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Across the Tracks

 

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Across the Tracks



 
 
Across the Tracks is a 1991 American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 independent
Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a film that is produced outside of the Hollywood studio system, a series of oligopolistic practices by several major film studios which controlled the production, distribution, and exhibition of films in the United States from the early 1920s through 1950s....
 athletics
Athletics (track and field)

Track and field athletics, commonly known as athletics or track and field, is a collection of sports events that involve running, throwing and jumping....
 film drama directed and written by Sandy Tung.

cross the Tracks is the story of two brothers who have gone very different ways in their past, and who now must learn to deal with each other again. Joe (Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt

William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. He has been cited as one of the world's most attractive men and his off-screen life is widely reported....
) is the older of the two, and is a good student and runner set on winning a track scholarship to Stanford University
Stanford University

Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private university research university located in Stanford, California, California, United States....
. Billy (Rick Schroder
Rick Schroder

Richard Bartlett ?Ricky? Schroder, Jr. is an United Statesn Golden Globe Award-winning actor.He debuted in the 1979 hit film The Champ, going on to become a child star on the sitcom Silver Spoons....
), on the other hand, is a delinquent involved in drugs and crime
Crime

Societies define Crime as the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some Government or force may ultimately prescribe a punishment.The word crime originates from the Latin crimen , from the Latin root cerno and Greek ????? = "I judge"....
, and as the movie begins, has just been released from reform school after serving much time for a failed car theft attempt.






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Encyclopedia


Across the Tracks is a 1991 American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 independent
Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a film that is produced outside of the Hollywood studio system, a series of oligopolistic practices by several major film studios which controlled the production, distribution, and exhibition of films in the United States from the early 1920s through 1950s....
 athletics
Athletics (track and field)

Track and field athletics, commonly known as athletics or track and field, is a collection of sports events that involve running, throwing and jumping....
 film drama directed and written by Sandy Tung.

Plot

Across the Tracks is the story of two brothers who have gone very different ways in their past, and who now must learn to deal with each other again. Joe (Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt

William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. He has been cited as one of the world's most attractive men and his off-screen life is widely reported....
) is the older of the two, and is a good student and runner set on winning a track scholarship to Stanford University
Stanford University

Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private university research university located in Stanford, California, California, United States....
. Billy (Rick Schroder
Rick Schroder

Richard Bartlett ?Ricky? Schroder, Jr. is an United Statesn Golden Globe Award-winning actor.He debuted in the 1979 hit film The Champ, going on to become a child star on the sitcom Silver Spoons....
), on the other hand, is a delinquent involved in drugs and crime
Crime

Societies define Crime as the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some Government or force may ultimately prescribe a punishment.The word crime originates from the Latin crimen , from the Latin root cerno and Greek ????? = "I judge"....
, and as the movie begins, has just been released from reform school after serving much time for a failed car theft attempt. While Billy tries to make amends for his past life, it isn't an easy task. Joe still holds a lot of resentment for what Billy has put their widowed mother through, and feels that Billy's return is an unnecessary strain on their family.

Forced to attend another high school on the other side of town, Billy tries to stay out of trouble but his old rivals force him into a fight on his first day, which gets him into trouble with the school authorities. Another friend, Louie (David Anthony Marshall), a highly luring drug dealer who was also involved in the car theft that got Billy sent to reform school, wants him to return to his return life as a criminal. It seems that his mother (Carrie Snodgress
Carrie Snodgress

Caroline "Carrie" Snodgress was a Golden Globe Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated United States actress....
) is the only person who still believes that Billy can become a valuable member of society and offers him full support. One day Joe mockingly suggests to Billy that he try out for his school track team, figuring that nothing will come of it. Nevertheless, Billy goes out asks the coach at his school for a tryout. Billy hardly looks like a track star in his black high top chucks and greased back long hair, but during the tryout demonstrates surprising speed after running a 2:04 in 800m training ( Joes pr is 1:59 and that is with four years of running) , and the coach immediately puts him on the team. Joe is very much impressed by this, and the two start to bond, especially after Joe goes out and buys him a special pair of track shoes as a gift. But Billy's speed soon makes him a contender for the county record,1:57.25 for the 800m and ironically (since he attends a rival school to Joe's) pits him against Joe in a big meet which will determine whether or not Joe receives that scholarship to Stanford.

Now the pressure is on Joe to prove that he is the best runner in the county, and Joe has trouble handling the competition. The outcome of this dilemma and the determination of Billy's low life friends to get some revenge for Billy's abandoning them for the straight life all come together toward the end of the film, which focuses on how the two brothers attempt to overcome the adversity caused by these outside influences and solidify their relationship with each other. Joe ends up shattering the record with Billy coming in second.

Main cast

  • Rick Schroder
    Rick Schroder

    Richard Bartlett ?Ricky? Schroder, Jr. is an United Statesn Golden Globe Award-winning actor.He debuted in the 1979 hit film The Champ, going on to become a child star on the sitcom Silver Spoons....
     – Billy Maloney
  • Brad Pitt
    Brad Pitt

    William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. He has been cited as one of the world's most attractive men and his off-screen life is widely reported....
     – Joe Maloney
  • Carrie Snodgress
    Carrie Snodgress

    Caroline "Carrie" Snodgress was a Golden Globe Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated United States actress....
     – Rosemary Maloney
  • David Anthony Marshall - Louie
  • Thomas Mikal Ford
    Thomas Mikal Ford

    Thomas Mikal Ford is an United States actor who is best remembered for his character "Tommy Strawn" in the sitcom Martin for which he received an NAACP Image Awards nomination in 1996 in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series....
     – Coach Walsh
  • Annie Dylan - Linda
  • Jack McGee
    Jack McGee

    Jack McGee is an United States television and film character actor. Not to be confused with the character from the TV series The Incredible Hulk ....
     - Frank


External links