Breaking Away

BREAKING AWAY (PG)

D: Peter Yates

20th Century Fox (Peter Yates)

USA 🇺🇸 1979

100 mins

Comedy/Sports

W: Steve Tesich

DP: Matthew F. Leonetti

Ed: Cynthia Schneider

Mus: Patrick Williams

Dennis Christopher (Dave Stohler), Dennis Quaid (Mike), Daniel Stern (Cyril), Jackie Earle Haley (Moocher), Barbara Barrie (Mrs. Stohler), Paul Dooley (Mr. Stohler), Robyn Douglass (Katherine), Hart Bochner (Rod), Amy Wright (Nancy)

A feelgood coming-of-age tale disguised as a cycling movie. Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern & Jackie Earle Haley are a group of friends in-between high school and further education in an Indiana college town populated mostly by students who dub the townsfolk 'cutters'.

Dennis Christopher is obsessed with cycling, living and breathing it, and his heroes are the Italian cycling team. He makes enemies of the college's cycling team when he starts to date one of their girlfriends and the movie culminates in a race between the college team and the 'cutters'.

The movie is a little stuck in it's own time and takes a little while to get going, but the screenplay has some good subtle humour and well-natured characters.

Winner of the 1979 Oscar for Original Screenplay.

7/10