Film: Rebel Without A Cause

[Benefit]

If you haven't seen Rebel Without a Cause... you should.

Classic teen angst film, a class of film that is now synonymous with the 1950s. The plot, characters, setting and cinematography are all first rate of course. And there has been tons of literature written on this amazing film, analyzing its relevance from a social, cultural, symbolic, historical perspective, etc. I won't rehash that stuff, because a hundred scholars have already said everything better than I could.

BUT, I will say that, if for no other reason, watch this film to see James Dean. The performance is one of a kind. A common criticism of Dean is that he was a watered down Marlon Brando. You can choose to see it that way if you want; I don't. Brando's influence bleeds through a lot, as it did and does on countless actors, but Dean inhabits the role of troubled teen anti-hero Jim Stark and makes it entirely his own. Every moment Dean is on screen, you can't take your eyes off him. The performance is so naturalistic, full of a hard edged tenderness, and hyper-charged with charisma. It commands your absolute attention.

The anti-social, kitten-killing Plato is inexorably drawn to Jim (there are plenty of homosexual undertones), and Jim accepts Plato despite his weirdness. Judy (Natalie Wood), another confused teen also falls in love with him. The overwhelming charm and force of Dean's performance hypnotizes the audience as well and you fall in love with him too. That's the genius of the movie. Natalie Wood and Sal Minneo are good and Nicholas Ray is a solid director... but it is the sheer power of Dean's performance that sucks you in and brings it all together.

The first 90 minutes of Rebel Without a Cause are perfect filmmaking. The climactic final sequence (involving a chase through Griffith Observatory) gets away from the central focus of the movie and dips into the realm of slightly overindulgent melodrama, but this is still one of the best films ever made. PLUS, Mr. Magoo is in it.

I'd recommend reading up on the film. There are lots of books and articles written on the making of the film (rife with scandal and underage sex!), plus the three leads all died young in accidents or were murdered, lending to the mystique of Rebel Without a Cause. The bottom line: this is a fabulous film featuring one of the best acting performances ever.

 

[echo off]

except it's name is a tautology

first time i ever saw it, i'd flicked on the mid day movie and didn't realise what i was watching. When the knife scene went down it pissed me off so much I rewrote it as a short story.

Actually, thinking about things, it was about that time that i started to be interested in directing as well. maybe it inspired me more than i realise. i should go watch it again.

 

[wanderlust]

film: rebel without a cause

as said, if you haven't seen it.... you should

*poll added

 

[supertrav77]

Like Jean Harlow 20 years before him, dying young was the best career move James Dean ever made.

 

[tribal girl]

Well then there now. I can't believe nobody started a thread on this before!

I saw this film for the first time a few years back during the 50th anniversary of James Dean's death. I was always under the impression that he was just another celebrity who's popularity only increased because of his untimely and tragic death. It gets to the point where you don't see the human being anymore. All you see is a symbol of what other people have turned them into. Basically, a nice marketable package. And so I'd always dismissed James Dean as 'probably' being overrated. But during the anniversary, when we were flooded with various movies, documentaries, biopics etc I decided I would take a look for myself.

Initially, the issues the characters were plagued with within the movie seemed a little exaggerated to me, compared to problems of teenagers today. But underneath this slighty dramatised insight into 'juvenile delinquency' I think it can still be applied to how teenagers feel today. And especially the way in which they express their feelings. Because essentially it's a story about the need to belong somewhere. And that's a feeling that most of us are familiar with, no matter who we are or where we are from.

The three leads are great. Especially taking into consideration that this was made in the 50's. A lot of actors at the time were not putting any feeling into their performances. They weren't relating to what they were doing, and more often than not this resulted in them coming across as wooden. That's definitely something that's still apparent in this film at times. But what James Dean did was put himself into the role, aposed to just playing it. He also created a friendship with Sal Menio and Natalie Wood, which built up a level of trust between the three of them and is probably the most important factor of all. It's this friendship which brings the screen to life, and their interactions with one another throughout the film seem completely natural because of it.

There are so many scenes worth mentioning, but I've always really loved the opening scenes as James Dean is so charming to watch:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp8nwyxryck

 

[AmorRoark]

I love the queer undertones throughout this film. Excellent example of Hollywood getting around The Legion of Decency. I'll come back and say more later.