Breaking_away

Breaking Away
Directed by	Peter Yates
Written by	Steve Tesich
Starring	Dennis Christopher Dennis Quaid Daniel Stern
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	July 13, 1979
Running time	100 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

Breaking Away is a 1979 film which tells the story of four teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana who have graduated from high school and are not sure what they want to do with their lives, other than hang out and go swimming in an abandoned limestone quarry. It stars Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern (his first film role), Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie and Paul Dooley. The movie was written by Steve Tesich and directed by Peter Yates.

It won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Barbara Barrie), Best Director, Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score and Best Picture.

The film is 8th on the List of America\'s 100 Most Inspiring Movies compiled by The American Film Institute in 2006.

In 1980, a television series version of Breaking Away was released. It starred Shaun Cassidy, Vincent Gardenia, Barbara Barrie, Jackie Earle Haley, Thom Bray, and Tom Wiggin, along with Dominique Dunne who appeared in four episodes.

Plot summary

Dave (Dennis Christopher), Mike (Dennis Quaid), Cyril (Daniel Stern) and Moocher (Jackie Earle Haley) live in a state college town and often get into fights with some of the male students. Dave is obsessed with bicycle racing. His down-to-earth, blue-collar father Raymond (Paul Dooley) is puzzled and exasperated by his son\'s love of Italian music and culture, which the son associates with bicycle racers. However, his mother Evelyn (Barbara Barrie) is more understanding. In a humorous interlude, Dave pretends to be an Italian exchange student in order to romance an unsuspecting university coed (Robyn Douglass), even serenading her one evening outside her dormitory window.

When a professional Italian biking team comes to town for a race, Dave is thrilled to be competing with them. But during the race, the Italians become annoyed when he is able to keep up with them, and they force him to crash. Dave becomes disillusioned and depressed as a result. Meanwhile, Dave\'s father has a mild heart attack and is briefly incapacitated.

His friends talk Dave into forming a team for the annual Indiana University Little 500 bicycle race in an effort to beat a group of frat boys at their own game. They race under the name "Cutters" (a reference to stonecutters who worked in the limestone quarries in southern Indiana) against university intramural teams. Although the Little 500 is a relay race, Dave does all the riding for his team, building up a sizable lead. Then he crashes and injures his leg. At first, his teammates just stand around in shock - they didn\'t expect to have to do anything - but then Moocher jumps on the bike and does his best. When he tires, the other two do their part as well. However, they gradually lose the lead, then drop further and further behind. At that point, Dave has them tape his feet to the pedals, the only way he can ride, and gets back into the race. In a climactic finish he overtakes the leader on the last corner and wins the race.

Dave\'s father, who\'s been prescribed bike riding for his health, is very proud of him. Later, he greets his son in Italian, only to have Dave reply in French. The French are also a bicycling power, and Dave has just met a French exchange student.

Cast

• Dennis Christopher as Dave Stoller
• Dennis Quaid as Mike
• Daniel Stern as Cyril
• Jackie Earle Haley as Moocher "Mooch"
• Paul Dooley as Raymond Stoller. Dooley and Christopher also played father and son in the 1978 film A Wedding and in the 2003 Law & Order: Criminal Intent television episode "Cherry Red".
• Barbara Barrie as Evelyn Stoller
• Robyn Douglass as Katherine
• Hart Bochner as Rod
• P.J. Soles as Suzy

Real-life inspiration

The Little 500 bicycle race that forms the centerpiece of the plot is an actual race held annually at Indiana University. The race is shown being held in the "old" Memorial Stadium on the IU campus, which was demolished shortly after the filming of the movie.

The team is based on the 1962 Phi Kappa Psi Little 500 champions, with legendary rider Dave Blase and team manager Bob Stohler providing screenwriter and fellow Phi Psi bike team member, Steve Tesich, the inspiration for Dave. Blase rode 139 out of 200 laps and was the victory rider crossing the finish line, much like Dave in the film.

The film shows a hostile relationship between the students of IU and the people of the town ("townies"); however the real-world relationship is usually far less strained, as much of the town\'s economy is based around the university and the student population.

External links

• Breaking Away at the Internet Movie Database
• Breaking Away (TV series) at the Internet Movie Database

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