Rating: 
Summary: One of the greatest movies ever made
Review: More than a coming of age movie, "Breaking Away" is a philosophical statement: that seemingly inaccessable goals can be reached by sheer perseverance; That learning to be yourself must come out of a joie de vivre; and that the loyalty of family and friends are the most precious thing in life. I watch the movie annually but only during the summer and frequently stop and re-visit scenes to reflect on its metaphysical meaning, (I tend to watch this movie while drinking a Carlsberg or Shiner). Nevertheless, my favorite scene in the movie is Dennis Christopher's chasing of the Cinzano truck, (does anyone else out see the Cinzano truck as a beautiful reference to the GreatWhite Whale of Moby Dick?). "Faster, Faster," Dennis chants as the truck speeds away, and suddenly to the crecendo of perfectly timed music he re-appears in the truck's rear-view mirror, (absolutely sublime, and I get chills down my spine every time I see that scene). Dennis is the movie and he should be proud to be in a timeless classic that I think will someday be recognized as one of greatest movie ever made.
Rating:
Summary: A great classic film - worth seeing many times.
Review: This movie was the first place I ever saw Dennis Quaid and Danial Stern. It is a heartwarming story set in an Indiana town with two sides of the tracks. The upscale people on one side and the "cutters" on the other. Cutters worked in the quary and provided the materials for the buildings that were then considered too good for the cutter class. Young cutter boys fight their way through both their family tradition and the town attitudes to compete in the "Little 500", a five hundred lap team bicicyle team race. Great entertainment from a movie missed by most. A diamond in the rough.
Rating:
Summary: On bicycle riding, speaking Italian, and making Dad grow up
Review: "Breaking Away" is a movie with an unusually wide scope of topics. Its plot is not confined to one theme (a seemingly-doomed romance or good versus evil, for example) but instead almost seems to tackle life itself; or at least, life as it is for bike-riding, Italy-emulating Dave and his three close friends.
Each of the four pals gets his fair share of attention, and almost without noticing the viewer comes to know'and like, for all their quirks'them all. They are united by an obvious life-long friendship, and (although they would never admit it) a thinly-veiled desire to somehow make their way into college, or at least get a job.
All except for Dave, who has multiple additional goals jockying for position in the forefront of his mind: to become a champion bike-racer, earn his father's respect (or at least un-earn his father's shame) and even win the heart of a certain college girl.
Unfortunately for him, he's going to learn a bit about reality along the way.
Every character in this film, no matter how minor, is fully developed and multi-faceted. Enjoyably poignant moments, realistic hilarity and quite a few exhilirating competitions make this film both amusing and wonderfully human. I very highly recommend this, to anyone at all.
Rating:
Summary: One of my absolute favorites
Review: I love this movie! I remember first watching it when I was about ten, and I liked it because I thought the dad was funny and the bike racing was cool. As I've matured, my views toward the movie have matured as well. The dad is still funny, and the bike racing is still cool. That hasn't changed. I know exactly what it feels like to want to change who you are because you haven't matured enough to realize that who you are is plenty good enough without having to be changed. I can identify with Moocher's line "The time comes when we all have to go our own ways." No matter how close you are to the people you know in high school, everyone matures in different directions. Sometimes you remain close to your friends, and sometimes you don't. And there are times when your dreams have to remain the same, even if your idols change. And even your dreams have to include college sometimes.
Rating:
Summary: This movie will make you want to buy a bicycle
Review:
This is one of the most inspiring and best-told tales of growing up in small-town, USA. Solid acting, an incredibly entertaining and fun storyline, and great charaters. Though it's not just about biking, this movie is able to somehow capture the joy of biking - the thrill of self-propelling oneself over the concrete and through the air on a simple, silent machine you hard even know is there.
Definitely a must-see for any film fan. A real crowd-pleasure, too. Good for everyone in the family, maybe like one swear word and no violence to speak of.
