Customer Reviews

American Flyers [VHS]

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

American Flyers was originally released in the Theaters on August 16, 1985. Before or after no film has ever as realistically and effectively captured bike racing in such a manner as this film. It depicts the "Hell of the West" a fictitious bike race modeled after the Coors Classic held annually in Colorado. It even features a cameo by the legendary Eddie Merckx who is considered by many to be the greatest cyclist of all time. In addition to the cycling aspect, this film should appeal to every one since the story is of a long standing rivalry between two Brothers and a family history of Brain aneurisms which may now threaten the life of one of the Brothers. The brothers are played by Kevin Costner and David Grant. They decide to compete in the Hell of the West and in the process of training for the race as well as competing in the race itself forge a renewed bond that is very touching and heart warming. For Kevin Costner fans this is one of his best performances and surprisingly I have never heard him mention the film in any of his published interviews. John Badham skillfully directs the film and viewers will find themselves thinking about the film long afterwards. In addition the soundtrack is fantastic featuring music composed by Dave Grusin, and songs by the likes of Chris Isaak, and Credence Clearwater Revival. It is a truly wonderful film and will leave you very satisfied. For any true movie fan this is a must for your collection, and your friends will thank you when you lend it to them.

O.K. I'm biased. I grew up in Colorado and was very involved with the cycling world during the late 70's and early 80's. Watching this movie takes me right back to those times and I enjoy it. Many of the scenes, including the hotel scene with the TV broadcast of the Star Spangle Banner and blatant display of the KBPI banner at the beginning of the first leg of the race, tap right into things I remember only too well from my youth. (Not to mention the girl with the streak in her hair ... I had a similar one at that time myself ...) I'm also a Costner fan and feel that any Costner collection cannot be complete without this movie. That said ...

Yes, the movie is dated. Yes the movie is predictable. Yes, some of the acting is cheesey. And yes, it's an inspirational movie despite all that. I really enjoy this movie and manage to toss it into the VCR twice a year or so if for no other reason that I love to see the Colorado scenery go by during the race scenes and to hear the Star Spangled Banner .... Hey, they are playing our song!

This movie will inspire those who have competed with and against their brother. The fights and the competition between the brothers brings back good memories of how competitive my brother and I were. The dedication and effort put forth by the competitors also brings back memories of a better time and place. The scenery great -- how can Colorado not have great scenery ?

Don't look for this movie to have great meaning or fantastic acting - look for it to be just what it was meant to be, an inspirational movie.

I am an avid book reader and do not generally care to give up MY interpretation and imaginations for the "movie version". Yet, when I read some of the reviews for "American Flyers" (one of the movies I do enjoy), I felt compelled to respond. Kevin Costner is probably one of the few "Actor-Producers" that continually goes for the story and not for the glory. Even as early as "American Flyers", Kevin demonstrated his ability (and he was only an actor at the time)to take the cliche and transform it into joy, sorrow, love, and anger that was palpable. And, at the end, when the inevitable occurs, I find myself crying and smiling with everyone else. But I also think, "Wow, what a powerful performance to be able to evoke such emotions each and every time I see this movie!" Since "American Flyers", Kevin has continued to work "outside the box". If you think about it, most every movie is pretty predictable. What makes it great is that you want to watch it again!

At times sublime, at times laughably awful, this ever-so-'80s relic of American cycling's grass-roots days never fails to put a smile on my face.

This is the story of a type-A+ doctor/Olympic cycling team alternate (Kostner) and his unfocused-but-talented brother Danny and their somewhat wobbly voyage of male bonding, family catharsis and, of course, competitive cycling. We start with the annoyingly, eternally cowboy-hatted Danny getting a call from his estranged brother, a very skinny and huge-moustached Kostner (the pair in fact look far more like gay porn stars than athletes) informing him that he'll be visiting the family. We soon learn that their father has died of a cerebral hemorrhage and that each family member is bitter at the other for the way the final days were handled. Mom, worried that favorite son Danny may be next, has Kostner take Danny to his sports lab/university/hospital to check him out.

After a few more minutes of painful family pathos and the introduction of Rae Dawn Chong as Kostner's love interest, the focus soon turns to training for the Big Race, and '80 cliches start a-flowin'. To blaring, cheezy synth music, we see Danny overtrain to a horrifying degree at the sports lab to cheering Spandex-clad "athletes," the pair take goofy training rides (inexplicably spinning about a 140 cadence) replete with whooping and hollering, dog chases and Danny improbably pulling a mile-long wheelie while waving that freakin' hat, which he must have Velcroed to his head for the ride. Oh yeah, along the way they also pick up a beautiful hippie chick who, naturally, will soon become Danny's love interest/the film's gratuitous nudity.

The foursome finally get the team van to Colorado for the Big Race and there run into two of the most hilarious '80s stock characters ever: "The Cocky Bad Guy" in Cannibal and, of course, "The Russians." Who is more ridiculous is subjective. Cannibal rattles off some of the best bad one-liners in memory, charges photographers, and spends the most of the rest of his time either screaming or scowling. The lead Russian "cyclist" is a burly, furry giant in a hockey helmet, probably pushing about 290 pounds with 10 more in beard. About the only cliche' missing was a pre-race "wodka" chug and a diatribe against the evils of capitalism.

