Breaking Away
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Breaking Away Breaking Away (1979) is, you should pardon “Little 500” bicycle race, watching in awe as Newman, Williams replaced the majority of the expression, a break-away film, as far ahead teammate Dave Blase rode 139 of 200 laps his original cues with the classical music he’d of its coming-of-age-movie cohorts as it’s pos- and was the victory rider crossing the finish adapted (with the exception of a couple of orig- sible to be. Even as it delves into material that line for his team. This place, this event, and inal up-tempo source cues) and convened for has provided fodder for countless similarly this young man formed the basis for Tesich’s a second recording session to record more of themed films before and since, it stands beau- screenplay for Breaking Away, which centers his adaptations, and that was that. In the end tifully alone thanks to its genuine humor (with on Dave (the marvelous Dennis Christopher), a the score was comprised mostly of music by nary a joke based on embarrassing physical cutter who’s mad for cycling, and whose youth- Gioacchino Rossini, Felix Mendelssohn and processes in sight), marvelously quirky and de- ful enthusiasm sweeps up everyone near and Friedrich von Flowtow. tailed characters, solid sense of place, and an dear to him: his irritable, resistant father (the overall meticulous specificity—for all of which inimitable Paul Dooley), a former cutter barely The film was an instant hit with critics and au- credit must go to Steve Tesich’s warm, wise, getting by as a car salesman; his deeply sym- diences and everyone loved the way the clas- often hilarious Oscar®-winning screenplay, pathetic mother (Barbara Barrie, absolutely sical adaptations functioned in the film. After and to the sympathetic direction of Peter Yates incandescent in her understanding); and his the heartbreak of having to replace his original (Bullitt), stepping away from his fast-paced ac- lifelong pals, Mike (Dennis Quaid), Cyril (Dan- dramatic cues (and it’s always a heartbreak tion-film comfort zone to find new depths as an iel Stern), and Moocher (Jackie Earle Haley)… when this happens in movies), the irony was, of artist. course, that Williams received an Oscar nom- Breaking Away was an odd, eccentric, gor- ination for Best Music – Original Score and Its This is also a deeply American film, set in the geously human little film that, even as its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score. small university town of Bloomington, Indiana. riveting specificity set it apart from the run of Once, this verdant place with its meandering Hollywood films, somehow found an audience. For this world premiere CD release, we give rivers, sun-dappled woods, and long straight It is, most assuredly, a “feel-good” movie—but you all of the classical pieces that Williams roads had a thriving stone-quarrying industry; its good feelings are earned by virtue of careful adapted (and adapted superbly), as well as now, it’s suggested, no one’s building to last attention to detail, scrupulous consideration of his original score cues, both used (the source and the quarries have shut down, the mon- the quirks of human behavior, and an invigorat- cues) and unused. For listening purposes, umental pits from which the stone was once ing presentation of a particular time and place. we’ve taken the liberty of inserting a handful hewn serving only as rather magnificent swim- It is, in short, an affectionate, intelligent look at of Williams’ unused cues into the score pre- ming holes, and former “cutters”—the quarry real-life mid-America: perhaps the last, trag- sentation, because they work so beautifully laborers—either struggling to make ends meet ically, of the kind of films classically made by there. The rest are included in the bonus sec- in other businesses or simply gone away. The the likes of Frank Capra and John Ford—and, tion. Williams is thrilled that his original cues working-class kids of the cutters have no jobs in a darker vein, by Jean Renoir and Fritz Lang will finally be heard. waiting for them when they graduate from high and Otto Preminger. An all-American beauty, school; for most of them, college isn’t an op- in fact, significantly gifted to us by passionate Patrick Williams has had a long and varied ca- tion; as one of the group we get to know says, immigrants. In this weird and wonderful coun- reer as a film composer, as an arranger, and as “What the hell do you get to do when you’re try, has it not been ever thus? a recording artist. He’s still going strong – com- 19?” posing new works, appearing with his band, — Julie Kirgo releasing CDs and making beautiful music. Part of what they do is envy the University of (adapted from the liner notes for the Twilight We’ve been pleased to release his scores for Indiana students: kids with money and privi- Time Blu-ray release of Breaking Away) Cuba and Butch and Sundance: The Early lege and possibility. Breaking Away is that rare Years, and we are even more pleased to finally thing in American movies: a look at our deeply The Music release the wonderful score and adaptation of embedded, home-grown class system. It’s Breaking Away. never didactic about it, but this film acknowl- Peter Yates temp-tracked Breaking Away with edges the great American secret: that there are classical music, so he obviously had that in — Bruce Kimmel class differences here, and they hurt. Entitled his head as he and his editor were working on frat boys with nice clothes and perfect skin/ the film. When he brought Patrick Williams on teeth do drive around in their own Mercedes board, Williams saw the film with the temp track cars, looking askance at scrawny “townies”— and told Yates that if that was what he wanted the cutters—with very little sympathy; the char- that it was okay with him and Williams would acter played here by Hart Bochner could be a just adapt that music. But Yates, instead, told rough sketch for Mitt Romney. him to do his thing and perhaps adapt some of the classical bits but also write an original Fascinatingly, it seems to have taken a pair score around it. And that is what Williams did, of outsiders like Yates and Tesich to make creating some wonderful dramatic cues in the the point. Yates was a native of Aldershot, process. England, an upper-crust student at the Char- terhouse School, and a graduate of the Royal After the film previewed, Yates told Williams Academy of Dramatic Art. Tesich was born in that there was a “problem” with the music, but the former Yugoslavia, emigrating with his fam- he was vague about what that problem actually ily to the town of East Chicago, Indiana when was. Williams was finally told that someone’s he was just 14, and attending IU Bloomington; wife had said the original scoring cues seemed there, in 1962, he participated in the celebrated too serious for the movie. And so, with Lionel .