| American Flyers | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | John Badham |
| Produced by | Paula Weinstein Gareth Wigan |
| Written by | Steve Tesich |
| Starring | Kevin Costner Rae Dawn Chong Alexandra Paul David Marshall Grant Janice Rule |
| Music by | Greg Mathieson Lee Ritenour |
| Cinematography | Donald Peterman |
| Editing by | Jeff Jones Frank Morriss Dallas Puett |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | August 16, 1985 |
| Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8.5 million |
| Box office | $1,420,355 |
American Flyers is a 1985 film starring Kevin Costner, David Marshall Grant, Rae Dawn Chong, Alexandra Paul and Janice Rule about bicycle racing.
It was directed by John Badham and written by Steve Tesich (who had previously won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the similarly themed 1979 movie Breaking Away).
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Sports physician Marcus (Costner) persuades his younger brother David (Grant) to come with him and train for a bicycle race across the Rocky Mountains, called "The Hell of the West". However, there is a history of cerebral aneurysm in their family (which killed their father).
The two brothers have gone in very different directions. Marcus, already alienated from their mother, is suffering from symptoms of a cerebral aneurysm, and the condition may now be affecting David as well.
The first half of the film focuses on the family's history and background of the plot. Realizing they may not have much time left, the two brothers, along with Marcus' girlfriend (Chong), embark on a cross country journey to the bicycle race in Colorado. Along the way, David picks up a beautiful, hippie hitchhiker (Paul). While training during the trip, the brothers have an impromptu bikes vs. horses race, and the group has run-ins with old cycling buddies.
The second half of the film focuses on the three stage race. Set in the Colorado Rockies with mountain and prairie backdrops, the brothers compete against the world's top cyclists on dangerous trails at break-neck speeds. Marcus, intending to hide his condition from his brother, eventually suffers an aneurysm and falls out of the race. David faces the dilemma: either to quit and look after his family, or continue and try to defy the odds and win the race. To do that, David, will have to conquer one of the toughest stages of the race, the "Tour of the Moon" at Colorado National Monument.
The 7-Eleven team that is featured in the movie was a real life team that competed in the Tour de France in the '80s. The team was later sponsored by Motorola. Much of the race action was filmed at the Coors Classic, a now-defunct stage race that was one of the world's leading cycling events at the time of the film. Two stages in the film's featured race, the Morgul-Bismarck circuit race in Boulder and the "Tour of the Moon" at Colorado National Monument, were legendary Coors Classic stages.
Cyclist Eddy Merckx makes a brief appearance, starting stage 1. Jennifer Grey made an appearance as a blind date, made hysterical by the brothers' arguing. John Amos has a supporting role running a training facility, and Robert Townsend has a minor role as a cyclist.
ShaverSport, the company that sponsors Marcus and David in The Hell of the West, is an actual company. It was formed in 1980 by competitive cyclist Bob Shaver with its mission being to produce quality cycling wear. ShaverSport was asked by Warner Brothers to design the clothing for the film. To this day, the company exists and continues to produce not only cycling gear, but ShaverSport and Hell of the West replica jerseys that are featured in the film.[1]
The film was released prior to Costner becoming a Hollywood superstar. It had a limited release on 16 August 1985 and grossed $1.4 million in the US.[2]
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