Mercifully, the film turns 180 degrees with the start of the race. For the next half-hour or so, we are treated to some of the most beautiful cycling footage ever. The remarkably well-done scenes of the racers duking it out in the red rocks of the mountains are simply exhilarating. It truly captures the essence of racing, the speed, the sprints, the pain, the fear, the flow--it kicks butt. The rest of the film, while as predictable as the sunrise, is still great fun.

Certainly, this film is not for everyone, and many will find it a truly painful experience. For me, though, the mix of hilarious '80s camp and incredible race footage make it a favorite.

This was one of those movies that I never intended to see as a kid. I was 13 at the time, and had seen the preview at the theater before watching Pee Wee's Big Adventure. I thought, "what a cheesy looking flick" and went about watching Pee Wee (ha ha, that's painting the kettle purple, or whatever they say). But what 80's flick was 'top of the line' besides Fast Times at Ridgmont High or Ghandi? Maybe ET, or Empire Strikes Back. OK, sorry about that, back to AF.

Anyways, being an HBO family, I got the opportunity to watch this movie, a several hundred times. What can I say. It's still cheesy, but brings about a family bonding. And honestly, there are families out there like this dysfunctional one. In fact, some are worse than the Sommers.

The movie brought into play the Soviet Boycott, a vegan follower resorting back to McD's, things going on with our nation. David and Marcus Sommers, racing for the last time against each other.....well, for the first also. And I'll never view the National Anthem the same after seeing Alexandra Paul getting naked for the romp with David. Totally unacceptable, yet so taboo and intriguing.

The soundtrack, unfortunately, is next to impossible to find. I have been looking for years, to no avail. So, I have to keep watching (which I will) the movie over and over.

If you enjoy cycling in any way, recreational or competitive, and enjoyed Hoosiers, then American Flyers is just what the doctor ordered. While the acting isn't Oscar quality, and the music is dated, this is still a feel good movie that will make you smile, and maybe even cry. The story is somewhat predictable, but that does not get in the way of the effectiveness of the movie or the emotion that it evokes. The bottom line: if you like to see fast-paced cycling action and great Colorado scenery, then buy this movie.

I've seen this movie so many times, I know this film word for word. As a movie, I would rate this film as average, or 3 stars. As a bicycle movie, I rate this film at 4 stars.

The story and the acting are not so great. It appears that in a lot of scenes that the actors were doing a screen test instead of making a movie. The typical screenwriting cliches are all there, and are what holds the movie together. A lot of the movie's logic doesn't hold up either. Why would Marcus, the doctor in the family test his younger brother David on an extremely strenuous treadmill marathon, knowing full well that he might die, and THEN run a CAT scan on him?

What is best about this movie is the music, and the beautiful Colorado scenery, before Colorado became one giant sprawl of a suburb. If you can enjoy this, then you can enjoy this movie.

Viewed: 11/04, 5/08
Rate: 7

5/08: After viewing American Flyers for the second time, I am raising its rating from `3' to `7'. I think this time, I was able to grasp American Flyers in a better light and see the film a little bit differently. Yeah, it's true that American Flyers suffers from moments of extreme silliness and can be thought of as a bad Mentos commercial. What I liked about the movie is the story and the bike scenes. Actually, I am a sucker for bicycle films, and American Flyers is no exception. I liked the scenes during the Hell of the West race, and I thought they were dramatic in a good way (except for the unrealistic shouldering between Muzzin and Sommers in the final part of the third stage). I get enough adrenaline rush of them. Kevin Costner sported a rare but sexy mustache for his character and plays his part well. John Badham did a nice job in playing the card of the true identified victim of brain aneurysm during American Flyers, and that made the film compelling in some ways. I was impressed with Rae Dawn Chong the way she changed the flat tire during the race; that was professional. It was nice to see Eddy Merckx in the film as many people do not realize that he is the Michael Jordan of cycling. When I saw the bike crashes during the races, they looked extremely real and not staged. The idea of a couple of cyclists stopping at McDonald's is unrealistic as far as dietary requirements of a trained athlete go. Speaking of McDonald's, it was almost constantly popped up during American Flyers. The cinematography, especially of Colorado, is a nice touch, and the thought of the cyclists riding over the road in high altitude while there is a good altitude difference on the sides is mind-blowing. All in all, American Flyers has its share of ups and downs but remains a satisfying, enjoyable experience since the positives outweighed the negatives.

By this time this movie is a classic with a very young Kevin Costner
playing the older brother who is a sports doctor.
The movie is all about sports cycle racing in the middle 80's
after the boycotted Russian Olympics.
A whole generation of Americans who had trained to peak their sports lives for 1980
were very disappointed and angry.
An hereditary brain disease has taken two boy's father and now wants to claim the oldest
brother, but he races one more time and wins the first leg.
His brother is left to fight out the last leg on his own...