Breaking Away
Encyclopedia
Breaking Away is a 1979 American
film. A coming of age
story, it follows a group of four male teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana
, who have recently graduated from high school. It stars Dennis Christopher
, Dennis Quaid
, Daniel Stern
(in his first film role), Jackie Earle Haley
, Barbara Barrie
and Paul Dooley
. The film was written by Steve Tesich
(an alumnus of Indiana University
) and directed by Peter Yates
. Tesich would go on to script another cycling
-themed film, American Flyers
, starring Kevin Costner
.
The film won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Tesich, and also received nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
(Barbara Barrie
), Best Director, Best Original Score
and Best Picture
. The film also won the 1979 Golden Globe Award for Best Film (Comedy or Musical).
The film is ranked eighth on the List of America's 100 Most Inspiring Movies
compiled by the American Film Institute
(AFI) in 2006. In June 2008, AFI announced its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Breaking Away was acknowledged as the eighth best film in the sports genre.
A short-lived television series based on the film, also titled Breaking Away, aired in 1980.
), Mike (Dennis Quaid
), Cyril (Daniel Stern
) and Moocher (Jackie Earle Haley
) are four working-class friends, living in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana
. Now turning 19 years of age, they all graduated from high school the year before and are not sure what to do next with their lives. They spend much of their time together swimming in an old abandoned water-filled quarry
, but also often clash
with the more affluent Indiana University students in their hometown, who refer to them habitually as "cutters", a derogatory term stemming from the local Indiana Limestone
industry and the stonecutters who worked the quarries
.
Dave is obsessed with competitive bicycle racing. His down-to-earth father, Ray (Paul Dooley
), a former stonecutter who now operates (sometimes unethically) his own used car business, is puzzled and exasperated by his son's love of Italian
music and culture, which Dave associates with cycling. However, his mother Evelyn (Barbara Barrie
) is more understanding.
Dave develops a crush on a university student named Katherine (Robyn Douglass
) and masquerades as an Italian exchange student in order to romance her. One evening he serenades "Katerina" outside her sorority house, with Cyril providing guitar accompaniment. When her boyfriend Rob (Hart Bochner
) finds out, he and some of his fraternity brothers beat up Cyril, mistaking him for Dave. Though Cyril wants no trouble, Mike insists on tracking down Rob and starting a brawl. The University president (then-University president Dr. John W. Ryan
) reprimands the students for their arrogance toward the "cutters" and over their objections invites the latter to participate in the the annual Indiana University Little 500
race.
When a professional Italian cycling team comes to town for a racing event, Dave is thrilled to be competing with them. However, the Italians become irked when Dave is able to keep up with and even speak to them in Italian during the race. One of them jams a bike pump in Dave's wheel, causing him to crash, which leaves him disillusioned and depressed.
Dave's friends persuade him to join them in forming the locals' cycling team for the Little 500. Dave's parents provide t-shirts with the name "Cutters" on them. Dave's father remarks how, when he was a young stonecutter, he was proud to help provide the material to construct the university, yet never felt comfortable being on campus. Dave is so much better than the other competitors, he rides without a break and builds up a large lead, while the other teams have to switch cyclists every few laps. However, he is injured and has to stop. After some hesitation, Moocher, Cyril and Mike take turns pedaling, but soon their lead evaporates. Finally, Dave has his feet taped to the bike pedals and starts making up lost ground; he overtakes Rob on the last lap and wins.
Dave's father is immensely proud of his son's accomplishment, so much so that he takes to riding a bicycle himself. Having finally decided on a direction in life, Dave later enrolls at the university himself, where he meets a pretty, newly arrived French student. Soon, he is extolling the superiority of French cyclists and culture.
Dooley and Christopher also played father and son in the 1978 film A Wedding
and in the 2003 Law & Order: Criminal Intent
television episode "Cherry Red
".
Barrie, Haley and Ashton continued their roles in the prequel TV series.
bicycle race that forms the centerpiece of the plot is a real race held annually at Indiana University. A reenactment of the race was staged for the film in the "old" Memorial Stadium
on the IU campus, which was demolished shortly after the filming of the movie.
