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: #2585 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, 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

American Flyers is one of Kevin Costners best kept secrets!
American Flyers was originally released in the Theaters on August 16, 1985. Before or after no film has ever as realistically and effectively captured bike racing in such a manner as this film. It depicts the "Hell of the West" a fictitious bike race modeled after the Coors Classic held annually in Colorado. It even features a cameo by the legendary Eddie Merckx who is considered by many to be the greatest cyclist of all time. In addition to the cycling aspect, this film should appeal to every one since the story is of a long standing rivalry between two Brothers and a family history of Brain aneurisms which may now threaten the life of one of the Brothers. The brothers are played by Kevin Costner and David Grant. They decide to compete in the Hell of the West and in the process of training for the race as well as competing in the race itself forge a renewed bond that is very touching and heart warming. For Kevin Costner fans this is one of his best performances and surprisingly I have never heard him mention the film in any of his published interviews. John Badham skillfully directs the film and viewers will find themselves thinking about the film long afterwards. In addition the soundtrack is fantastic featuring music composed by Dave Grusin, and songs by the likes of Chris Isaak, and Credence Clearwater Revival. It is a truly wonderful film and will leave you very satisfied. For any true movie fan this is a must for your collection, and your friends will thank you when you lend it to them.

GREAT movie
This movie will inspire those who have competed with and against their brother. The fights and the competition between the brothers brings back good memories of how competitive my brother and I were. The dedication and effort put forth by the competitors also brings back memories of a better time and place. The scenery great -- how can Colorado not have great scenery ?

Don't look for this movie to have great meaning or fantastic acting - look for it to be just what it was meant to be, an inspirational movie.

American Flyer...
O.K. I'm biased. I grew up in Colorado and was very involved with the cycling world during the late 70's and early 80's. Watching this movie takes me right back to those times and I enjoy it. Many of the scenes, including the hotel scene with the TV broadcast of the Star Spangle Banner and blatant display of the KBPI banner at the beginning of the first leg of the race, tap right into things I remember only too well from my youth. (Not to mention the girl with the streak in her hair ... I had a similar one at that time myself ...) I'm also a Costner fan and feel that any Costner collection cannot be complete without this movie. That said ...

Yes, the movie is dated. Yes the movie is predictable. Yes, some of the acting is cheesey. And yes, it's an inspirational movie despite all that. I really enjoy this movie and manage to toss it into the VCR twice a year or so if for no other reason that I love to see the Colorado scenery go by during the race scenes and to hear the Star Spangled Banner .... Hey, they are playing our song!