mashman

Do you remember that time in your life when you were no longer a teenager but not yet an adult? That time in your life when, for the very first time, you had to begin to make decisions that could affect the outcome of your life. There is no movie that captures this time, the transition from teenager to adulthood, quite as well as Peter Yates' superb film Breaking Away.

The story takes place in Bloomington, Indiana, (home to Indiana University) one of the bigger college towns in America. It concerns the rivalry between the rich, snobbish college kids and the local townies (called cutters because there fathers cut limestone in the local quarries to build the college, among other things.) The cutters are played superbly by Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern and Jackie Earle Haley. There is not a false note in any of their performances with Quaid and Christopher special stand-outs. It is interesting to note that of the four, only Quaid and Stern went on to bigger and better things.

What really carries this movie though, are the universal themes that everyone can relate to. We can all relate to at least one of the stars, everyone has gone through what they are going through. Most people realize it as one of the more difficult times in their life (as it is for the characters portrayed in the movie.) What carries them through is their friendship with one another, and the support that that gives them. The movie also touches upon family and how hard it is sometimes to communicate with parents, who always (hopefully) love but sometimes just don't understand. Special mention must be made of Paul Dooley (who plays the father of Dennis Christopher), how he did not receive an oscar nomination much less win the coveted statue, for his performance, remains a mystery to this day. Barbara Barrie is also excellent as the mother.

The story follows the cutters as they try to prove to the college kids that they are real human beings, not outcasts to be looked down upon. As one of the cutters is a champion bike rider, the climax of the film and the contest to prove their worthiness, comes down to the Little 500 Bike Race. This is an annual bike race that is still held at IU and is one of the seminal sporting events of the college year (the screenwriter Steve Tesich, who won an oscar for his screenplay, actually won the Little 500). It is the perfect ending for this remarkable and uplifting film.

Praise must be given to everyone involved with the production, there is not a false note throughout the movie. Peter Yates did a superb job of taking relatively unknown actors coupled with tough subject matter and turning it into a minor classic.

Although the premise may sound absurd, (giant mutated ants running amok in the southwestern United States), this is by far one of the greatest sc-fi movies of the fifties or of any other decade for that matter. What sets this movie apart from all other giant bug movies is both the acting and the direction.

The acting is top notch, with a cast ranging from James Arness and James Whitmore to Edmund Gwen (Santa Claus). Everyone plays their roles perfectly and brings a sense of urgency and believability to the proceedings (which is crucial to a movie like this.) The direction is also excellent, there has never been a more believable movie made about what sounds like such an absurd topic. The special effects, although dated, still hold up today because the ants are never on screen long enough to truly look fake. A lot of the action takes place off screen. The decision to do this movie as murder mystery, rather than a straight horror piece, was also a master-stroke.

For all you film buffs out there, if you look quickly when a soldier is talking by a teletype machine towards the middle of the movie, you will notice he bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain pointy-eared alien from a famous T.V. and movie series.

All in all, a great example of what can be done with a small budget, great b-actors and perfect directing.