It was the BFI’s Bicycle Film Festival last week and The Armstrong Lie is hitting the screens next month so it seems like a good time for a Jersey Pocket Podium for cycling films:
3rd spot: Breaking Away – Peter Yates – 1979.
Capturing the exotic appeal of Continental road racing (as seen through the eyes of a young American) Breaking Away warmly mixes the key teenage obsessions of idols, girls and friendships.
2nd spot: Belleville Rendezvous / The Triplets of Belleville – Sylvain Chomet – 2003.
Wonderfully eccentric in terms of plot and vision, Chomet’s animated extravaganza about a kidnapped Tour de France star remains burned on the retinas long after the film finishes.
1st spot: A Sunday in Hell. 1976. Jorgen Leth.
Merckx, Moser and De Vlaeminck do battle in the Paris-Roubaix Spring Classic but the pavé of Northern France is the real star of this exceptional documentary.
2 Comments
thejerseypocket
Chasing Legends would probably make the podium of a cycling documentaries only selection I reckon – ‘Death on The Mountain’ would squeeze it into 3rd spot though.
ragtimecyclist
Can i suggest an honorable mention for Chasing Legends – Mark Cavendish in full ‘brothers-in-arms’ mode.