Die Sieger - American Flyers

For me, this is a perfect movie. Don't get me wrong, it's not Godard or Kurosawa, but what makes it a winner is that is that is says exactly what it wants to - with some style and humor. Alternately exciting, sexy, funny, heartwarming and even heartbreaking (yes, really), Badham has created a complete story that doesn't ignore the hard edges of life, but chooses not to wallow around in them either. The acting is first-rate. I can't understand reviews that claim otherwise. This is Costner, Rae Dawn Chong, and even John Amos in their prime. And the cinematography, with wide sweeping shots of the American southwest and pedal-to-pedal racing footage is no less than breathtaking. Any criticisms of this movie seem to be a criticism of the genre in which it was made. But all movies are made within a certain genre. Once you understand and accept the elements of a genre you can get down to enjoying a film for what it is. And for me, this film is a real treasure, one I come back to often.

OK. not a cinematographic masterpiece, but there are some great nuggets from a lost period in American bike racing. The film came out in 1985, the year that Greg Lemond broke into the Tour de France and beat his teammate Bernard Hinaut, though The Badger got to win it (Lemond won his first the following year). And the Coors Classic was the best racing outside of Europe, with Team 7-eleven breaking into the continent. The Muzzin character with 7-11 was modeled directly after Alexi Grewal, who won gold in the 1984 Olympics and won the Bob Cook Memorial race up Mount Evans twice. He also had emotional/anger problems. The Soviet team was brought in after the cold war tensions and the Olympics, though they should have been a French team to make it accurate.

You might even see a banner in the first stage south of Boulder with a Denver TV station logo and "Coors Classic" that didn't quite get hidden.

A mushy movie, predictable turns, geographic mistakes in the footage, and some weak acting, but a good movie if you are in, or love, American road racing--and remember how it started in the Rockies.

Not a frequently shown film, but a highly recommended one. A good chance to see Kevin Costner early in his career; you see the spark that made him into one of Hollywood's most prominent actors. Also an early chance to see an odd type of performance from Jennifer Grey, before "Dirty Dancing." You don't have to be a cycling fan to enjoy this poignant movie.

David (David Marshall Grant) is ecstatic when his brother Marcus Sommers (Kevin Costner) visits home in St. Louis. Marcus is concerned about David failing at school. Their father died from a cerebral aneurysm and their mother is concerned that David also has it. There is family friction. Marcus works in sports medicine and convinces David to join him at Wisconsin State University. Marcus, his girlfriend Sarah (Rae Dawn Chong), and Leslie (Jennifer Grey) work for Dr. Conrad (John Amos). David gets a clean bill of health but he mistakenly assumes that he has the aneurysm. David, Marcus, and Sarah travel to Colorado for the bicycle race Hell of the West. Along the way, David picks up ex-hippie hitchhiker Becky (Alexandra Paul). Their biggest opponent is Sarah's ex Muzzin, friend Jerome, and the Soviet Belov.

There are a couple of interesting new actors. Costner is pre-success and Jennifer Grey is pre-Dirty Dancing. The brotherly conflicted relationship is great. This has some family drama but the second half is where the bicycling sports fun exists. It explains the strategy rather well and the racing is done with drama. The racing looks great and the vista is beautiful. This is a solid bicycling movie.

Don't write this off just because it's a bicycle movie; it's more than that. If you happen to like bike riding, this is an absolute must-see. But even if you can't even function without training wheels (like yours truly) there's still a lot to love about American Flyers.

If you liked Breaking Away (a bike riding movie from 1979), you'll be happy to hear American Flyers was written by the same person, Steve Tesich. In American Flyers, two brothers enter into a bike race, and during the training and the race itself, tensions run high! Of course, there's romance along the way, and some brother banter that leaves audiences conflicted about whose side to take.

John Badham's gentle directorial touch is seen in this film; the actors work off each other with a wonderful rapport and have a strong sense of their characters, part of Badham's signature in his directing. He's also known for creating interesting and intense action scenes. Watch the bicycle race scenes to see what I mean!