Breaking Away

United States

1979

100 Min

Color

1.85:1

English

Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
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CAST Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie

Synopsis

Dave (Dennis Christopher) dreams of becoming a champion bicycle racer, and since he knows that the best racers in the world are Italian, he sets out to re-invent himself as an Italian, driving his working-class father crazy in the process. However, the more pressing problem for Dave and his family is that neither Dave nor his other close friends (Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley) really know what they’re going to do with their lives, now that they’ve finished high school. But in addition to a quirky sense of identity, Dave also has a lot of talent and a determination to win, and two important races, one against an Italian racing team and one against the “college boys” in town, turn out to be the way for Dave to come to terms with his life and his future. –DVDTalk

Director

Peter Yates

Yates began staging plays in the British provinces at the age of 19 and worked as an assistant to J. Lee Thompson and Tony Richardson in the early 1960s. He then alternated between film and TV work and made his feature debut with “Summer Holiday” (1963). Yates’ early work exhibited a talent for fast-paced action, reflected in such films as “Bullitt” (1968), which included one of the most harrowing car chases ever filmed, and “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” (1973). In a change of pace, he directed the coming-of-age comedy-drama “Breaking Away” (1979). During the 1980s Yates crafted a number of fine, character-driven studies such as “The Dresser” (1983) with Tom Courtenay and Albert Finney, “Eleni” (1985) and “Suspect” (1987). In the 90s, he worked sporadically, helming “Roommates” with Peter Falk, and reuniting with Finney for the Irish drama “The Run of the Country” (both 1995). —TCM.com

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rorydean

25May12

Late 70s bicycle movie survives on the strength of its script, youthful abandon wears after awhile, brat pack ensemble fun to see familiar faces at the beginning of long careers. Reinforces the value of dedicated hours in back story, characters instead of scenarios, plot plods at times shows weak dreams of late 70s malaise. Nevertheless happenstance channel surfing, kept interest without resorting to ambiance.