Rebel Without a Cause, 1955.
Directed by Nicholas Ray.
Starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, and William Hopper.
SYNOPSIS:
Warner Bros.’ final centennial 4K Ultra HD release for April (there may be more coming in 2023) features the classic Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean, Sal Mineo, and Natalie Wood. The film looks glorious in 4K, and it even looks great on the included Blu-ray, which houses the bulk of the solid assortment of extras. You’ll find a code for a digital copy too.
It’s easy to say how beautiful most 4K Ultra HD releases look (and I’ve certainly ben guilty of using such superlatives, since a lot of 4K discs simply sport the best image quality the average film fan will want at home), but then there’s a movie like 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause, which opens with red-hued titles that pop off the screen in 4K.
The same goes for the iconic red jacket James Dean’s Jim Stark character wears in the film, along with many other shots that feature the pastel colors that were popular during that time. You really have to nitpick this presentation to find much wrong with it, and the same goes for the included Blu-ray, which is the same as the one released in 2013 but still offers solid image quality.
The story may seem quaint to modern audiences — I certainly thought so when I first saw it in Mr. Truitt’s Great Films class at Cherry Hill West High School in the mid-80s — but it’s still a timeless one of rebellion. Youth have always felt the need to push back against authority in one way or another — I bet you’d even find examples of that in hunter-gatherer societies thousands of years ago — and Rebel Without a Cause created quite a stir when it was released.
The mid-1950s found many parents and authority figures in the United States worried about juvenile delinquency, with anything of interest to youngsters, including comic books, music, and movies, scrutinized for its supposed impact on youth. Rebel Without a Cause certainly didn’t help the situation, as Jim Stark and his friends Judy (Natalie Wood) and Plato (Sal Mineo) act out against authority because of the frustration with their dysfunctional home lives.
Life even imitated art during the making of the film, as those in charge of enforcing the Motion Picture Production Code created in 1934 expressed many concerns to director Nicholas Ray and others involved in the production. That’s a tidbit related by author Douglas L. Rathgeb, who wrote the 2010 book The Making of Rebel Without a Cause, during his commentary track found on the 4K and Blu-ray discs in this set. Given his deep knowledge of the movie, Rathgeb’s discussion is a treat not only for fans of the film but also anyone interested in cinema history. I’ve always enjoyed commentary tracks with a more scholarly bent, and this one certainly delivers the goods.
The rest of the bonus features on the Blu-ray disc are identical to what was found in the 2013 edition. Even though nothing new was commissioned for this release, what’s included here is exhaustive and thorough. Here are the rest of the extras:
James Dean Remembered (66 minutes): First aired on the ABC TV network In 1974, this is a look back that features many people who knew the actor whose life was tragically cut short, including Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood, Sammy Davis Jr., and others. Yes, there are a couple names in that list who sadly met their own tragic ends too.
Rebel Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents (36.5 minutes): Created in 2005 (presumably for a DVD edition, although I don’t have any prior home video releases of the film to know for sure), I suppose this is the best documentary about the making of the classic film that we’re going to get. Rathgeb makes another appearance here, along with screenwriter Stewart Stern, some of the surviving cast members (including a brief appearance by Dennis Hopper, who, yes, is in the movie), and others.
Dennis Hopper: Memories from the Warner Lot (10.5 minutes): Speaking of Hopper, this is a brief interview with him as he looks back on the time he spent as a contract player at Warner Bros. (when studios could lock up its talent in such a way) during the 1950s. In addition to appearing in Rebel Without a Cause, he was in Giant with Dean too.
Deleted scenes (approx. 24 minutes total): Unfortunately, none of these scenes have sound. Some of them are in black-and-white because the studio didn’t think much of the project and decided it should be shot that way. Then Dean’s star began to burn brightly and Warner Bros. said, “Hey, we should pony up some extra bucks for color footage!” As a result, some of the scenes that had already been filmed in black-and-white had to be redone in color, as you’ll see here.
Behind the Cameras (approx. 21 minutes total): This is a trio of promos that focus on interviews with Jim Backus (I bet he hated being asked about Gilligan’s Island all the time later in life), Natalie Wood, and James Dean, although the last two don’t show up for very long. This is an early version of what came to be known as EPKs (electronic press kits) that were created by film studios to tout their movies. Of particular interest here are Dean’s admonitions against unsafe driving, which he spoke only days before dying in a car accident.
Screen tests for the three principal stars, along with wardrobe tests for Dean and some minor character actors, round out the disc. Ah, yes, and there’s a theatrical trailer too.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★★★★ / Movie: ★★★★
Brad Cook
