Free Republic

The Greek musician-composer's unexpected Hot 100 topper (and sports soundtrack staple) was one of the final instrumental No. 1s of the 20th century.Forever No. 1 is a Billboard series that pays special tribute to the recently deceased artists who achieved the highest honor our charts have to offer — a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single — by taking an extended look at the chart-topping songs that made them part of this exclusive club. Here, we honor the late Vangelis with a flashback to his lone Hot 100-topper, the perennially rousing and graceful early-’80s athletics anthem “Chariots of Fire.” A...

I just finished watching the 1981 Oscar-winning film from England, "Chariots of Fire", on Turner Classic Chanel. Chariots is on my top 5 list of the best movies of all time. Not so much for the acting, cinematography, or directing, those are excellent but for the message it conveys.He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run...

LONDON (Reuters) - British actor Ian Holm, best known for his roles in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “Alien”, has died aged 88, the Guardian newspaper said on Friday. The actor, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance in the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire”, had died from a Parkinson’s related illness, the paper said. “It is with great sadness that the actor Sir Ian Holm CBE passed away this morning at the age of 88,” his agent told the paper. “He died peacefully in hospital, with his family and carer. Charming, kind and ferociously talented, we...

Serbia must choose between its past and its present How hard can it be to arrest a man recognised wherever he goes, in a country roughly the size of Scotland? Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian Prime Minister, has asked the international community to believe that if the man in question does not want to be found, the answer is, effectively, “impossible”. This answer is not acceptable. It is entirely appropriate that Belgrade’s failure to surrender Ratko Mladic to the UN war crimes tribunal as promised led yesterday to the suspension of talks with the EU on possible Serbian membership. Mr Kostunica...

SERBIA was plunged into a political crisis last night after Brussels suspended talks leading to EU membership as punishment for failing to arrest one of the most wanted war criminals in Europe. The European Commission said that it was halting negotiations on closer links with Serbia after the deadline to deliver Ratko Mladic to the Hague war crimes tribunal passed on April 30 with the fugitive still in hiding. Relations between Belgrade and the international community plunged to new lows as Carla del Ponte, the chief war crimes prosecutor at the UN, declared that she had been misled by the...