Breaking Away: an All-Time Favorite

In 1979 director Peter Yates released a little film about an Indiana teenager obsessed with bicycle racing. Dave, played by Dennis Christopher immerses himself in cycling and the Italian culture as he believes the Italians are the best cyclists in the world.

Breaking Away follows Dave and his working-class buddies as they decide what to do with the rest of their lives. Breaking Away itself is an American success story, this movie was released with no fanfare, but due to a grassroots effort Breaking Away landed several Academy Award nominations, and won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

In the time between when Dave and his friends must decide whether they are going to attend college or get a job, they train and enter the "Little 500", the annual intramural bike race at the University of Indiana. Before the Little 500, Dave races against an Italian cycling team when they come to town. What happens when Dave tries to compete with the Italians helps Dave change his opinion of the world.

Subplots abound in this classic including Dave's relationship with his moody used car salesman father. Dave also poses as an Italian exchange student to try and win the attention of an attractive Indiana University coed played by Robyn Douglas. While Christopher and Douglas were excellent, Barbara Barrie who played Dave's mother was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and a young Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern joined up with Jackie Earle Haley to play Dave's friends or the "Cutters" as they called themselves in the Little 500, the real stars of the movie were the City of Bloomington, IN and the student body of Indiana University.

The closing scenes of the Cutters competing and taking the top fraternity teams down to the wire in the race will keep you on the edge of your seats. Breaking Away is a story of growing up, finding out your place in society and making your doubting father proud. The movie may be 30 plus yeas old, but the themes are still valid today. The cinematography and music are also excellent. If you haven's seen Breaking Away or the new DVD wide-screen version go out and get it today.