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Breaking Away
"BAMBINO" [ PRODUCED AS "BREAKING AWAY" ]
Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his 3 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.
Breaking Away is a 1979 American coming of age comedy-drama film produced and directed by Peter Yates and written by Steve Tesich. The film stars Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie, Paul Dooley, and Robyn Douglass.
Breaking Away won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Tesich, and received nominations in four other categories, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Barbara Barrie). It also won the 1979 Golden Globe Award for Best Film (Comedy or Musical) and received nominations in three other Golden Globe categories. The film was ranked eighth on the List of America's 100 Most Inspiring Movies compiled by the American Film Institute (AFI) in 2006.
In the following decades this film became an icon to a generation of cycling enthusiasts!
Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his 3 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.
Breaking Away is a 1979 American coming of age comedy-drama film produced and directed by Peter Yates and written by Steve Tesich. The film stars Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie, Paul Dooley, and Robyn Douglass.
Breaking Away won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Tesich, and received nominations in four other categories, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Barbara Barrie). It also won the 1979 Golden Globe Award for Best Film (Comedy or Musical) and received nominations in three other Golden Globe categories. The film was ranked eighth on the List of America's 100 Most Inspiring Movies compiled by the American Film Institute (AFI) in 2006.
In the following decades this film became an icon to a generation of cycling enthusiasts!
Unknown Binding
First published June 1, 1986
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About the author
Steve Tesich
27 books44 followersStojan Steve Tesich was a Serbian-American screenwriter, playwright and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1979 for the movie Breaking Away.
His novel Karoo was published posthumously in 1998. Arthur Miller described the novel: "Fascinating—a real satiric invention full of wise outrage.” The novel was a New York Times Notable Book for 1998. Summer Crossing (1982), was also published in a German translation as Ein letzter Sommer and in a French translation as Rencontre d'été.
His novel Karoo was published posthumously in 1998. Arthur Miller described the novel: "Fascinating—a real satiric invention full of wise outrage.” The novel was a New York Times Notable Book for 1998. Summer Crossing (1982), was also published in a German translation as Ein letzter Sommer and in a French translation as Rencontre d'été.
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September 1, 2025
Breaking Away by Steve Tesich and directed by Peter Yates
La Divina Comedia!!
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is astounding, a feast and a great joy to watch.
It won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, the Golden Globe for best comedy and many other awards.
One of my favorite comedies and I say like Dave, the hero, in his crazy Italian phase, when all things Italian were divino…
- Grazie Padre!!
- Santa Maria and Mama Mia
- What a Meravigliosa Comedy
From the start, there is a funny conflict between young Dave and his father or Dad, who is played to perfection by Paul Dooley.
Dave is cycling a lot and he fell in love with Italian food, language and music, which is actually “noise” for his father
- Dad: What is this?
- Mom: It's sauteed zucchini.
- Dad: It's I-ty food. I don't want no I-ty food.
- Mom: It's not. I got it at the A&P. It's like... squash.
- Dad: I know I-ty food when I hear it! It's all them "eenie" foods... zucchini... and linguine... and fettuccine. I want some American food, dammit! I want French Fries!
- Mom: [to the cat] Oh, get off the table, Fellini!
- Dad: Hey, that's *my* cat! His name's Jake, not Fellini! I won't have any "eenie" in this house!
- [to the cat]
- Dad: Your name's Jake, you understand?
Dad is evidently annoyed, even if mother points out that his body is all right now…yeah, but his mind is gone, comes the reply
There is a fine balance though, because the acting and direction are perfect, avoiding the area wherein tension could have escalated and the parents could have been just abusive, instead of funny or the boy annoying and not likable as he is and keeps calling his father Numero Uno Papa, the last being contradicted- I am your goddamn father and not papa.
There are other moments where Papa, who is a used car salesman, shows his son the “real horror show” of life, wherein one has to lie (really?) to get cars off the property and then to deny promises and reject refunds:
- I dreamed all last night, that everyone I ever sold a car to come back for a refund. And there you were, handing out the checks! One for you, and one for you...
Looking back on this film I say that every other scene, if not all of it, is a gem and the humor is excellent.