-- JJ Timmins
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Summary: IU graduate who loves this movie
Review: This is one of my favorite movies, not just because I graduated from Indiana University, but because it strikes a true cord about growing up. The cast and character development are superb. Paul Dooley reminds me some of my father. The story and humor are on target. The scene where Dennis Christopher rides on the highway with the semi is a classic. And having lived in Bloomington for four years, it's fun to see familiar places. It doesn't matter, as a previous reviewer complained, that the editing takes you unexpectedly from the north part of campus to the south in a blink. Only IU students would notice that anyway. I arrived on campus the year they tore down the stadium where the race was filmed. As a freshman, I watched the movie at the IU Auditorium and then walked over to the stadium. What a kick! What a movie!
Rating: 
Summary: This movie is REALLY [BAD] from an Indiana University student
Review: As an Indiana University student, I was always told to see "Breaking Away" since it was filmed on campus, and I heard that it was a really cute movie. However, when I finally found some time to sit and watch it, I was SORELY disappointed. The movie was VERY cheesy, extremely stupid, and furthermore didn't come close to properly portraying IU or the Little 500. All you really see is a car driving by the stadium, and then two seconds later the same car driving by a location on campus at least two miles away.....and a guy with a horrible Italian accent whose father keeps showing his stupidity with his rejection of anything coming close to Italian culture (as an Italian AND a Catholic, I also found this movie pretty insulting). The Indiana University community should be disgusted at the poor portrayal of Bloomington and itself. Don't even waste your time with this movie--visit Bloomington and IU and see the Little 500 yourself!
Rating:
Summary: You've Got Your High School Diploma, Now What?
Review: This film concerns the lives of a group of Indiana teenagers, out of High School but not in the local University and with few prospects. An uncomfortable atmosphere exists between the local town residents and the college kids, the latter calls the former - "cutters" in reference to the now all but extinct limestone cutting industry. The college kids drive fancy cars, wear fancy clothes and get the good looking young women. The sons of the cutters swim in abandoned quarries and kill time sitting on the curb attempting to avoid meaningless jobs available at the local supermarket and car wash. The friends are a great ensamble. Dennis Quaid is the former, now forgotten football star. Daniel Stern a lanky wisecracking youth who takes things more serious than he lets on. Most of the attention focuses on Dennis Christopher as a bicycle racing fanatic who sees a shot a glory when the college allows a team of locals into their prestigious bike race. Veteran character actor Paul Dooley, who is as an all-American MidWest father as Tom Bosley's Howard Cunningham, has one of his greatest roles as a used car lot owner who can't begin to understand his son. Deserves wide viewership.
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Summary: Pretending to Be Someone Other Than Who You Are
Review: What I always found fascinating about "Breaking Away" was how it very gently dealt with the issue of unhappy people pretending to be something other than they are. Dave Stohler creates a whole new world for himself by pretending to be a charming Italian born exchange student, which in dark contrast to what he really is. He gets so into character he seduces a young female student and in the process the two fall in love. The most dramatic scene in the film is when Dave tells her the truth of who he really is. The most touching scene is when days later the two say goodbye. In this scene the girl, who appears over with her anger at Dave's deception tells him she is going to Europe for the summer. When Dave responds that he "is not going anywhere" .The girle responds back in a touching and gentle manner, " I don't know about that." Get this DVD.
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Summary: Based on a true story...
Review: My father is an alumnus of Indiana University and knew the writer of the screenplay, Steve Tesich. As for the story, The "Little 500" was modeled on the "Indianapolis 500". The race began with 33 teams (33 cars at Indy). Later, a team from the town of Bloomington (home of IU)was added to make 34 teams. They were affectionately and sometimes degradingly known as the "Cutters". Cutters refers to the workers in the limestone cutting industry prevalent in Southern Indiana. The "townies" in the film were sons of these "cutters". The key to the success of this film is simplicity. The plot is well supported by humorous and dramatic dialouge between Dave Stoler and his friends and Dave and his father. Many cast members are familiar today: Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern, for instance. The film is laced with the college town frustration of the locals not being quite good enough to benefit from the a college education. Stoler finds his outlet in bicycle racing. You will like this film and you won't ask for a "refund". (a joke from the movie)
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