SummaryA small-town boy obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl.
Directed By:Peter Yates
Written By:Steve Tesich
Breaking Away
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
91
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.2
My Score
Drag or tap to give a rating
Hover and click to give a rating
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
100% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
One of the best, funniest, most surprising and likeable American films of the year. [27 Aug 1979]
100
Breaking Away is a wonderfully sunny, funny, goofy, intelligent movie that makes you feel about as good as any movie in a long time.
User score
Universal Acclaim
90% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
10% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Feb 3, 2018
10
One of the best films of the 1970’s. An exceptionally well-written story about the lives **** of young men as they transition from high school to adulthood. That their futures will likely be dictated by their families’ limitations, adds resonance to this thoughtful comedy, and also serves as an indictment of the American dream. Children of quarry workers (known as “cutters”), in an Indiana town that is home to an Ivy League College, the economic disparity the boys are witness to daily only emphasizes their seemingly forgone futures. There are moments in this film that literally had contemporary audiences leaping from their seats to cheer. And though the movie’s unabashed sincerity may seem naive today, it is no less effective than it was in 1979. Superb performances, especially from Paul Dooley and Barbara Barrie, with breakout performances from Dennis Christopher and Jackie Earle Haley, it features an inspiring score, fantastic film editing, and brilliant direction. A moving, funny, sometimes heartbreaking rumination on American youth and family, that is more hopeful than most films of the decade, and more eloquent that most films, period.
90
A lucid depiction of familiar adolescent uncertainties and social tensions in an authentic mid-american setting, the movies is affectionate but never sappy, neat but never overcalculated, unobjectionable but never innocuous. It leaves a positive, heartening impression, dramatically earned and emotionally justified. [02 Aug 1979, p.F1]
90
Class conflict and small town chauvinism are the subject of Yates' ingenious youth movie, a film which intrigues as much by its portait of working-class America bitterly opposed to the affluent society as by its large measure of lovingly-crafted fantasy.
88
Director Peter Yates brings vitality to Steve Tesich's endearing script, avoiding any temptation for cheap shots. The cast is mostly unknown and awfully good, especially Dennis Christopher as a Hoosier turned Italian and Paul Dooley as his exasperated parent. [16 July 1979]
80
Peter Yates, previously typed as an action director (Bullitt, The Deep), lends the film a fine, unexpected limpidity, and the principals are mostly excellent.
80
Breaking Away is a very funny and touching story about love, growing up, bicycle racing, and class consciousness.
Aug 6, 2017
10
One of the all-time classics. I get dog-faced pretty much every time I watch. It just has that authentic feel about it - nothing is contrived. Would love to see it again on the big screen.
Jul 24, 2017
10
I'm so glad that the critics "got" this film. It's one of my 4 favorite sports films of all time, up there with Bad News Bears, Hoosiers, and Downhill Racer. I get chills every time I see the Italian race, and I get misty-eyed at the conclusion of "Little 500" - every time. Just a beautiful film.
May 24, 2018
9
Breaking away manages to do the seemingly impossible: it humanizes cyclists.
Production Company:
- Twentieth Century Fox
Release Date:Jul 20, 1979
Duration:1 h 41 m
Rating:PG
Tagline:Somewhere between growing up and settling down... [Australia Theatrical]
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
