Chariots is based on the true stories of British runners Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams though, of course, some changes have been made, and timelines moved about to increase the drama. For instance, Eric didn't actually just learn that his heat was on Sunday on his way over to Paris on the ship. He actually found out a couple of months before, which gave him a bit of time- though not much- to train for the 400m. Also, the note he was given right before his race was in reality written by some members of the British team, not by Jackson Scholz, but whatever... little changes like this don't bother me. Although there is one change which was made in the historical account which burns my grits, mostly because of the reason it was made.
O.K., it's getting late and I think I've rambled on enough for one post. In Part II, I'll discuss Eric's and Harold's characters in more depth and also what, in my opinion, are the themes contained in the film.