Breaking Away (1979)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Peter Yates

Writer:

Steve Tesich (written by)

Release Date:

20 July 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Sport

Tagline:

Somewhere between growing up and settling down... [Australia Theatrical]

Plot:

A small-town teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl.

Plot Keywords:

Italian | Indiana | Small Town | Cycling | Teen

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 9 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Dennis Christopher	...	Dave Stoller
Dennis Quaid	...	Mike
Daniel Stern	...	Cyril
Jackie Earle Haley	...	Moocher
Barbara Barrie	...	Evelyn Stoller
Paul Dooley	...	Raymond Stoller
Robyn Douglass	...	Katherine
Hart Bochner	...	Rod
Amy Wright	...	Nancy
Peter Maloney	...	Doctor
John Ashton	...	Mike's Brother
Lisa Shure	...	French Girl
Jennifer K. Mickel	...	Girl
P.J. Soles	...	Suzy (as Pamela Jayne Soles)
David K. Blase	...	500 Race Announcer

Also Known As:

Bambino (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bloomington, Indiana, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The production team decided to call the Bloomington townies "cutters" because they felt the actual local nickname ("stoners" or "stonies") would draw a parallel to drug references for viewers who were not raised in the area.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the movie, Dave and the French girl are riding their bicycles away from the music school towards the main library. Then when they ride past Dave's dad, they are in front of the music school, about 400 feet back from where they were in the previous shot.

Quotes:

Mike: [after discovering that the college kids beat Cyril up] They want a fight, we'll give 'em a fight.
Cyril: We rednecks are few... college paleface students are many. I counsel peace.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Angels' Revenge (#7.22)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 4 in A-Major, Opus 90

Captures a Moment

Do you remember that time in your life when you were no longer a teenager but not yet an adult? That time in your life when, for the very first time, you had to begin to make decisions that could affect the outcome of your life. There is no movie that captures this time, the transition from teenager to adulthood, quite as well as Peter Yates' superb film Breaking Away.

The story takes place in Bloomington, Indiana, (home to Indiana University) one of the bigger college towns in America. It concerns the rivalry between the rich, snobbish college kids and the local townies (called cutters because there fathers cut limestone in the local quarries to build the college, among other things.) The cutters are played superbly by Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern and Jackie Earle Haley. There is not a false note in any of their performances with Quaid and Christopher special stand-outs. It is interesting to note that of the four, only Quaid and Stern went on to bigger and better things.

What really carries this movie though, are the universal themes that everyone can relate to. We can all relate to at least one of the stars, everyone has gone through what they are going through. Most people realize it as one of the more difficult times in their life (as it is for the characters portrayed in the movie.) What carries them through is their friendship with one another, and the support that that gives them. The movie also touches upon family and how hard it is sometimes to communicate with parents, who always (hopefully) love but sometimes just don't understand. Special mention must be made of Paul Dooley (who plays the father of Dennis Christopher), how he did not receive an oscar nomination much less win the coveted statue, for his performance, remains a mystery to this day. Barbara Barrie is also excellent as the mother.

The story follows the cutters as they try to prove to the college kids that they are real human beings, not outcasts to be looked down upon. As one of the cutters is a champion bike rider, the climax of the film and the contest to prove their worthiness, comes down to the Little 500 Bike Race. This is an annual bike race that is still held at IU and is one of the seminal sporting events of the college year (the screenwriter Steve Tesich, who won an oscar for his screenplay, actually won the Little 500). It is the perfect ending for this remarkable and uplifting film.

Praise must be given to everyone involved with the production, there is not a false note throughout the movie. Peter Yates did a superb job of taking relatively unknown actors coupled with tough subject matter and turning it into a minor classic.