The team is based on the 1962 Phi Kappa Psi
Little 500 champions, which featured legendary rider and Italian enthusiast Dave Blase
, who provided screenwriter and fellow Phi Kappa Psi team member Steve Tesich the inspiration for the main character in the movie. Blase, together with team manager Bob Stohler, provided the name of this character: Dave Stohler. In the 1962 race, Blase rode 139 out of 200 laps and was the victory rider crossing the finish line, much like the main character in the film. Blase himself appears in the movie as the race announcer.
campus; glimpses of the Indiana Memorial Union
are in the background of Dave's ride through campus. The pizza restaurant in the film ("PAGLIAI'S") is now Opie Taylors on the east side of North Walnut Street, across from the Monroe County Courthouse
. Dave Stohler's house in the film is located at the corner of S. Lincoln St. and E. Dodds St. Other scenes were filmed outside the Delta Delta Delta
sorority house (818 E. 3rd St) and along Jordan Street. Dave's "ecstasy ride" on the wooded road after first meeting Kathy (where his bike tire blew) was filmed on the "West Gate Road" in Indiana's Brown County State Park
, 14 miles east of Bloomington on State Road 46
. Two other scenes were filmed on W. 7th St.: one at Fairview Elementary, the other three blocks east near the intersection of W. 7th St. and N. Madison (the old railroad tracks have since been removed). A scene in which Dave runs a red light in front of his father was filmed at the southwest corner of the Monroe County Courthouse, at the intersection of College St. and W. 5th St (a few seconds before he runs it, the light is visible as he rides by the courthouse and sees Moocher and Nancy). The starting-line scene of the "Cinzano 100" bicycle race was at the intersection of Indiana State Roads 46 and 446
on the city's eastern edge. The old limestone quarry where Dave and his friends swim is on a private property south of Bloomington, at the end of East Empire Mill Road (off of old State Road 37
), and is closed to visitors. It is now often called the "Roof Top" quarry, but was originally known as "The Long Hole" or "Sanders" quarry. The used car lot ("Campus Cars") was on S. Walnut St., and was a real used car lot for many years, but now has two small commercial buildings on the property; it is located at 1010 S. Walnut St. Next door is the local Honda motorcycle franchise seen in the background of the famous "Refund? REFUND!!" scene; it remains there today.
film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
, starring Aamir Khan
, is based on Breaking Away.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film. A coming of age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
story, it follows a group of four male teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, who have recently graduated from high school. It stars Dennis Christopher
Dennis Christopher
Dennis Christopher is an American actor. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is known for playing Dave Stoller in Breaking Away and tragic film buff psychopath Eric Binford in Fade to Black....
, Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
, Daniel Stern
Daniel Stern (actor)
Daniel Jacob Stern is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the Hollywood films C.H.U.D., Diner, City Slickers and the first two Home Alone films, and as the narrator for the television series The Wonder Years.-Early life:Stern was born in Bethesda, Maryland to a...
(in his first film role), Jackie Earle Haley
Jackie Earle Haley
Jackie Earle Haley is an American film actor. Establishing himself from child actor to adult Academy Award-nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, the vigilante Rorschach in...
, Barbara Barrie
Barbara Barrie
Barbara Barrie is an American actress and author of children's books.-Personal life:Barrie was born as Barbara Ann Berman in Chicago, Illinois, of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Frances Rose and Louis Berman. She was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. She graduated from University of Texas,...
and Paul Dooley
Paul Dooley
-Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...
. The film was written by Steve Tesich
Steve Tesich
Stojan 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.-Career:...
(an alumnus of Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
) and directed by Peter Yates
Peter Yates
Peter James Yates was an English director and producer. He was born in Aldershot, Hampshire.The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked for some years as an actor, director and stage manager...
. Tesich would go on to script another cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
-themed film, American Flyers
American Flyers
American Flyers is a 1985 film starring Kevin Costner, David Marshall Grant, Rae Dawn Chong, Alexandra Paul and Janice Rule about bicycle racing....
, starring Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
.
The film won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Tesich, and also received nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Barbara Barrie
Barbara Barrie
Barbara Barrie is an American actress and author of children's books.-Personal life:Barrie was born as Barbara Ann Berman in Chicago, Illinois, of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Frances Rose and Louis Berman. She was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. She graduated from University of Texas,...