The boy is shaving…his legs, calls a girl called Katherine Catarina, is full of Arrivedercis, Amore, Ciaos and La Grande Belezza
But after disillusionment with the Italians that come to town and play against this type casting by cheating and being the opposite of what poor Dave thought they must be, there is a new, French phase:
- Dad: [Last lines] Hi ya, big shot!
- Dave: Bon jour, Papa!
Mother has a solution when Dad or Papa talks about the crisis, the clients who wanted refunds and the boy was more than willing:
- We could strangle him in his sleep- but it is obviously another- very good I think- joke
They touch on other subjects, including religion and confessions, about the latter one character says that he went to confession twice…
- Dave: Moocher, you're Catholic, right?
- Moocher: Yeah.
- Dave: Did you ever go to confession?
- Moocher: Twice.
- Dave: Did it make you feel better?
- Moocher: Once.
And then on the same subject, more or less:
- Cyril: When you're 16 they call it Sweet 16 and when you're 18 you get to drink and vote and see dirty movies. What the hell do you get to do when you're 19?
- Mike: You leave home.
- Cyril: My Dad said that Jesus never went further than 50 miles from his home.
- Mike: Well, look what happened to him.
Resplendent movie!!
La Divina Comedia!!
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is astounding, a feast and a great joy to watch.
It won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, the Golden Globe for best comedy and many other awards.
One of my favorite comedies and I say like Dave, the hero, in his crazy Italian phase, when all things Italian were divino…
- Grazie Padre!!
- Santa Maria and Mama Mia
- What a Meravigliosa Comedy
From the start, there is a funny conflict between young Dave and his father or Dad, who is played to perfection by Paul Dooley.
Dave is cycling a lot and he fell in love with Italian food, language and music, which is actually “noise” for his father
- Dad: What is this?
- Mom: It's sauteed zucchini.
- Dad: It's I-ty food. I don't want no I-ty food.
- Mom: It's not. I got it at the A&P. It's like... squash.
- Dad: I know I-ty food when I hear it! It's all them "eenie" foods... zucchini... and linguine... and fettuccine. I want some American food, dammit! I want French Fries!
- Mom: [to the cat] Oh, get off the table, Fellini!
- Dad: Hey, that's *my* cat! His name's Jake, not Fellini! I won't have any "eenie" in this house!
- [to the cat]
- Dad: Your name's Jake, you understand?
Dad is evidently annoyed, even if mother points out that his body is all right now…yeah, but his mind is gone, comes the reply
There is a fine balance though, because the acting and direction are perfect, avoiding the area wherein tension could have escalated and the parents could have been just abusive, instead of funny or the boy annoying and not likable as he is and keeps calling his father Numero Uno Papa, the last being contradicted- I am your goddamn father and not papa.
There are other moments where Papa, who is a used car salesman, shows his son the “real horror show” of life, wherein one has to lie (really?) to get cars off the property and then to deny promises and reject refunds:
- I dreamed all last night, that everyone I ever sold a car to come back for a refund. And there you were, handing out the checks! One for you, and one for you...
Looking back on this film I say that every other scene, if not all of it, is a gem and the humor is excellent.
The boy is shaving…his legs, calls a girl called Katherine Catarina, is full of Arrivedercis, Amore, Ciaos and La Grande Belezza
But after disillusionment with the Italians that come to town and play against this type casting by cheating and being the opposite of what poor Dave thought they must be, there is a new, French phase:
- Dad: [Last lines] Hi ya, big shot!
- Dave: Bon jour, Papa!
Mother has a solution when Dad or Papa talks about the crisis, the clients who wanted refunds and the boy was more than willing:
- We could strangle him in his sleep- but it is obviously another- very good I think- joke
They touch on other subjects, including religion and confessions, about the latter one character says that he went to confession twice…
- Dave: Moocher, you're Catholic, right?
- Moocher: Yeah.
- Dave: Did you ever go to confession?
- Moocher: Twice.
- Dave: Did it make you feel better?
- Moocher: Once.
And then on the same subject, more or less:
- Cyril: When you're 16 they call it Sweet 16 and when you're 18 you get to drink and vote and see dirty movies. What the hell do you get to do when you're 19?
- Mike: You leave home.
- Cyril: My Dad said that Jesus never went further than 50 miles from his home.
- Mike: Well, look what happened to him.
Resplendent movie!!
Displaying 1 of 1 review