Product Description

Sports physician Marcus persuades his unstable brother David to come with him and train for a bicycle race across the Rocky Mountains. He doesn't tell him that he has a cerebral tumor. While David powerfully heads for the victory, Marcus has to realize that the contest is now beyond his capabilities. / Features great views of the Rockies and an insight in the tactics of bicycle races.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9335 in DVD
• Brand: Team Marketing
• Released on: 1999-12-21
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, HiFi Sound, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 113 minutes

Amazon.com
American Flyers could roughly be referred to as a cross between Breaking Away (also written by Steve Tesich) and Brian's Song. Sports physician Marcus (Kevin Costner, sporting a ludicrously big mustache) coaxes his flaky brother David (David Marshall Grant) into doing something with his life and training for a grueling bike race in the Colorado Rockies. The scenario is complicated, though, by family frictions and the fact that the brothers' dad died of a cerebral aneurysm that has been handed down to one of the brothers. The two train rigorously for the big event (part of their routine involves outrunning an angry pit bull every day), then pack the van and head West. Marcus's girlfriend is also the ex-wife of his main rival in the race circuit, providing a bit more intrigue. Veteran action director John Badham (Saturday Night Fever, War Games) excels during the bike-race segments, capturing the breathtaking scenery and the demanding nature of the event nicely. The film is somewhat hobbled, though, by the screenplay and character development; the film plays a bit too much to the sports-movie cliché and the dysfunctional-family story seems like a lengthy prologue to the race. Also, try not to be too bothered by the annoyingly dated soundtrack, and this should be a fairly entertaining, unpretentious little film. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews

nastalgic
I saw this film years ago, The story line is a good old fashioned battle against all odds to victory. Good movie.

Good but not the best
This movie was recommended to me on Flixter, because I liked Breaking Away (Widescreen Edition). I really liked the movie (it stars a younger Kevin Costner) and has a lot of cool biking scenes (Kevin Costner trueing a wheel). However, the movie is a little cheesy and predictable. If you're looking for a great movie, I'd pass this one up. If you're looking for a great biking movie, American Flyers is good, but Breaking Away is great.

Racing Scenes
I enjoyed this movie more than I did Breaking Away simply because it had more racing scenes. I also enjoy true stories but the bike action was the best part!