Breakin'

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Breakin'
Breakin' movie poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joel Silberg
Screenplay by
  • Charles Parker
  • Allen DeBevoise
Story by
  • Charles Parker
  • Allen DeBevoise
  • Gerald Scaife
Produced by
  • Allen DeBevoise
  • David Zito
Starring
Cinematography Hanania Baer
Edited by
  • Larry Bock
  • Gib Jaffe
  • Vincent Sklena
Music by
  • Michael Boyd
  • Gary Remal
Production
companies
Distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Company
Release date
  • May 4, 1984 (1984-05-04)
Running time
87 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
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 1984 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.

Contents

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.

Plot

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."

Cast

Production

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.

Soundtrack

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]

Track listing

[12]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
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. JonesThe Bar-Kays4:42
3."Body Work"Curtis HudsonHot Streak4:22
4."99 ½"John Fottman, Maxi Anderson Carol Lynn Townes 4:02
5."Showdown"Ollie E. Brown, Joe CurialeOllie & Jerry3:57
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Heart of the Beat" Dan Hartman, Charlie Midnight 3V4:18
2."Street People"Ollie E. Brown, Jerry KnightFire Fox3:23
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 StorrsChris "The Glove" Taylor & David Storrs3:57

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.

Release

Box office

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]

Critical reception

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]

Home media

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 creative talents of Michael Chambers, who played Turbo in Breakin'. According to filmmaker Taylor Golonka, "Michael Chambers will go down in history as being one of the iconic innovators of the b-boy and breakdancing culture." [37]

Related Research Articles

<i>Beat Street</i> 1984 American drama dance film

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.

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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'.

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<i>Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo</i> 1984 film by Sam Firstenberg

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.

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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 took a liking to dancing and started to perform in clubs. At the time breakdancing was growing in popularity and started to compete. He adopted the pseudonym Shabba Doo and joined the dance group The Lockers, who were responsible for popularizing the locking style of street dance.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tour de France (song)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Silberg</span>

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References

  1. ↑ "BREAKDANCE (PG)". British Board of Film Classification . May 4, 1984. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Andrew Yule, Hollywood a Go-Go: The True Story of the Cannon Film Empire, Sphere Books, 1987 p47
  3. 1 2 "Breakin' (1984)". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database . Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  4. ↑ Silberg, Joel (April 6, 2009), Breakdance - The Movie, Second Sight Films Ltd., retrieved October 28, 2017
  5. ↑ "Breakin' N Enterin' Documentary (Video)". Ambrosia For Heads. August 10, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  6. ↑ "BBC Radio 2 - Pick of the Pops, 1983".
  7. ↑ "HOT STREAK | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com .
  8. 1 2 Ebert, Roger. "Breakin' Movie Review & Film Summary (1984) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Jean-Claude van Damme". The A.V. Club . Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  10. ↑ Breakin', Get On Down, November 22, 2011, retrieved October 28, 2017
  11. ↑ "Breakin'". Allmusic.
  12. ↑ "Breakin' - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1984, 72 - PRC, Richmond Pressing, Vinyl)". Discogs . 1984.
  13. ↑ Kent 1993, p. 283.
  14. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – Breakin'" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6802". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack – Breakdance" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  17. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Eurotipsheet . Vol. 1, no. 16/17. July 23, 1984. p. 12. OCLC   29800226 – via World Radio History.See last week column.
  18. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
  19. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack – Breakin'" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Charts.nz – Soundtrack – Breakdance". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Soundtrack – Breakdance". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack – Breakin'". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  26. ↑ Kent 1993, p. 436.
  27. ↑ "Top 100 Albums (January 3–December 29, 1984)" (PDF). Music Week . January 26, 1985. p. 42. ISSN   0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  28. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1984". Billboard. December 31, 1984. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Talent Almanac 1985 – Top Pop Album Soundtracks/Original Cast". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. TA-20. ISSN   0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  30. ↑ "Talent Almanac 1985 – Top Black Albums". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. TA-22. ISSN   0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  31. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for May 4-6, 1984". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database. May 7, 1984. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  32. ↑ "1984 Yearly Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Breakin'". Rotten Tomatoes .
  34. ↑ Ice T; Sigmund, Heidi (1994). The Ice Opinion . New York: St. Martin's Press. p.  96. ISBN   0-312-10486-3.
  35. ↑ "Beyond Boogaloo: The Weird, Wild and Wonderful World of Cannon's 'Breakin' Movies". Esquire. May 29, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  36. ↑ Patches, Matt (December 22, 2014). "How 'Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo' Became a Movie and Then a Meme". Grantland. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  37. ↑ "About – Boogaloo Shrimp Documentary" . Retrieved March 26, 2019.

Bibliography

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