Year Released: 1979
Directed by: Peter Yates
Starring: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Paul Dolley, Barbara Barrie
(PG13, 100 min.)
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Academy Award for Best Writing and Screenplay: Steven Tesich

“Since you won that Italian bike, man, you've been acting weird. You're really getting to think you're Italian, aren't you?” –Moocher

Indiana’s version of Dazed and Confused. But it is also very Greek, too, since it asks the question, “Who Am I?” Except we are not talking about kings and queens, but four Bloomington, Indiana, townies trying to find their way in life the year after high school.

A young Dennis Quaid in his first film! Also, written by someone my husband Gary knew, Steve Tesich. And he won an Oscar for his writing, too. They were both taking a film-writing class at IU and had to write a short screenplay. Just about everyone, including Gary, used exotic settings. I think Gary’s mini screenplay took place in Paris. Everyone thought it was kind of a joke that Tesich wrote about the very plain setting right there, Bloomington, Indiana, and their version of the Indianapolis 500: a 50-mile bicycle race dominated by fraternity men.

But what did they know back there in the 6os? Ha. Ha. Would they have ever predicted Steve Tesich would make it into a full-fledged screenplay over a decade later and actually win an Oscar for his writing?

Michael (Dennis Christopher) is the townie who is enamored with Italian cyclists . He speaks Italian exclusively, much to the dismay of his father, who starts out as a stereotypical rural provincial who cannot stand the “Ities, “as he calls the Italians. It is pretty cheesy for the first half hour or so, but then it starts to resonate…

*Almost 50 days of 100 plus temps down here in Austin had sapped my energy when i wrote this review, so I am let unprofessional commenters – they are best in my opinion – take over the rest…

The best film of 1979 - 4 April 2010
Few low budget ensemble films (or any films, for that matter) have ever clinched the love that fans hold for Breaking Away. No one should really care about the stinky humid summer Bloomington, Indiana, drama peopled with down and out townies who despise, and alternatively long for, the harbored, segregated collegiate life of the Indiana University student populace sneering at them from their own backyards.

We witness a most unlikely story of comeuppance, an even more unlikely college administrative act of altruism and fraternal good-sportsmanship: the townies are invited to compete in the Little 500 (a cycle race which has today earned its own enormous velodrome). Venture to guess that the little guys face foes insurmountable, grievances, the derailment of woman's lure, bad luck, discrimination, infighting and reconciliation. Loosely aw-whateverly, they band together in a duel against an enemy insurmountable. Even in the final act, they fight, poke, punch, and holler at each other, never changing and never ceasing. If you don't love this underdog film, and shed cheering tears for its gift, you don't love life nor film. Period.

Sweet but not saccharine - 26 May 2002
This film was a pleasant surprise. No sex, no violence, no special effects. Just an incredibly literate and humorous script (which won an Oscar for Steve Tesich) and fantastic performances by the four leads. This is a film for those who still believe that good cinema requires meaningful dialogue and acting that is achingly real in its sincerity. Don't get me wrong: sex and violence have a very real and justifiable place in film; but this movie would have suffered from such a gratuitous inclusion. Peter Yates, the director, has done a fantastic job of pacing the film, and the score, consisting mostly of Rossini overtures, and excerpts from Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony (#4 in A Major, Op. 90), is an inspired touch, adding precisely the right atmosphere. This is the kind of low-budget triumph that the film community constantly extols for P.R. purposes, yet never supports with actual awards.

Highest praise! - 1 July 2003
Timeless movie that hits the timeless social themes. Rich/poor, educated/uneducated, close knit family/broken home, protestant/catholic, dreaming of/settling for, pragmatism/altruism, all these were expressed.

The movie uses the term "cutters" as a derogatory term used by the college kids towards the townies. It is developed later in the movie that "cutters" refers to the many quarries and stone cutting that used to employ much of the town, and which supplied the stone to build the college. The most powerful scene in the movie is when the used car salesman father explains to his son why his son has opportunity he never had. The father also has the funniest scene in the movie which left him incapacitated muttering "refund, refund!".

Forget the cycling. They could have been riding lawnmowers and this movie would have been worth watching. If you enjoy character driven movies, this is one not to miss!