), Best Director, Best Original Score
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
and Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
. The film also won the 1979 Golden Globe Award for Best Film (Comedy or Musical).
The film is ranked eighth on the List of America's 100 Most Inspiring Movies
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers
100 Years…100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies is a list of the most inspiring films as determined by the American Film Institute. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series, which has been compiling lists of the greatest films of all time in various categories since 1998...
compiled by the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
(AFI) in 2006. In June 2008, AFI announced its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Breaking Away was acknowledged as the eighth best film in the sports genre.
A short-lived television series based on the film, also titled Breaking Away, aired in 1980.
Plot
Dave (Dennis ChristopherDennis Christopher
Dennis Christopher is an American actor. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is known for playing Dave Stoller in Breaking Away and tragic film buff psychopath Eric Binford in Fade to Black....
), Mike (Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
), Cyril (Daniel Stern
Daniel Stern (actor)
Daniel Jacob Stern is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the Hollywood films C.H.U.D., Diner, City Slickers and the first two Home Alone films, and as the narrator for the television series The Wonder Years.-Early life:Stern was born in Bethesda, Maryland to a...
) and Moocher (Jackie Earle Haley
Jackie Earle Haley
Jackie Earle Haley is an American film actor. Establishing himself from child actor to adult Academy Award-nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, the vigilante Rorschach in...
) are four working-class friends, living in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
. Now turning 19 years of age, they all graduated from high school the year before and are not sure what to do next with their lives. They spend much of their time together swimming in an old abandoned water-filled quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
, but also often clash
Town and gown
Town and gown are two distinct communities of a university town; "town" being the non-academic population and "gown" metonymically being the university community, especially in ancient seats of learning such as Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and St Andrews, although the term is also used to describe...
with the more affluent Indiana University students in their hometown, who refer to them habitually as "cutters", a derogatory term stemming from the local Indiana Limestone
Indiana Limestone
Indiana Limestone, also known as Bedford Limestone is a common regional term for Salem limestone, a geological formation primarily quarried in south central Indiana between Bloomington and Bedford....
industry and the stonecutters who worked the quarries
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
.
Dave is obsessed with competitive bicycle racing. His down-to-earth father, Ray (Paul Dooley
Paul Dooley
-Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...
), a former stonecutter who now operates (sometimes unethically) his own used car business, is puzzled and exasperated by his son's love of Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
music and culture, which Dave associates with cycling. However, his mother Evelyn (Barbara Barrie
Barbara Barrie
Barbara Barrie is an American actress and author of children's books.-Personal life:Barrie was born as Barbara Ann Berman in Chicago, Illinois, of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Frances Rose and Louis Berman. She was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. She graduated from University of Texas,...
) is more understanding.
Dave develops a crush on a university student named Katherine (Robyn Douglass
Robyn Douglass
Robyn Douglass is an American actress and model. The daughter of an Army doctor and hospital administrator, she was born in Sendai, Japan. She began acting while attending a Catholic girls' school in Mountain View, California...
) and masquerades as an Italian exchange student in order to romance her. One evening he serenades "Katerina" outside her sorority house, with Cyril providing guitar accompaniment. When her boyfriend Rob (Hart Bochner
Hart Bochner
Hart Matthew Bochner is a Canadian film actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.-Life and career:Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Ruth , a concert pianist, and actor Lloyd Bochner...
) finds out, he and some of his fraternity brothers beat up Cyril, mistaking him for Dave. Though Cyril wants no trouble, Mike insists on tracking down Rob and starting a brawl. The University president (then-University president Dr. John W. Ryan
John W. Ryan
John William Ryan was an American academic administrator who most notably served as the President of Indiana University for sixteen years.-Early life and career:...
) reprimands the students for their arrogance toward the "cutters" and over their objections invites the latter to participate in the the annual Indiana University Little 500
Little 500
The Little 500 , is a bicycle race held annually at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana...
race.
When a professional Italian cycling team comes to town for a racing event, Dave is thrilled to be competing with them. However, the Italians become irked when Dave is able to keep up with and even speak to them in Italian during the race. One of them jams a bike pump in Dave's wheel, causing him to crash, which leaves him disillusioned and depressed.
