American Flyer - movie

Has anyone here seen the movie American Flyer? Its a movie about a BIKE RACE
like the TdF called Hell something. in 3 stages on mountain passes in Colorado.

we watched it the night the TdF finished. It was done in what, 1983?
I wonder if anyone here knows the history of it. It seems to allude to some
facts, like the major contender for the race in the movie had the same nickname Cannibal
as the real guy Eddy Merckx.
Apparently it is a cult favorite around here with bikers, many have seen it multiple times.

I think the bike race in American Flyers was based on the Coors Classic (sadly no longer part of the American racing season). The movie is from 1985 and stars Kevin Costner. It is fictional, but if I remember correctly some pro cyclists of the time were in the race scenes as extras and the team that they placed their fictional rider on was a real pro team at the time (7-11). You are also correct in that they gave one of the characters Eddy's nickname.

for more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088707/

this movie is very much a cult classic among cyclists much like Breaking Away, which though also fictional has the great Little 500 featured in it.

Has anyone seen that cartoon movie about the Tour rider who gets kidnapped? I think it came out two years ago or so... does anyone know what I'm talking about? There were two sisters involved somehow, and the grandmother and her dog... if someone remembers the name (and would like to give me a review of the film), I would appreciate it! I haven't seen it, but would like to track it down!

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Originally Posted by Haudlady

Has anyone seen that cartoon movie about the Tour rider who gets kidnapped? I think it came out two years ago or so... does anyone know what I'm talking about? There were two sisters involved somehow, and the grandmother and her dog... if someone remembers the name (and would like to give me a review of the film), I would appreciate it! I haven't seen it, but would like to track it down!

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Hey! The Triplets of Belleville!

I saw this movie when it came out, it was rather quirky and amusing.

www.sonyclassics.com/triplets

Triplettes of Belville. (I'm almost positive I spelled that wrong.)

I really liked the movie, but I'm a sucker for that sort of film. It's a well-done cartoon, with minimal dialogue. The little details are wonderful. (Little boy's bicycle wallpaper, bugs in the teeth of the accordian player, etc.)

The music is cool, too.

I want to remember these 2 for when the weather gets cold. Hopefully by then I will either have a spinning bike or a trainer. :D

I have the movie American Flyer! My SO gave it to me for Christmas last year. It's very cool, and a must-see imho. I saw The Tripletts in the video store the other day, and think I'm going to buy it too...:rolleyes:

I LOVE Les Triplettes de Belleville, and I agree that it is quite quirky! But tons of fun to watch. Even if you get the French (original) version, it doesn't matter...I think there might be 3 words of dialogue in the whole thing.

I also LOVE Breaking Away. I try to catch it on cable at least once a year. It doesn't hurt that I did my graduate work at IU (Bloomington) where it was filmed. It has a very, very young Dennis Quaid in it. Our (DH & I) most-quoted movie line is from BA: "RE-fund!?!"

Will have to try American Flyers.

On the non-fiction side, I highly recommend Hell on Wheels, a documentary-style look at the Tour de France that focuses on Erik Zabel. If you don't already like this guy, you will if you watch this. And I loved the T-Mobile soigneur, he's such a cute man!

I have seen American Flyers about 10 times.... my son watched it incessently when he was racing. It's good, but sad.....

Yes, it is a great movie, and like others have said, I too, think that it was based on the Coors Classic. As for mentioning Eddie M, he actually was in the movie... he was used to shoot the starters pistol at the beginning of the race. It's definitely a good nasty weather day movie... or one that I watch on the trainer in the winter.... along with Breaking Away.