THE REWATCHABLES · June 11, 2024
A 1979 sports / comedy movie directed by Peter Yates—and decision no. 11 in the Hanks–Cruise tape.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The hosts love how quickly the credits and opening images establish the four leads and the film's world.
About 8 minThey single out the speech about turning 19 as a perfect expression of post-teen emptiness.
About 8 minThey enjoy the absurdity of Dave's fake-Italian act and courtship routine, while joking it would be alarming in real life.
About 8 minA truck-following scene that builds tension but resolves as a friendly encounter with a speeding ticket.
About 32 minUsed as the one scene where someone really gets hurt, and as a showcase for Mike's frustration.
About 32 minThe race climax is praised as a masterclass in sustained excitement and camera placement.
About 32 minThe ending is memorable for the father and the lonely Daniel Stern character, who has no one to hug.
About 40 minThe parents' material is praised for adding emotional depth and adult perspective.
About 16 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Chris RyanDennis Christopher is the real lead and the movie ultimately belongs to him.
Bill SimmonsDennis Quaid is important and maybe the most important of the four, but not the lead.
Sean FennesseyThe casting is designed around ensemble truthfulness rather than one obvious star.
Bill SimmonsRocky is the top sports movie of the decade, with Breaking Away near the top tier.
Chris RyanSlap Shot is his favorite and he bumps Bad News Bears 2 into the top 10.
Sean FennesseyAgrees with the broad tiering but emphasizes different movies' place in the decade.
Chris RyanHe detests cyclists and thinks Los Angeles is a bad place to share roads with them.
Bill SimmonsHe is also anti-cyclist in general and jokes about bike outfits and traffic.
Sean FennesseyMore neutral, but he participates in the joke and discusses the cinematic value of cycling.
Sean FennesseyCostner and Quaid could have swapped many roles; Quaid was Costner five years too early.
Bill SimmonsHe agrees Quaid could have played many Costner parts.
Chris RyanHe supports the idea as a useful career comparison.
Argues that four-character movies are ideal, especially for sports and youth stories, because they create hierarchy and shifting alliances.
Opening minutesFrames the movie as one of the greatest sports movies and a small movie that became huge in retrospect.
About 8 minSays Yates elevates the script by making the film feel lived-in, specific, and emotionally complete.
About 8 minFinds Mike tragic and self-aware, but still thinks the film belongs more to Dennis Christopher's character.
About 24 minHighlights the speech as one of the movie's most emotionally powerful monologues.
About 24 minLikes the truck-following scene because it turns what could be danger into a pleasant, revealing interaction.
About 32 minTreats the closing two laps and finish as a top-tier sports-movie payoff.
About 32 minSays the movie generates tension and emotion without ever turning into real doom.
About 32 minArgues that small college towns are ideal movie settings because they are socially dense and easy to visualize.
About 40 minSays sports movies depend on the script, the final mechanics, and a great payoff more than most genres.
About 16 minThinks Christopher should have had a bigger career but still reads him as the real lead here.
About 24 minEnjoys Quaid but sees him as a supporting-tragic presence rather than the central hero.
About 24 minSays bike races are more cinematic because they allow crashes, danger, and motion.
About 40 minUses the scene to praise believable movie food and everyday detail.
About 48 minThinks Breaking Away is a better, more resonant title than the original Bambino or Cutters.
About 56 minThe hosts spend a long opening stretch arguing that four-character ensembles create ideal movie dynamics, especially in youth and sports stories.
Opening minutesThe film is read as being about the strange moment when 19-year-olds are between childhood and becoming adults.
Opening minutesA major rewatching discovery for the hosts is how central the parents are, not just the bike-race kids.
About 16 minThe film is admired as a precise portrait of Bloomington, Indiana, its weather, social hierarchies, and college-town rhythms.
About 8 minThe episode treats the movie as one of the best written sports films, with an earned climax and unusually strong character work.
About 16 minBreaking Away won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture, Director, Score, and Supporting Actress.
About 24 minThe film cost about $2.3 million and made about $20 million.
About 24 minThe original title was Bambino, and another script title was Eagle of Naptown.
About 1:12NBC reportedly paid $5 million to air the film on TV only months after release.
About 48 minSteve Tesich was a Phi Kappa Psi alternate rider in the Little 500 and drew on that experience for the movie.
About 56 minThe final race extras were fewer than planned, so the crew had to use camera tricks.
About 56 minDennis Christopher lied about his age and was actually born in 1950, not 1955.
About 48 minA TV series adaptation aired in 1980-81 and brought back some of the film's cast.
About 48 minRobin Douglas's character rides a 1978 Masi Grand Criterium bicycle.
About 1:04Barbara Barrie was 47 when the film was made.
About 1:20Used as the top sports movie benchmark and as a comparison for breakout success.
About 16 minThe previous episode and a direct comparator in their sports-movie rankings.
About 16 minUsed as an example of another ensemble/foursome movie.
Opening minutesCited as a modern foursome movie example.
Opening minutesUsed as a film influenced by Breaking Away.
About 8 minUsed as an example of a beloved small movie with outsized stature.
About 8 minCited as one of the great sports scripts and a comparison point for the movie's writing.
About 16 minDiscussed as another sports movie with an unusually strong script.
About 16 minUsed to describe a similar race-climax feeling and strong script mechanics.
About 16 minReferenced because the actor Hart Bochner appears in both films.
About 32 minThe actual cycling event that structures the climax and is still held at Indiana University.
About 32 minUsed as a comparison point for cycling/running movies and as an Oscar-era 'broccoli' movie.
About 40 minUsed for a long side conversation about pre-cell-phone storytelling and a King's Island episode.
About 1:12Mentioned in relation to Sean's monologue and prior movie-draft habits.
Opening minutes · medium confidenceUsed in passing during a discussion of movie length and recent theatrical releases.
Opening minutes · medium confidenceA long-running joke and analytic framework about why four-character ensembles work so well, especially in youth and sports stories.
Opening minutesA playful idea that the podcast could keep doing movies featuring Paul Dooley as part of an ongoing theme month.
Opening minutesA joke label for their sports-movie pyramid, repurposed from an earlier gag.
About 16 minRepeated jokes about Dennis Christopher's fake Italian accent and how long it would last in real life.
About 8 minA recurring riff about cyclists being annoying, particularly in Los Angeles.
About 48 minA long side discussion about Stephen Bochco, TV production, and old network series.
About 1:04 · medium confidence“Nobody cares when you're 19.”About 8 min
“They're going to keep calling us cutters.”About 24 min
“Everybody cheats.”About 1:04
“What the hell do you get to do when you're 19?”About 8 min
“That movie's two and a half hours.”About 1:44 · medium confidence
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Breaking Away, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill Simmons125 tracked appearances · 56 H / 64 C / 5 ties
Chris Ryan77 tracked appearances · 36 H / 38 C / 3 ties
Sean Fennessey35 tracked appearances · 15 H / 17 C / 3 tiesCATEGORY CONTEXT
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