Breakin' | |
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Directed by | Joel Silberg |
Screenplay by |
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Story by |
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Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Hanania Baer |
Edited by |
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Music by |
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Production companies | |
Distributed by | MGM/UA Entertainment Company |
Release date |
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Running time | 87 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.2 million [2] |
Box office | $38.7 million [2] [3] |
Breakin' (also known as Breakdance in the United Kingdom and Break Street '84 in other regions [4] ) is a 1983 American breakdancing-themed musical film directed by Joel Silberg and written by Charles Parker and Allen DeBevoise based on a story by Parker, DeBevoise and Gerald Scaife.
The film's setting was inspired by a 1983 documentary titled Breakin' 'n' Enterin', set in the multi-racial hip hop club Radio-Tron, based out of MacArthur Park in Los Angeles. [5] Many of the artists and dancers from said documentary, including Ice-T (who makes his film debut as a club MC), and Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers, went straight from Breakin' 'n' Enterin' to star in Breakin'.
The film's soundtrack featured the hits "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" by Ollie & Jerry, "Freakshow on the Dance Floor" by The Bar-Kays and the UK Top 20 hit "Body Work" by Hot Streak. [6] [7]
Breakin' was one of the final Cannon film productions released by MGM/UA. After release, MGM and Cannon dissolved their distribution deal, reportedly over the potentially X-rated content in John Derek's film Bolero and MGM's then-policy of not theatrically releasing X-rated material, forcing Cannon to become an in-house distribution company once again. Because of this, Breakin' is considered to be the final financially profitable film released by Cannon.
Breakin' was released to theaters on May 4, 1984, and despite receiving negative reviews from critics, it was a box office success. A theatrical sequel entitled Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo was released later in the same year.
Protagonist Kelly "Special K" Bennett is a young dancer training under instructor Franco in Venice, California. Through her friend Adam, Kelly meets two street dancers, Ozone and Turbo on the boardwalk at Venice Beach. Kelly is enamored with their dancing, and all three become friends. This leads to their becoming their own dance troupe.
Franco tells Kelly that breakdancing is low-class and not a real art. He is disrespectful to Ozone and Turbo, and makes inappropriate advances on Kelly. She quits training with Franco. Later, Kelly attends a dance audition and is shut down by harsh directors.
Kelly then wanders to a breakdancing event where she finds Ozone and Turbo in the midst of a dance battle that they eventually lose against rivals "Electro Rock." Adam convinces Ozone and Turbo to teach Kelly how to breakdance. After training for a while, the three defeat Electro Rock. Kelly convinces the troupe to enroll in a dance competition. Kelly's agent friend, James, sees what the group can do and agrees to back them.
The competition requirements are traditional, socially respected styles of dance. The troupe walks before the judges in tuxedos, top hats and white gloves to give the impression of traditional dancers. Just before the audition starts, they rip off the sleeves of their shirts and show their true style. The judges are initially shocked and disapproving, yet within two minutes of their audition, the judges recognize the troupe's talent and allow them to continue. The troupe earns a standing ovation from the judges and win the competition. The troupe's popularity skyrockets, and all three members continue dancing professionally and in the community. [8]
In a mid-credits scene, Special K, Ozone, and Turbo meet James some time after the competition, who informs them about a new phenomenon known as "the electric boogaloo."
According to the 2014 documentary Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films , Menahem Golan of Cannon Films was inspired to create this film after his daughter saw a breakdancer perform in Venice Beach, California. Golan pressured the production crew to complete the film before Orion Pictures released their breakdancing film Beat Street . Interesting trivia: Although the movie is released for home entertainment it is always only in the full screen version missing the full effect of the many dance moves and beach scenes of the now standard 16:9.
Erik Abbey was the choreographer for the breakdancing scenes.
