Breaking Away

7/20/19791h 41m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ The movie that tells you exactly what you can do with your high school diploma! ~

Overview:

Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his three friends: the comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one day, and even takes up the Italian culture, much to his friends' and parents' annoyance.

Director:

Peter Yates

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$2,300,000.00

Revenue:

$20,000,000.00

Key words:

indiana, usa
sports
bicycle
coming of age
working class
teenage boy
serenade
quarry
cycling
bicycle race

Cast

Dennis Christopher

~ as ~

Dave Stoller

Dennis Quaid

~ as ~

Mike

Daniel Stern

~ as ~

Cyril

Jackie Earle Haley

~ as ~

Moocher

Barbara Barrie

~ as ~

Evelyn Stoller

Paul Dooley

~ as ~

Ray Stoller

Robyn Douglass

~ as ~

Katherine

Hart Bochner

~ as ~

Rod

Amy Wright

~ as ~

Nancy

Peter Maloney

~ as ~

Doctor

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Wuchak
Written 1 year(s) ago
7
Hanging out at the local quarry the year after high school and much more

The son of a working class family in Bloomington (Christopher Dennis) is obsessed with Italy and bicycling as he hangs with his three “cutter” buds (Dennis Quaid, Jackie Earle Haley and Daniel Stern). He deals with his amusing parents (Paul Dooley and Barbara Barrie) while chasing a college lass (Robyn Douglass). Everything leads to the Little 500 bicyclist race at Indiana University.

“Breaking Away” (1979) wisely focuses on the characters rather than bicycling and is comparable to “Dead Poets Society” from a decade later. It’s a coming-of-age drama with lighthearted bits, but it’s definitely not a comedy, as I’ve seen it wrongly designated.

It’s about young people facing the rest of their lives just after high school and trying to figure out what they’re going to do with their lives. I can relate because, when I was 19, I spent the entire summer bicycling the landscapes. The longest day-trip I took was 60 miles. I was starting to think I was hot stuff until I met a fellow cyclist the next day who was traveling across several states.

The scriptwriter graduated from Indiana University in 1965 and drew from his experiences there for the story. The protagonist was modeled after David K. Blase, who had an Italian fixation and led his team to victory in the Little 500.

It runs 1 hour, 41 minutes, and was shot in Bloomington, Indiana, as well as nearby highway 37 (due south of there).

GRADE: B