Chariots of Fire to Return to Theaters Before Olympics

Cue the slo-mo running. Chariots of Fire is coming back to theaters in honor of the 2016 Olympics.

35 years after it first hit theaters, Chariots of Fire will be screened in 20 theaters—but that’s just the minimal number. Theatricast, an event-planning agency focused on movie premieres, has joined Warner Bros. to present the movie in cities nationwide, likely including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Nashville and Richmond, though there are no set locations yet, per Variety. The re-release, which will include added content, is scheduled for Aug. 1, just a few days before the kickoff of the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

If you’re not familiar with the movie that’s been the inspiration behind so many slo-mo moments of subsequent pop culture, Chariots of Fire tells the true story of 1924 Olympic runner Eric Lidell. Lidell, as a devout Christian, famously refused to run the 100-meter because it fell on a Sunday, though the world was anticipating the rivalry between him and Harold Abrahams, another famed runner. The film won four Oscars at the 1982 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Theatricast is also partnering with Penguin Press to promote a new book about Eric Liddell, For the Glory: Eric Liddell’s Journey from Olympic Champion to Modern Martyr, written by Duncan Hamilton, two-time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. The book, which details Liddell’s life as an Olympic athlete, Christian missionary to China, and finally prisoner of a WWII Japanese work camp, was released on May 10.

 
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