Hugh Hudson, Director of ‘Chariots of Fire’, Dead at 86

The Oscar-nominated filmmaker’s other credits include ‘Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan’ and ‘Revolution.’

Hugh Hudson, the Academy Award-nominated director of 1981’s Chariots of Fire, has died. He was 86-years-old. In a statement, the filmmaker’s family revealed that Hudson passed away at London’s Charing Cross hospital on Friday, February 10, “after a short illness.” Added Chariots of Fire co-star Nigel Havers in a statement of his own: “I am beyond devastated that my great friend Hugh Hudson who I have known for more than 45 years has died. Chariots of Fire was one of the greatest experiences of my professional life, and, like so many others, I owe much of what followed to him. I shall miss him greatly.”

Chariots of Fire chronicles the attempts of two British track athletes, one Jewish and one Christian, to win at the 1924 Olympics. The film was a massive hit, grossing nearly $59 million dollars on a budget of £3 million. It went on to be nominated for seven Oscars, including a Best Director nod for Hudson. It ultimately won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Score. The movie’s theme music, by the Greek composer Vangelis, has since become iconic.

Hudson broke into filmmaking helming commercials for Ridley Scott Associates, where he worked alongside directors such as future blockbuster auteur Tony Scott, Alan Parker, and, of course, the ever-prolific Ridley Scott. Parker eventually enlisted Hudson to work as a second unit director on 1978’s Midnight Express. That movie was produced by David Putnam, who went on to hire Hudson to direct Chariots of Fire despite the fact that Hudson’s only feature-length directing credit at that time was a documentary, Fangio: Una vita a 300 all’ora, about the life of Argentinian race car driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

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Following Chariots of Fire, Hudson directed 1984’s Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, which stars Highlander‘s Christopher Lambert in the title role. Originally written by the great Robert Towne (Chinatown, Mission: Impossible), it was nominated for three Oscars. The director’s other credits include 1985’s Revolution, starring Al Pacino; 1989’s Lost Angels, which was nominated for the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or in 1989; and 2000’s I Dream of Africa, starring Kim Basinger. His final credit was 2016’s Altamira, a biopic starring Antonio Banderas as the man who discovered The Cave of Altamira in Spain.

Hudson is survived by his wife, one-time “Bond girl” Maryam d’Abo, as well as his son Thomas, and his first wife, the painter Susan Michie. Our sympathies go out to Hudson’s family and friends during this difficult time.