Indeed, it\u2019s difficult to stand out when that competition includes such titans as Apocalypse Now<\/em>, Alien<\/em>, and All That Jazz<\/em>, plus populist gems like Manhattan<\/em>, Kramer vs. Kramer<\/em>, Being There<\/em>, The In-Laws<\/em>, and The Muppet Movie<\/em>. But after Rocky<\/em>\u2019s questionable triumph over the likes of Taxi Driver<\/em>, All the President\u2019s Men <\/em>and Network<\/em> at the 1977 Academy Awards, the time was ripe for other \u201clittle films that could,\u201d and no other feature in the decade\u2019s remaining years embodies that spirit better than Breaking Away<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Released on July 20 \u2014 the 10th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and five days after President Jimmy Carter\u2019s televised \u201ccrisis of confidence\u201d speech \u2014 the film strikes an appealing balance between classic Americana ideals and a rising national malaise. And what better location to explore those themes than smack dab in the middle of the heartland, on and around the campus of Indiana University, screenwriter and former competitive cyclist Steve Tesich\u2019s alma mater?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Playing out the latest chapter in Bloomington\u2019s age-old class conflict between Hoosier undergrads and \u201ccutters\u201d (a euphemism for \u201cstonies,\u201d the real-life insulting name for local limestone workers that was deemed too marijuana-adjacent for onscreen use) are 19-year-olds Dave (Dennis Christopher), Mike (Dennis Quaid), Moocher (Jackie Earle Haley), and Cyril (Daniel Stern, in his film debut). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trying as hard as they can to do as little as possible during their self-imposed gap year following high school graduation, the lifelong friends sun themselves on the shoreline slabs of the nearby abandoned quarry, dive in its flooded makeshift swimming hole, and repeat. Yates shoots this slice of paradise from a loving distance that highlights its natural beauty and refuge from parents and other townies grilling them on what they plan to do with their lives. Considering the boys\u2019 generational ties to this sanctuary that once employed all of their fathers, their hesitance to end this extended childhood is warranted and their outrage at college students disturbing the peace feels justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yet, Dave\u2019s quasi-escape (some might say \u201cbreakaway\u201d) from the life he knows and future he fears serves as the film\u2019s catalyst while also being so outlandish that no one familiar with him takes it seriously. As if he sustained a head injury, after winning a Masi bicycle in a race he suddenly becomes obsessed with Italian cyclists and culture, adopting a comical \u201cit\u2019s-a me, Mario!\u201d accent, blasting \u201cThe Marriage of Figaro\u201d on his stereo, and even renaming Jake the family cat \u201cFellini.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tangled web that this fantasy inspires Dave to weave leads to entertaining trouble with Vespa-riding university beauty Katherine (Robyn Douglass), who buys Dave\u2019s claim that he\u2019s Italian exchange student Enrico; her boyfriend Rod (Hart Bochner) and his fraternity brothers; and even the visiting Italian cycling team that Dave idolizes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While these conflicts yield such memorable scenes as Dave serenading his beloved \u201cCaterina\u201d outside her sorority window while Stern\u2019s Cyril, accompanying on guitar, hilariously overplays his part, Breaking Away<\/em>\u2019s foundational strengths concern Dave\u2019s relationships with his friends and parents. Having lived among real-life Bloomington \u201ccutters\u201d in the early \u201960s, Tesich writes the boys, Dave\u2019s mother Evelyn (Barbara Barrie), and stonecutter-turned-used car salesman father Ray (a career-best Paul Dooley) with a welcome layer of humanity that elevates the somewhat clich\u00e9d plot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the immaturity of Dave\u2019s European infatuation, he receives minimal jokey pushback from his friends, who continue to confide in him about their own growing pains. And though Ray animatedly expresses opposition to his son\u2019s behavior and is worried he\u2019ll become \u201can Italian bum,\u201d he\u2019s never cruel. Evelyn\u2019s curiosity with the culture somewhat wears Ray down, but it\u2019s clear he loves his only child and tries to set him up for success because he knows a less forgiving world awaits him outside of their home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, that\u2019s also where plentiful excitement resides, and strong as the film\u2019s human drama is, it\u2019s in the cycling scenes where Yates proves a near ideal fit for the material. By 1979, the director had shown his skills as a depicter of clear-eyed action (Bullitt<\/em>) and working-class grit (The Friends of Eddie Coyle<\/em><\/a>), strengths that he synthesizes to phenomenal ends in Breaking Away<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dave\u2019s highway drafting sequence with a supportive tractor-trailer driver reaches McQueen levels of cool, yet Yates saves the best for last with the Little 500 race. One of the all-time great film finales, the thrilling climax features a phenomenal mix of wide zooms, close-ups, and shots from behind the bike\u2019s pedals, plus loving reaction cuts to Ray listening along with the radio broadcast inside his car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This combination of relatable everyman characters and heart-pounding athletic competition catapulted Breaking Away<\/em> to rave reviews and, eventually, five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Director, and a win for Tesich\u2019s original screenplay. Its power endures 45-plus years later, and if All That Jazz<\/em>, Being There<\/em>, and The In-Laws <\/em>can land Criterion Collection editions, Yates\u2019s film surely has a cutters\u2019 chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Breaking Away” is available for digital rental or purchase<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breaking2-1024x576.jpg\")
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