Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring Coming-of-Age Quirky Heartwarming Film
Review: This is the story of four boys who have just finished high school and who live in Bloomington, Indiana. They are trying to figure out who they are and who they could be. They run up against the animosity of the college kids who look down upon the townies or "Cutters" (Bloomington is also a rock quarrying town) as inherently inferior.The main character is irrepressible Dave Stohler (Dennis Christopher) who decides that he wants to be an Italian international bicycle racing star, even though he has never been out of his home town and doesn't happen to be Italian. He pours himself into the role of becoming Italian and becoming a star-quality cyclist. His loving parents are bewildered and worry if their son will ever be normal. He doesn't want to be normal; he wants to be outstanding. This movie does a wonderful job of blending comedy, character development, and action. After watching it, you feel like you were there and you knew these people. I was inspired by this film to look for other Dennis Christopher movies (e.g., "California Dreaming") but none even approached this one. "Breaking Away", with the multiple meanings to its title, is one of the most likable movies I've ever seen. A great pick-me-up if you're down in the dumps.
Rating:
Summary: A great quality, timeless movie for all audiences!
Review: This movie is very entertaining for several reasons: 1. It show a young boy, Dave, who not only has a great gift for bicycling, but also has an incredibly focused mind that is required for winning races. 2. Dave is so enthusiastic about bicycling that he self-learns Italian (evidently the Italians had the best race team at the time). He speaks Italian to his friends and his parents which drives his dad up the wall. He gets carried away with this act when he uses it to win the heart of a beautiful college co-ed. 3. Comedy. Dave and his three friends are shown struggling through their respective challenges in life. Each boy's life is very different, but they are all very good friends, and the movie uses lots of comedy to develop each character. 4. Winning spirit. Even though the sport is biking, anyone who is impartial to bike racing will enjoy this movie because it displays the necessary winning attitude. 5. The movie won an Oscar for Best Screenplay, and righfully so. The story is original and the characters are very welll written. The director did an excellent job at making the story relatable and believable. I have seen this movie over five times and I still get tense toward the end of the "Little 500" race. Yes, it's that good!
Rating:
Summary: mikeknox.com
Review: A poor kid from Indiana wants to be French and ride a bike but his dad wants him to sell cars. So he gets his drugged out friends to ride in a bike race with him to prove to the world that those rich kids from school ain't got nothing on cutters.
Rating:
Summary: ***** Small town America on a tape
Review: Wow!!!!! This is arguably the greatest movie to ever be forgotten by mainstream audiences but undeniably still one of the best movies ever made. Breaking Away is, like its characters, archetypal, unpretentious, appealing and consistently likeable. The story of a group of four teenage "townies" in Bloomington, Indiana is the Diner of cycling movies. Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern and Jackie Earl Haley are brilliant as the four buddies caught up in the angst of leaving their Wonder Years behind in a town dominated by the privileged, out-of-town students attending Indiana University. With the local factories looming as an ineluctable destiny, the four dare to reach beyond assumptions and expectations and discover a self worth unrelated to class and opportunity. In the process, they discover the dignity and honor that is their legacy as the next generation of honest, admirable and hardworking families. Dennis Christopher is superb in the lead as the opera-loving, Italian worshipping son with a passion for cycling. His coming-of-age under the watchful eye of a concerned dad (the excellent Paul Dooley - who effectively recreated the same character later as Molly Ringwald's father in 16 Candles) is one of the most convincing film depictions of a parent-child relationship free of contrived crises and anxieties. The final crowd-pleasing 20 minutes will have you cheering loudly in your living room. In disappointment and in triumph, Breaking Away speaks to audiences across the world in the language of universal principles such as loyalty, hard work, sportsmanship and honor. A true classic for you to savor again and again.
Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: A sleeper that made the grade and graduated into the realms of Classic Flicks, Breaking Away is one of those wonderfully uplifting and subtly patriotic movies that champions small-town America. Steve Tesich won the screenplay Oscar for this semi-biographical story about four 19yo kids who can't quite decide what to do with themselves after high school. They live in Bloomington, Indiana, where the guys from the university look down on the townies and make derogatory comments about their rock quarrying forebears. One of them drifts, then runs, into the world of Italian bicycling, much to his used-car-salesman father's dismay and embarrassment.
You'll feel yourself pulled into rising excitement as the marvelous finale hoves into view, and, though sorry to see the film end, you'll hit the rewind button with a big smile on your face.
Rating: 
Summary: A classic
Review: I don't want to make a bigger deal out of this movie than it deserves. It's not a world-changer and the ending is a bit predictable, but it is a wonderful and charming coming of age story and an honest look at small-town America. And cycling and Italians play central roles -- a plus for an American cyclist living in Italy, like me. But having an affinity for things Italian or for bike racing is not necessary in order to enjoy this 25-year-old classic. What is necessary is an appreciation for small things and memories about the mysterious period between adolescence and adulthood. If that describes you, then chances are you'll enjoy this touching film. Amid the praise I should say that the DVD package is only average: the original trailer and teaser are there, but it would have been nice to have some commentary from director Peter Yates, some of the actors, or from critics who were fans of the film. A "Making of Breaking Away" mini feature would have also been a welcome addition. One note: Breaking Away is a very American film, and so I'm not so sure how much of it will hit home with foreign viewers.
Rating:
Summary: excellent movie
Review: There are very few movies that I can watch multiple times, but this is one of them. It is not a cycling movie, although the cycling scenes are cool. Rather, it is a movie about friends and family -- a story about growing up in a blue coller environment, told with warmth and humour.
Rating:
Summary: A classic movie and a great story
Review: This one is well worth owning -- the cycling is absorbing, and while not always realistic, it comes closer than films like American Flyer. I'm a grad student at IU Bloomington, and before I came here this movie was my intro to Bloomington. The Little 500 still is a great spectacle, and this movie captures it well, along with the town-gown tension.
Rating:
Summary: A skeptic says it's good
Review: Despite the "shown-on-TBS-in-the-afternoon" feeling to this movie I actually love it, and like it more every time I watch it. First of all I love bikes, and I love Europe, so I immediately had something in common with the protagonist. But really all the characters are identifiable in some way. Now it seems that even college kids are finding that their lives seem aimless, and the movie seems to speak to that theme that is daunting for almost all of us. You'd think it would be cheesy, and in some respects it is, but nonetheless it's hard not to cheer for them to win the bicycle race. I do even though I know the outcome.
The boy's father is perhaps the most interesting character. His transformation from gruff to understanding is totally believable, and what you want to happen. The movie doesn't make it look like everything is going to be alright, in fact one character is still noticably directionless at the end, but things do end on happy, though not too sappy note. My two favorite scenes are when Dennis saronades "Carolina" with the Italian aria, and the very last scene (you'll see).
Rating:
Summary: THE best cycling movie - accessible to all!
Review: Simply the best cycling movie of all time (so far...). Enjoyable by anyone and everyone with a special warm place for all cyclists. Any rider/racer who's seen this will always recall the Semi-drafting scene, the riding with the Italian team - a little too competetive! And the quotes... "Mama! The Italians are coming!" "That boy was as right as rain 'til he started riding that bicycle".
It's a heart-warming coming of age story underneath that everyone seems to relate to, giving it the wide appeal of a true classic.
Paul Dooley and Barbara Barrie are perfect as the long suffering Dad and Mom and Dennis Christopher puts in just the right performance as the bicycle-obsessed teen.
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