Breaking Away is a movie that was a really big deal to people who grew up in a certain era. Chances are that if you were a teenager in the late 70's, specifically if you were a teenager in the Midwest in the late 70s, well you probably know and love this movie with all of your heart. It is one of those movies that I am guessing is kind of like the late 70s equivalent of The Breakfast Club. For people who were a specific age at a specific point in time, I am guessing it is known and loved by just about everyone.

***

I was born in 1974. I was five years old when Breaking Away came out in 1979. And it was never even on my radar when I was a kid. Seriously, it was not even anywhere NEAR my radar. You could have told me that there was a really good coming of age story about poor kids who grew up in Indiana, and one of them wanted to be professional cyclist, and I probably would have thought you were talking about Hoosiers. And then I would have corrected you that Hoosiers was actually about basketball, not cycling. And I would have thought you were an idiot.

Want to know how far Breaking Away was from my radar? Well this is a movie that very nearly won Best Picture. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1980. It is also one of two big movies from the 70's that starred Jackie Earle Haley. And his other big movie (The Bad News Bears) is one of my top three all time favorite movies.

And do you want to know when I saw Breaking Away for the first time?

Last week. I saw it for the first time last week on AMC.

What I DO know is that I had heard about it for years prior to ever actually seeing it. "Hey remember Kelly Leak from The Bad News Bears? Well he was in another movie too!"

I had heard it was good, and I knew that part of it was in some way about cycling. But other than that I really didn't know anything about it. I honestly had no idea who was in it other than Jackie Earle Haley. I had no idea it was set in Indiana. I had no idea that it was one of Dennis Quaid's first movies.

And since I don't really care about cycling, it was never really all that high on my list of movies that I had any interest in. It was just one of those movies where I figured "Okay, maybe I will see it one day, maybe I won't. But if I never get around to seeing it, who cares. Because who cares about a movie about stupid bicycling."

I mean, you watch this movie and you REALLY feel like you are a poor kid growing up in Indiana in the late 70's. There is a level of authenticity here that most movies try for but never achieve. But with Breaking Away, you absolutely feel like you are right there in this movie. And I should know, because I remember enough about the late 70's to remember what they felt like (and more importantly, what they looked like.)

Like I said, in theory this is a movie about cycling. But don't be turned off by that description, because it really isn't a sports movie at all. In truth, this is a movie about coming of age. It is about four kids who are out of school, and who are trying to find their way in the world, and about all the obstacles that poor kids face when they get out of high school and they realize that the world doesn't really care about them anymore. To call this a movie about cycling is kind of missing the point. This isn't a sports movie at all, it is a movie about what it was like to be a poor kid in Indiana in the late 70's. Like I said before, the authenticity in this movie is quite heartbreaking.

If you would like a 90's equivalent to Breaking Away, this movie reminds me a lot of Dazed and Confused.

–Kathy Borich et al.
🥁🥁🥁🥁

Trailer

Enjoy this great film with Melt in Your Mouth Italian Meatballs, but don’t let Primo from Big Night know, or he might have to kill you.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Meatballs

These easy oven-baked Italian meatballs are incredibly tender and juicy with irresistible flavors that will have you craving for more. Made with ground beef, onion, garlic, parmesan cheese, and parsley, these meatballs are seasoned to perfection and ready to be served in just 30 minutes!

INGREDIENTS

· 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

· 2/3 cup milk

· 1 lb ground beef or your choice of meat

· 1/4 medium onion finely diced or grated

· 2 cloves garlic minced

· 1 large egg beaten

· 1 tsp salt or to taste

· 1/2 tsp black pepper

· 1/4 cup parmesan cheese preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano

· 1 tbsp fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.

In a large mixing bowl, add Italian bread crumbs and milk. Combine well and set aside while preparing the other ingredients, for at least 5 minutes.

Add ground beef, onion, garlic, egg, salt, black pepper, parmesan cheese, and parsley to the breadcrumb mixture, and mix with your hands until just combined. Do not overmix.

Portion onto the prepared baking sheet (using a cookie or ice cream scoop will make it easier). Wet your hands with water, and roll meatballs into 2" diameter balls.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until the meatballs have reached an internal temperature of 165˚F (74°C). Remove from oven and drain off any excess fat. Serve with your favorite sauce and enjoy!

Cookerru.com