Breakin' (1984)

A struggling young jazz dancer meets up with two break-dancers. Together they become the sensation of the street crowds.

Director:

Joel Silberg

Writers:

Charles Parker (story), Allen DeBevoise (story)

Stars:

Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo Quinones, Michael Chambers

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lucinda Dickey	...	Kelly / Special K
Adolfo Quinones	...	Ozone / Orlando (as Adolfo 'Shabba-Doo' Quinones)
Michael Chambers	...	Turbo / Tony (as Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers)
Ben Lokey	...	Franco
Christopher McDonald	...	James
Phineas Newborn III	...	Adam
Bruno Falcon	...	Electro Rock 1 (as Bruno 'Pop N' Taco' Falcon)
Timothy Solomon	...	Electro Rock 2 (as Timothy 'Poppin' Pete' Solomon)
Ana Sánchez	...	Electro Rock 3 (as Ana 'Lollipop' Sanchez)
Ice-T	...	Rap Talker (as Ice T)
Peter Bromilow	...	Judge
Eleanor Zee	...	Judge
Scott Cooper	...	Judge
Eb Lottimer	...	Judge's Assistant
Teresa Kelly	...	Vicky (as T.C. Laughlin)

Storyline

A struggling young jazz dancer meets up with two break-dancers. Together they become the sensation of the street crowds.

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Plot Keywords:

breakdancing | spandex | street dancing | blaxploitation | rap music | 

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Taglines:

the beat of the streets is...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The idea for the film came from Menahem Golan's daughter who one day while at the beach saw a group of break dancers performing before a crowd.

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Goofs

In most of the shots of the Judges at the end of movie their cigarettes appear unlit or lit and vary position from being up their mouth to on the table as the dance scene progresses.

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Quotes

Rap Talker: [rapping] Now I'ma break it down, for all of you, Who never seen a Hip-Hop crew, or the gangster cuts of cold DJ, Shocking and rocking to the break of day, Or the master art of the graffiti man, Expressing himself with his brave hand, Yo people! what is gonna be?... Hip-Hop is making history...

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Connections

Referenced in Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)

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Soundtracks

Beat Box
Performed by The Art of Noise (as Art of Noise)
Courtesy of Z.T.T. and Island Records

User Reviews

Cheesy

Formula dance movie with the distinctly '80s flavor of break dancing added to it. Aspiring jazz dancer Kelly (Lucinda Dickey) teams up with two street dancers, Ozone (Adolfo Quinones) and Turbo (Michael Chambers). They prepare for the inevitable "big audition," as well as dealing with Kelly's villainous former dance instructor and a rival street dance crew. The tension with the rival crew named Electro Rock provides for the movie's most unintentionally hilarious scenes. It's hard to take that crap seriously. Several dangling plot lines are left unresolved, which shows you how much attention was paid to the script. Turbo has a dance number with a broom where you can see the wires attached to the broom handle, which shows how much attention was paid to direction. Objectively, it's a bad movie but not without its charms. Corny in the extreme but some genuinely entertaining moments, as well as some laughs to be had at its expense.

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Breakin'

Filming Locations:

Radio-Tron/Youth Break Center, 715 S Park View St, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,047,686, 6 May 1984

Gross USA:

$38,682,707

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$38,682,707

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1