Point Break (1991)

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Writers (WGA):

Rick King (story) &
W. Peter Iliff (story) ...

Release Date:

12 July 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Sport | Thriller

Tagline:

100% Pure Adrenaline.

Plot:

An FBI agent goes undercover to catch a gang of bank robbers who may be surfers.

Plot Keywords:

Surfer | Undercover | FBI | Mask | Beach

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Patrick Swayze	...	Bodhi
Keanu Reeves	...	Johnny Utah
Gary Busey	...	Pappas
Lori Petty	...	Tyler
John C. McGinley	...	Ben Harp (also as John McGinley)
James LeGros	...	Roach (as James Le Gros)
John Philbin	...	Nathanial
Bojesse Christopher	...	Grommet
Julian Reyes	...	Alvarez
Daniel Beer	...	Babbit
Chris Pedersen	...	Bunker
Vincent Klyn	...	Warchild
Anthony Kiedis	...	Tone
Dave Olson	...	Archbold
Lee Tergesen	...	Rosie

Also Known As:

Johnny Utah (USA) (original script title)
Riders on the Storm (USA) (working title)
Gefährliche Brandung (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Caçadores de Emoção (Brazil) [pt]
Dödens utmanare (Sweden) [sv]
Extrême limite (Canada: French title) (TV title) [fr]
Le llaman Bodhi (Spain) [es]
Murdepunkt (Estonia) [et]
Myrskyn ratsastajat (Finland) [fi]
Na fali (Poland) [pl]
Peklenski val (Slovenia) [sl]
Point Break (Sweden) [sv]
Point Break - Extrême limite (France) [fr]
Point break, Punto di rottura (Italy) [it]
Punto de quiebra (Uruguay) [es]
Punto límite (Argentina) [es]
Ruptura Explosiva (Portugal) [pt]
Stin kopsi tou kymatos (Greece) [el]
Tacka prekida (Serbia) [sr]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

USA:R (Violence) (Adult language) | Iceland:16 | Denmark:15 | Canada:18 | Italy:VM14 | Ireland:18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (original rating) (cut) | UK:18 (video rating) (uncut) (1992) | USA:R | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Beryl Street & N. Catalina Avenue, Redondo Beach, California, USA

Company:

JVC Entertainment Networks

Trivia:

Tyler explains to Johnny Utah that Patrick Swayze's character is named Bodhi, the Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva is a term in the Buddhist religion meaning an enlightened being who, out of compassion, forgoes nirvana in order to save others. Bodhi means "wakefulness".

Goofs:

Continuity: Gun switches from Johnny's left hand to right after jumping on Bodhi's back.

Quotes:

Johnny Utah: Bohdi! This is your wakeup call I AM AN F... B... I AGENT!
Bodhi: I know, isn't it wild!

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

Hundreds of Tears

The film for an adrenaline generation

Thirteen years on it sounds a little trite - an FBI agent examines his inner self whilst trying to bring down a gang of surfer bank robbers by infiltrating their scene. But dude, how Point Break pulled this off!

In what can now safely be regarded as one of the more generation-defining cinematic moments of the nineties, Point Break serves as not just a credible well-paced action thriller spectacle, but also as a voice for advocates of the adrenalin rush. The movie's sleeper popularity at the time would no doubt have helped issue in a new generation of 'X' sports for a new generation, as hungry sponsors leapt at a new market.

Kathryn Bigelow takes some key pointers from then hubby James Cameron and paces the movie brilliantly. There are many key moments of unique action - that chute-less jump from 4,000 feet being the highlight - that filled the trailer, but it is the cumulative effect of bringing these moments together that adds to the picture. For so many films the denouement is a gross failure but Bigelow controls the films peaks and troughs expertly and the ending is genuinely well handled, something that appears to be a real struggle for Hollywood today.

In what will go down as Patrick Swayze's finest moment on film, he plays the adrenalin guru Bodhi with glaze-eyed and silver tongued expertise, and manages to pull off the very difficult assignment of being both sane and insane simultaneously with accomplishment.

You can almost feel pulled by Bodhi's enthusiasm for a sensation 'as close as you get to God', and as a result can excuse the decade for being labeled that of the 'slacker' generation. The nineties weren't about slacking, just looking for a different kind of high.