

Based on the story of Jesse Owens, the athlete whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy.

7.3

MagicScore

Swimming Upstream

2003

A young man aspiring for recognition of his talents battles against his estranged father's sentiment towards him as the father deals with his own demons.

6.7

MagicScore

The Boys in the Boat

2023

The triumphant underdog story of the University of Washington men's rowing team, who stunned the world by competing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

7.2

MagicScore

#10

The Great Flood

2025

When a raging flood traps a researcher and her young son, a call to a crucial mission puts their escape — and the future of humanity — on the line.

6.0

MagicScore

#11

Downsizing

2017

A kindly occupational therapist undergoes a new procedure to be shrunken to four inches tall so that he and his wife can help save the planet and afford a nice lifestyle at the same time.

5.4

MagicScore

#12

The Da Vinci Code

2006

A murder in Paris’ Louvre Museum and cryptic clues in some of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery. For 2,000 years a secret society closely guards information that — should it come to light — could rock the very foundations of Christianity.

6.7

MagicScore

#13

Independence Day

1996

Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances.

6.9

MagicScore

#14

Cool Runnings

1993

When a Jamaican sprinter is disqualified from the Olympic Games, he enlists the help of a dishonored coach to start the first Jamaican bobsled team.

7.0

MagicScore

#15

Cooley High

1975

In the mid-1960s, a group of high school friends who live on the Near North Side of Chicago enjoy life to the fullest...parties, hanging out, meeting new friends. Then life changes for two of the guys when they are falsely arrested in connection with stealing a Cadillac. We follow their lives through to the dramatic end of high school.

6.8

MagicScore

#16

Dumb Money

2023

Vlogger Keith Gill sinks his life savings into GameStop stock and posts about it. When social media starts blowing up, so do his life and the lives of everyone following him. As a stock tip becomes a movement, everyone gets rich—until the billionaires fight back, and both sides find their worlds turned upside down.

6.7

MagicScore

#17

GOAT

2026

A small goat with big dreams gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot to join the pros and play roarball, a high-intensity, co-ed, full-contact sport dominated by the fastest, fiercest animals in the world.

8.1

MagicScore

#18

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

2019

As Hiccup fulfills his dream of creating a peaceful dragon utopia, Toothless’ discovery of an untamed, elusive mate draws the Night Fury away. When danger mounts at home and Hiccup’s reign as village chief is tested, both dragon and rider must make impossible decisions to save their kind.

7.8

MagicScore

#19

This Is It

2009

A compilation of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of Michael Jackson as he prepared for his series of sold-out shows in London.

7.3

MagicScore

#20

The Blue Angels

2024

Follow the veterans and newest class of Navy and Marine Corps flight squadron as they go through intense training and into a season of heart-stopping aerial artistry.

6.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Chariots of Fire?

The top films similar to Chariots of Fire by MovieMagicScore are Eternity (7.0), Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know (6.6), Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony (5.3). Each shares drama/history themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Chariots of Fire worth watching?

Chariots of Fire holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10 from 979 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Chariots of Fire?

Chariots of Fire (1981) is a drama, history film directed by Hugh Hudson, starring Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Cheryl Campbell.

Where can I find more recommendations like Chariots of Fire?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Eternity Movies like Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know Movies like Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony Movies like Berlin '36 Movies like Eddie the Eagle Movies like Personal Best

About movies like Chariots of Fire

This ranked list pairs Chariots of Fire (1981), a drama and history film from Hugh Hudson, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Ben Cross take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

← Back to Chariots of Fire