Breaking Away

"The movie that tells you exactly what you can do with your high school diploma!"

1979 1h 41m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 308

DramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his three friends: the comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one day, and even takes up the Italian culture, much to his friends' and parents' annoyance.

“The movie that tells you exactly what you can do with your high school diploma!”

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Cast

Dennis Christopher
Dave Stoller
Dennis Quaid
Mike
Daniel Stern
Cyril
Jackie Earle Haley
Moocher
Barbara Barrie
Evelyn Stoller
Paul Dooley
Ray Stoller
Robyn Douglass
Katherine
Hart Bochner
Rod

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Yates
Writers: Steve Tesich
Languages: English, Italian, French
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 8.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

47 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Italian, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Yates, shot by Matthew F. Leonetti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Patrick Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Cynthia Scheider shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dennis Christopher and Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Yates directs. Matthew F. Leonetti behind the camera. Patrick Williams scores. Cynthia Scheider cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 8.7× over at the box office.
347 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Italian, French.
5Directed by Peter Yates, shot by Matthew F. Leonetti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Patrick Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Cynthia Scheider shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Dennis Christopher and Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "The movie that tells you exactly what you can do with your high school diploma!".
10IMDB entry: tt0078902 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "indiana, usa", "sports", "bicycle", "coming of age".

The technical file

Cinematography: Matthew F. Leonetti
Original score: Patrick Williams
Editing: Cynthia Scheider
Costume design: Betsy Cox
Makeup / hair: Marvin G. Westmore
Sound: Theodore Soderberg
Stunt coordinator: Conrad E. Palmisano
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,300,000
Box office: $20,000,000
Return: 870% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Breaking Away (1979)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Peter Yates

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2024-11-18
★ 7/10
Hanging out at the local quarry the year after high school and much more The son of a working class family in Bloomington (Christopher Dennis) is obsessed with Italy and bicycling as he hangs with his three “cutter” buds (Dennis Quaid, Jackie Earle Haley and Daniel Stern). He deals with his amusing parents (Paul Dooley and Barbara Barrie) while chasing a college lass (Robyn Douglass). Everything leads to the Little 500 bicyclist race at Indiana University. “Breaking Away” (1979) wisely focuses on the characters rather than bicycling and is comparable to “Dead Poets Society” from a decade later. It’s a coming-of-age drama with lighthearted bits, but it’s definitely not a comedy, as I’ve seen it wrongly designated. It’s about young people facing the rest of their lives just after high school and trying to figure out what they’re going to do with their lives. I can relate because, when I was 19, I spent the entire summer bicycling the landscapes. The longest day-trip I took was 60 miles. I was starting to think I was hot stuff until I met a fellow cyclist the next day who was traveling across several states. The scriptwriter graduated from Indiana University in 1965 and drew from his experiences there for the story. The protagonist was modeled after David K. Blase, who had an Italian fixation and led his team to victory in the Little 500. It runs 1 hour, 41 minutes, and was shot in Bloomington, Indiana, as well as nearby highway 37 (due south of there). GRADE: B

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