Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Director 1979

The Contenders:

Bob Fosse: All That Jazz
Francis Ford Coppola: Apocalypse Now
Peter Yates: Breaking Away
Edouard Molinaro: La Cage aux Folles
Robert Benton: Kramer vs. Kramer (winner)

Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Original Screenplay 1979

The Contenders:

…And Justice for All
All That Jazz
Breaking Away (winner)
The China Syndrome
Manhattan

Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Picture 1979

The Contenders:
All That Jazz
Apocalypse Now
Breaking Away
Kramer vs. Kramer (winner)
Norma Rae

Out for a Spin

Film: Breaking Away
Format: DVD from Western Reserve Library through interlibrary loan on laptop.

Breaking Away ranks in my mother’s top however-many of films. Mom loves this film. I’m not exactly sure why it resonates so completely with her; fortunately, this blog doesn’t have to try to explain the tastes of my mom or of anyone else. Breaking Away is a classic underdog story, although there are some important differences that raise it above the genre.

The film takes place in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. The end of the film spirals around the Little 500, an annual bike race at the university. The bike race is based roughly on the Indy 500. Teams of four in this case ride a bike round and round a track. One of those significant differences between this film and the typical sports underdog film is this—the Little 500 is mentioned several times in the film, but is only really relevant in the third act. We don’t spend the whole film building to it—it just happens at the end.