Dave's friends persuade him to join them in forming the locals' cycling team for the Little 500. Dave's parents provide t-shirts with the name "Cutters" on them. Dave's father remarks how, when he was a young stonecutter, he was proud to help provide the material to construct the university, yet never felt comfortable being on campus. Dave is so much better than the other competitors, he rides without a break and builds up a large lead, while the other teams have to switch cyclists every few laps. However, he is injured and has to stop. After some hesitation, Moocher, Cyril and Mike take turns pedaling, but soon their lead evaporates. Finally, Dave has his feet taped to the bike pedals and starts making up lost ground; he overtakes Rob on the last lap and wins.
Dave's father is immensely proud of his son's accomplishment, so much so that he takes to riding a bicycle himself. Having finally decided on a direction in life, Dave later enrolls at the university himself, where he meets a pretty, newly arrived French student. Soon, he is extolling the superiority of French cyclists and culture.
Cast
- Dennis ChristopherDennis ChristopherDennis Christopher is an American actor. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is known for playing Dave Stoller in Breaking Away and tragic film buff psychopath Eric Binford in Fade to Black....
as Dave Stohler - Dennis QuaidDennis QuaidDennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
as Mike - Daniel SternDaniel Stern (actor)Daniel Jacob Stern is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the Hollywood films C.H.U.D., Diner, City Slickers and the first two Home Alone films, and as the narrator for the television series The Wonder Years.-Early life:Stern was born in Bethesda, Maryland to a...
as Cyril - Jackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle HaleyJackie Earle Haley is an American film actor. Establishing himself from child actor to adult Academy Award-nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, the vigilante Rorschach in...
as Moocher - Paul DooleyPaul Dooley-Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...
as Ray Stohler - Barbara BarrieBarbara BarrieBarbara Barrie is an American actress and author of children's books.-Personal life:Barrie was born as Barbara Ann Berman in Chicago, Illinois, of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Frances Rose and Louis Berman. She was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. She graduated from University of Texas,...
as Evelyn Stohler - Robyn DouglassRobyn DouglassRobyn Douglass is an American actress and model. The daughter of an Army doctor and hospital administrator, she was born in Sendai, Japan. She began acting while attending a Catholic girls' school in Mountain View, California...
as Katherine - Hart BochnerHart BochnerHart Matthew Bochner is a Canadian film actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.-Life and career:Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Ruth , a concert pianist, and actor Lloyd Bochner...
as Rod - P.J. Soles as Suzy
- Amy WrightAmy WrightAmy Wright is an American actress. She has appeared in such films as The Deer Hunter, Breaking Away, The Amityville Horror, Heartland, Wise Blood, Stardust Memories, The Accidental Tourist, Hard Promises, Crossing Delancey and Miss Firecracker.Wright is married to actor Rip Torn and the couple...
as Nancy, Moocher's girlfriend - John AshtonJohn Ashton (actor)John David Ashton is an American actor born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and graduate of the University of Southern California School of Theatre.John Ashton attended Enfield High School in Enfield, Connecticut....
as Mike's policeman brother Roy
Dooley and Christopher also played father and son in the 1978 film A Wedding
A Wedding
A Wedding is a 1978 black comedy film directed by Robert Altman, starring Carol Burnett, Lillian Gish, Geraldine Chaplin, Vittorio Gassman, Mia Farrow, Lauren Hutton, Craig Richard Nelson, Pam Dawber, Desi Arnaz, Jr., Paul Dooley, Dennis Christopher, and Howard Duff...
and in the 2003 Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
television episode "Cherry Red
Cherry Red (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode)
"Cherry Red" is a second season episode of the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Plot summary:In this episode, Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the case of an elderly woman who had died mysteriously in a fire....
".
Barrie, Haley and Ashton continued their roles in the prequel TV series.
Real-life inspiration
The Little 500Little 500
The Little 500 , is a bicycle race held annually at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana...
bicycle race that forms the centerpiece of the plot is a real race held annually at Indiana University. A reenactment of the race was staged for the film in the "old" Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium (Indiana University old)
Memorial Stadium was a stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. It was primarily used for college football, and was the home field of the Indiana University football team between 1925 and 1959, prior to the opening of the new Memorial Stadium. The stadium held 20,000 people and was built in 1925. The...
on the IU campus, which was demolished shortly after the filming of the movie.
