Rebel Without a Cause

Today I started on #17 on my list: watch 10 critically acclaimed films I have yet to see. All ten films that I am going to watch either won a recent Academy Award for best picture or were on AFI’s Top 100 movies list. I am not a film critic, but sometimes I feel like I am surrounded by them! I have one friend in film school, one with a film blog, http://reeltoreel.wordpress.com and a third that watches more movies than humanly possible or healthy for that matter! So I am not going to wow you with technical talk about cut scenes or directing technique!!! Anyway on to the movie….

The movie that I watched this afternoon was Rebel Without a Cause (1955). I have heard references to this movie and to James Dean my entire life, but I have never taken the time to watch it. I think that there are some stories that will always intrigue us as people: What it mean to be in love, what it means to grow old, and what it means to grow up. This movie is an examination of the third: troubled youth and there relationship with their families and the rest of society.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. AFI recognized it as the #59 movie on their Top 100 Films of All-Time. I am sure if I could have had the opportunity to watch it in its original context I would be able to appreciate it more. You always understand art better when you compare it to what is being produced at the time it is created. This movie is still relevant and even enjoyable.

James Dean suffered a fatal car crash one month before this movie opened. I can look at other entertainers from my generation and see this type of tragedy. I think these events always skew our opinions just a bit. It made me think of people like Kurt Cobain and Chris Farley and recently Heath Ledger. I always think two questions: Did their death add to their fame? & What would they have been capable of if they could have lived longer?

All that said, James Dean and Rebel Without a Cause had major influence on our society and I am glad to say that I now know why.

Happy Friday!

ryan