Themes: Dancer's Life, Unlikely Friendships, Success is the Best Revenge
Main Cast: Lucinda Dickey, Adolpho "Shabba Doo" Quinones, Michael Chambers, Ben Lokey, Christopher McDonald
Release Year: 1984
Country: US
Run Time: 87 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
The first major breakdancing film, Breakin' stars Lucinda Dickey as a dancing student who dislikes the hidebound regimen of her demanding teacher. She breaks free from terpischorean tradition when she befriends a bunch of street kids devoted to breakdancing. Within a year of its release, Breakin' spawned a sequel, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Reportedly shot and released within one month, the original Breakin' was a monster at the box office and an entertaining, if not unabashedly formulaic flick that helped break open the street culture to the masses in 1984. Despite the male leads having no acting experience (both were legends on the circuit), the flick doesn't sink under this weight, but flies with the energy that they throw on the screen; besides, the main focus is the dancing and that's where the flick truly delivers. Additional nods go out to Ice-T flexing his early Sugarhill Gang-style rap muscles. Speaking of muscles, check out none other than the "Muscles-from-Brussels," Jean-Claude Van Damme in his very first on-screen appearance during the beach dance-off clip in the beginning (he's the extra in the unitard and the goofy grin). The end credits promise a sequel, which was indeed rolled out the same year, just seven months later, with one of the most infamously mocked titles in movie history -- Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Phineas Newborn III - Adam; Peter Bromilow - Judge; Lisa Freeman - Waitress; Ice-T - Rap Talker; Ric Mancini - Joe the Cook; Shabba-Doo - Ozone; Bea Silvern - Jennifer, Sweet; Eleanor Zee - Judge; Eb Lottimer - Judge's Assistant; Dalton Cathey - Producer; Lyla Graham - Caroline Divine
Credit
Jaime Rogers - Choreography, Dana Lyman - Costume Designer, Joel Silberg - Director, Larry Bock - Editor, Mark Helfrich - Editor, Gib Jaffe - Editor, Yoram Globus - Executive Producer, Menahem Golan - Executive Producer, Michael Boyd - Composer (Music Score), Gary S. Remal - Composer (Music Score), Steve Nelson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ivo Cristante - Production Designer, Hanania Baer - Cinematographer, Yoram Globus - Producer, Menahem Golan - Producer, Allen de Bevoise - Producer, Julie Kaye Towery - Set Designer, Steve Nelson - Sound/Sound Designer, Allen de Bevoise - Screen Story, Charles Parker - Screen Story, Allen de Bevoise - Screenwriter, Charles Parker - Screenwriter
Breakin', released as Breakdance: The Movie in some countries, is a 1984 breakdancing-themed film. It was directed by Joel Silberg. The film setting was inspired by a German documentary entitled Breakin' and Enterin set in the Los Angeles multi-racial hip hop club Radiotron, based out of Macarthur Park in Los Angeles. Many of the artists and dancers, including Ice-T (who makes his movie debut as a club MC) and Boogaloo Shrimp went straight from Breakin' and Enterin' to star in Breakin'. Ice-T has stated that he considers the film and his own performance in it to be "wack".[1]
The story is a retelling of the 1961 film West Side Story[citation needed]. Breakin' reverses the genders of the white/Puerto Rican couple. Although Kelly and Ozone are clearly a romantic couple in the sequel, and although they peck briefly in the first film (during the song "99 1/2 Won't Do"), the love scene in which they become a couple has been cut, and now exists only as a glimpse during the end credits.
Kelly, a struggling young jazz dancer (Lucinda Dickey) meets up with two break dancers, Ozone (Adolfo Quinones) and Turbo (Michael Chambers), who have a bitter rivalry with another crew, Electro Rock, consisting of poppers Popin' Pete (Timothy Solomon), Popin Taco (Bruno Falcon) and Lollipop (Ana 'Lollipop' Sánchez). They also struggle to overcome scorn from Kelly's dance instructor, Franco, who disapproves of her hybrid dance style, and affiliation with street dancers. Kelly soon becomes the sensation of the street crowds. Through it all the audience is treated to a variety of breakthrough performances, including Turbo's "Broom Scene" and Taco's unique popping solos during the dance battles at the Radiotron nightclub. Many hit songs are featured, including "There's No Stoppin' Us" is by Ollie & Jerry and "Tour de France" by Kraftwerk.
Richie Haglund as Background Break Dancer (as Lil "R")
Lisa Freeman as Waitress
Soundtrack
The soundtrack of the film was released by Mercury Records in 1984. The album contains the first performance on an album of rapper Ice-T.[2] (He had released some 12" singles previously.)