The team is based on the 1962 Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...
Little 500 champions, which featured legendary rider and Italian enthusiast Dave Blase
Dave Blase
Dave Blase is an American cyclist whose story served as the inspiration for the movie Breaking Away.-Little 500:Blase attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana from 1958 - 1962. In his freshman year he started cycling and joined a team for the Little 500 bike race. He quickly became a...
, who provided screenwriter and fellow Phi Kappa Psi team member Steve Tesich the inspiration for the main character in the movie. Blase, together with team manager Bob Stohler, provided the name of this character: Dave Stohler. In the 1962 race, Blase rode 139 out of 200 laps and was the victory rider crossing the finish line, much like the main character in the film. Blase himself appears in the movie as the race announcer.
Scenes shot in Bloomington
Many of the scenes in the movie were filmed on the Indiana UniversityIndiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
campus; glimpses of the Indiana Memorial Union
Indiana Memorial Union
The Indiana Memorial Union is a student union building at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. It is located at 900 E 7th Street....
are in the background of Dave's ride through campus. The pizza restaurant in the film ("PAGLIAI'S") is now Opie Taylors on the east side of North Walnut Street, across from the Monroe County Courthouse
Monroe County Courthouse (Indiana)
Monroe County Courthouse in Bloomington, Indiana is a Beaux Arts building built in 1908. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.-History:...
. Dave Stohler's house in the film is located at the corner of S. Lincoln St. and E. Dodds St. Other scenes were filmed outside the Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta , also known as Tri Delta, is an international sorority founded on November 27, 1888, the eve of Thanksgiving Day. With over 200,000 initiates, Tri Delta is one of the world's largest NPC sororities.-History:...
sorority house (818 E. 3rd St) and along Jordan Street. Dave's "ecstasy ride" on the wooded road after first meeting Kathy (where his bike tire blew) was filmed on the "West Gate Road" in Indiana's Brown County State Park
Brown County State Park
Brown County State Park is an Indiana state park on near Nashville in Brown County, Indiana in the United States. The park opened to the public in 1929, and is Indiana's largest state park. It was the most visited Indiana State Park in 2008 with more than 1.3 million visitors per year...
, 14 miles east of Bloomington on State Road 46
Indiana State Road 46
State Road 46 in the U.S. State of Indiana is an east–west state highway in the southern half of Indiana.-Route description:The western terminus of SR 46 is at U.S. Route 40 in central Vigo County, just east of Terre Haute...
. Two other scenes were filmed on W. 7th St.: one at Fairview Elementary, the other three blocks east near the intersection of W. 7th St. and N. Madison (the old railroad tracks have since been removed). A scene in which Dave runs a red light in front of his father was filmed at the southwest corner of the Monroe County Courthouse, at the intersection of College St. and W. 5th St (a few seconds before he runs it, the light is visible as he rides by the courthouse and sees Moocher and Nancy). The starting-line scene of the "Cinzano 100" bicycle race was at the intersection of Indiana State Roads 46 and 446
Indiana State Road 446
State Road 446 is a short highway in the southern portion of the U.S. State of Indiana. Though it is an even-numbered route, it is actually a north–south highway.-Route description:...
on the city's eastern edge. The old limestone quarry where Dave and his friends swim is on a private property south of Bloomington, at the end of East Empire Mill Road (off of old State Road 37
Indiana State Road 37
State Road 37 in the U.S. State of Indiana is a major route in Indiana, running as a 4-lane divided highway for 110 miles of its course....
), and is closed to visitors. It is now often called the "Roof Top" quarry, but was originally known as "The Long Hole" or "Sanders" quarry. The used car lot ("Campus Cars") was on S. Walnut St., and was a real used car lot for many years, but now has two small commercial buildings on the property; it is located at 1010 S. Walnut St. Next door is the local Honda motorcycle franchise seen in the background of the famous "Refund? REFUND!!" scene; it remains there today.
Film remake
The 1992 BollywoodBollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
The music for the movie composed by Jatin Lalit and lyrics were penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The soundtrack, their second collaboration together, helped to launch their career...
, starring Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan
Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....
, is based on Breaking Away.