Rating: 
Summary: Moving and enjoyable. A mini-masterpiece!
Review: I saw this movie after graduating from high school and it really hit home. These kids are out in the world and don't know what to do next. Well written and acted. Extremely entertaining and funny. A film that will always hold a special place in my heart.
Rating:
Summary: Good cycling scences and inspirational.
Review: The movie showed that anyone can set goals and if you work hard, sometimes against all odds, the goals can be achieved. The movie had good cycling scences and was very inspirational.
Rating: 
Summary: one of my all time favorite movies
Review: This movie was one of the best I have ever had the chance to watch. I definitly give it five stars. It's a must have for any video library
Rating:
Summary: This is a wonderful timeless film to watch again and again.
Review: This is one of my favorite movies of all time! If there is ever a play featuring this story - I am sure to tryout! This is a must have for any video library.
Rating: 
Summary: More like 3.5
Review: The relationships, and the integrity with which they're treated, are exceptional; of note are the protagonist's parents, who are actually treated like human beings! The film also has a "Rocky"-like arc and climax, so it's quite pleasing- but not heavy-handed, fortunately.
Rating:
Summary: Remember Being 18? You Will...
Review: Watching "Breaking Away" is like visiting an old buddy in a familiar town. The film is about four friends who have graduated high school and aren't quite sure whether to embrace adulthood and the future or to shun it and cling instead to their childhood identities and each other. There is a great deal of warmth and gentle humor throughout the film, and the performances are winning. Mike (Dennis Quaid), the leader of the group, clings to his friends as reminders of his days as high school quarterback and fears they will prove to be his best. Moocher is eager for adulthood and is planning to marry his girlfriend. The only problem is he cannot keep a job! Cyril (Daniel Stern) is resigned to the fact he may never leave Bloomington, but remains buoyant regardless. Dave Stohler is the main character, he knows exactly what he wants to be, an Italian Cyclist. There is only one problem- he isn't Italian! Dave learns through a young woman he meets and eventually through his father that simply being Dave is more than good enough, and that he must embrace his natural talents and the future. There have been countless "coming of age" pictures, but this one is the most enjoyable! DVD: The production values of the DVD leave something to be desired and therefore I only give the product 4 stars. The lack of 5.1 surround is a disappointment, as well as the quality of the video. A commentary track featuring the four leads would have been an interesting addition. The only extras are a couple of trailers.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Movie Of All Time!
Review: As a 14 Year Old watching this film for the first time, I was mesmerized.
Looking back 25 years later, it holds the same appeal.
Dennis Christopher, who was incredible in the film, never became a big-time movie star, but should have. Upon further review, his performance in this little movie that could will stand the test of time.
Its a shame the writer, Steve Tesich, passed away before he could leave his mark and record a commentary for this film. The fact that the dvd has little extras is one of the bigger disapointments for me in the dvd era. This should not affect your decision to see this film. It's my all-time favorite, and remains so, 25 years later.
Rating:
Summary: Overrated, but not horrible
Review: I must admit I'm at a loss to understand why this has been such a popular small film. It's listed on the NY Times "1000 Best Movies of All Time," published in 2004, has always had good word of mouth, and other Amazon users obviously think highly of it as well. Personally I don't get it.
OK, it's not a clunker. The four friends who are the heart of this film, local kids in a college town who are looked down on by the college students as being inferior, are definitely well-drawn characters. By the end of the movie we know them as if they were kids who have lived down the street from us for years. That's a rare enough thing that it warrants a 3-star rating in itself.
However, the result of a climactic bike race (and everything that happens during the race) is totally obvious from the start. Furthermore, the baddest "villain" college guy in the film is about as intimidating as a cold bowl of soup, and about as interesting, which completely destroys any attempt at dramatic tension between the two sides.
The phony Italian accent and "exchange student" act put on by the main character is unconvincing in the extreme; any college girl who'd fall for that would be a complete idiot, but Robyn Douglass's character is never represented as anything but sympathetic, certainly not an idiot; this just does not work. And I'm amazed to see that Paul Dooley, who plays the phony exchange student's father, got such praise for his work in this role; to me his acting is on the level of a skit on SNL.
Beyond those problems, the only other positive I can think of is that the film maintains an authentic feel by filming on location and, by working within a small budget, so it isn't overproduced and overdirected like a "bigger" project would've been.
The comparison to "Rocky" is obvious, and with this film having come out about three years after that Stallone breakthrough, I have to think its reputation comes from critics and moviegoers of that era longing for a similar film. So many truly dreadful copycats came out in that time that this, by comparison, must have seemed golden at the time. But it simply doesn't hold up a quarter-century later. Maybe part of my problem here is that this kind of underdog sports has been done to death by now, but this won an Oscar for best screenplay and was nominated for others? Puh-leeze...
Rating:
Summary: One of the first successful "independent" movies
Review: This movie would be considered an "indie" movie today, with
it's low production budget, but hence lies its charm.
This movie is the cinimatic equivalent of John Cougar's
"small town". It delves into the absolute core of what it means
to grow up in a small american town, without patronizing
the characters. I grew up there around the same time and age of
the characters. That's how it really was. The movie
captures that ineffable, transient moment when our adolescent dreams haven't quite calcified into harsh reality yet.
It perfectly captures the precious few years we have when life is endless with possiblities and dreams, and the gravitas
of responsibilities and stream of disappointments hasn't hit us yet.
Rating:
Summary: the Rush
Review: Rocky running up the steps of city hall, the " picket fence " double back side screen in Hoosiers, the team building series of downs in Remember the Titans; in my mind, none of these memorable scenes of perseverence in sports can match the drafting scene in Breaking Away. The fusion of the semi-driver flashing mph finger signals to our hero as he pushes himself to the limit with heart pumping classical music in the background is the best visual definition of "personal best " ever seen in the movies.
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