The soundtrack of the film was released by Polydor Records in 1984. [10] The album contains the first performance on an album by rapper Ice-T (who had previously released some 12" singles), produced by DJ Chris "The Glove" Taylor & David Storrs. [11]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
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1. | "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" | Ollie E. Brown, Jerry Knight | Ollie & Jerry | 4:34 |
2. | "Freakshow on the Dance Floor" | The Bar-Kays, Allen A. Jones | The Bar-Kays | 4:42 |
3. | "Body Work" | Curtis Hudson | Hot Streak | 4:22 |
4. | "99 ½" | John Fottman, Maxi Anderson | Carol Lynn Townes | 4:02 |
5. | "Showdown" | Ollie E. Brown, Joe Curiale | Ollie & Jerry | 3:57 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
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1. | "Heart of the Beat" | Dan Hartman, Charlie Midnight | 3V | 4:18 |
2. | "Street People" | Ollie E. Brown, Jerry Knight | Fire Fox | 3:23 |
3. | "Cut It" | Paul Fishman | Re-Flex | 3:11 |
4. | "Ain't Nobody" | Hawk Wolinski | Rufus and Chaka Khan | 4:45 |
5. | "Reckless" (Rap by Ice-T) | Chris "The Glove" Taylor, David Storrs | Chris "The Glove" Taylor & David Storrs | 3:57 |
Despite not being included on the official soundtrack, the film also features the previously released songs "Boogie Down" by Al Jarreau, "Tour de France" by Kraftwerk, "Beat Box" by Art of Noise and "Tibetan Jam" by Chris "The Glove" Taylor.
Weekly charts
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Breakin' opened in 1,069 venues on May 4, 1984 and outgrossed Sixteen Candles , which had more screens (1,240). The film ranked number one in the box office, earning $6,047,686. [31] By the end of its run, the film grossed $38,682,707 in the domestic box office, [3] making it the eighteenth top-grossing film of 1984. [32]
Roger Ebert, who reviewed the film while it was in theatres, gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4, stating that the movie was "a stiff and awkward story, interrupted by dance sequences of astonishing grace and power." [8] Ebert praised the dancing and the chemistry of the stars but slammed the movie's screenplay and supporting characters.
Breakin' currently holds a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on nine reviews. [33]
On August 5, 2003, MGM Home Entertainment released Breakin' on DVD. On April 21, 2015, Shout! Factory released Breakin', along with its sequel, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, as a double feature Blu-ray.
Several months before the film's release, Shabba Doo, Boogaloo Shrimp, Pop n' Taco, Popin' Pete, DJ Chris "The Glove" Taylor and Lollipop were all featured in the music video for Chaka Khan's remake of the 1979 Prince song "I Feel for You".
Ice-T, who had a small role in both Breakin' and its sequel Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo and was featured on the soundtrack to both films (helping introduce his music to a worldwide audience), was quoted as saying he considers the film and his own performance in it to be "wack". [34]
Breakin' and its sequel have had a resurgence in popular media as people have begun to remember, mock, and praise the film over 20 years later, with the sequel's subtitle in particular becoming a snowclone pejorative nickname to denote an archetypal sequel. [35] [36]
In 2019, the documentary Boogaloo Shrimp by Taylor Golonka was released on Amazon Prime. It focuses on the life of Michael Chambers, who played Turbo in Breakin'. [37]
Beat Street is a 1984 American dance drama film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to various elements of early hip hop culture, including breakdancing, DJing and graffiti.
Some films feature recognizable dance forms, demonstrating them, shedding light on their origin, or being the base of a plot.
Rappin' is a 1985 American film directed by Joel Silberg, written by Adam Friedman and Robert J. Litz, produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is a sequel to Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, and is also known as Breakdance 3. Although it features Ice-T, Rappin' has a plot unconnected to the previous two films and features different lead characters and locations. It is also considered to be a companion piece to the documentary Breakin' 'n' Enterin'.
"I Feel for You" is a song written by American musician Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album. The most successful and best-known version was recorded by R&B singer Chaka Khan and appeared on her 1984 album of the same name. It became the recipient of two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for Khan.
Ollie & Jerry was an American dance-pop duo active in the 1980s, consisting of drummer Ollie E. Brown and R&B singer/bassist Jerry Knight.
Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers is an American dancer and actor, known for his role as "Turbo" in the 1984 film Breakin' and its sequel, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, in which he is credited as "Boogaloo Shrimp". Chambers, along with his Breakin' series co-star Adolfo "Shabba Doo" Quiñones and other dancers from the films, were prominently featured in the music videos for Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" (1983) and Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You" (1984).
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo is a 1984 American dance musical film directed by Sam Firstenberg. It is a sequel to the 1984 breakdancing film Breakin'. Electric Boogaloo was released seven months after its predecessor by TriStar Pictures. In some international locations the film was released under the title Breakdance 2: Electric Boogaloo. Another sequel, Rappin' was made but had an unconnected plot and different lead characters – only Ice-T features in all three films.
Lucinda Dickey is an American former dancer and actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the film Breakin' (1984) and its sequel Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984).
AdolfoQuiñones, known professionally as Shabba Doo, was an American actor, break dancer, and choreographer. Of African American and Puerto Rican descent, Quiñones was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. In the 1970s his family moved to Los Angeles, where he became interested in dancing and began performing in nightclubs. He adopted the pseudonym Shabba Doo and joined the dance group The Lockers, who were responsible for popularizing the locking style of street dance.
Raydio is an American funk and R&B vocal group formed in 1977 by Ray Parker Jr., with Vincent Bonham, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael. In 1978 Charles Julian Fearing and Larry “Fatback” Tolbert joined the band, along with Darren Carmichael.
Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Puerto Ricans in the Bronx.
L'Trimm was a Miami bass hip-hop duo composed of Bunny D and Lady Tigra. Originally from Coconut Grove, Florida, they recorded three albums for Atlantic Records: Grab It! in 1988, Drop That Bottom in 1989, and Groovy in 1991.
The System was an American synth-pop duo that debuted in the 1980s, composed of vocalist-guitarist Mic Murphy and seasoned session keyboardist David Frank. The band was founded in 1982 in New York and backed up by Paul Pesco on electric guitar and Kris Khellow on keyboards and synthesizers. The group was sometimes referred to as being "emotio-electro" because of its hi-tech, synthesizer-driven sound, married with passionate vocals and sensitive lyrics.
Carol Lynn Townes is an American soul singer from Warrenton, North Carolina.
The history of hip-hop dances encompasses the people and events since the late 1960s that have contributed to the development of early hip-hop dance styles, such as uprock, breaking, locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping. African Americans created uprock and breaking in New York City. African Americans in California created locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping—collectively referred to as the funk styles. All of these dance styles are different stylistically. They share common ground in their street origins and in their improvisational nature of hip hop.
Ollie E. Brown is an American drummer, percussionist, record producer, and high school basketball coach. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Brown was also half of the American dance-pop duo Ollie & Jerry, which had a Top 10 hit with "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" in 1984.
"Electric Boogaloo" is a dance-pop song by American music duo Ollie & Jerry. Released in late 1984 as the lead single from the soundtrack to the film Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, the song reached number 45 on the R&B chart.
Electric boogaloo may refer to:
"Breakdance" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder, Bunny Hull, and the song's performer, Irene Cara. Moroder's obsession with the dance hit "Rockit" by Herbie Hancock fueled his composition of the music, and Cara was inspired by the street performers she saw growing up in the South Bronx to write lyrics about what was then called breakdancing. Released in March 1984, it was the third single that originated on her What a Feelin' LP and her first to make the top ten in the US since the album's title track went to number one almost a year earlier. "Breakdance" also charted in several other countries and had a dance remix that was also well received.
Joel Silberg was a film, television and stage director and screenwriter in Israel and the United States. He made films in Israel including so-called Bourekas films. He then directed films in the U.S. during the 1980s, including Breakin' and Lambada. Both have been described as exploitation films. In 2008 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Israel Film Academy.