To die young is a near-requirement for the legend-making machine. James Dean's cult status was surely not hurt by the fact that he died at the age of 24 in a road accident in 1955.
Except for a handful of bit parts in the early 1950s, Dean cinematic legacy consists of a mere three films, all of which have both their fans and their detractors, and all of which are part of the DVD set The Complete James Dean Collection.
As for Dean's earnest, mannered, superficial, Brandoesque performances in those films, they're no better — and no worse, really — than the work of countless other teen and pseudo-teen actors before or since.
Of Dean's three films, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), directed by Nicholas Ray, East of Eden (1955), directed by Elia Kazan, and Giant (1956), directed by Academy Award-winner George Stevens, only Giant has stood the test of time — even if in a soap opera-ish sort of way. (Dean's horribly mannered performance, however, is one of the film's weakest points.)
Granted, East of Eden, adapted from a novel by John Steinbeck, has its moments, but it's not nearly as emotionally explosive as its makers intended it to be, while Rebel consists of a series of laughable rebellious-youth clichés, and is chiefly of interest because of the presence of three young stars who met untimely deaths.
Besides Dean, Rebel stars Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo, both of whom are young and pretty and madly in love with Dean's oh-so-hip misunderstood youth.
In addition to the three films, the James Dean DVD set offers countless bonus features. Those are well worth checking out.
Region 1 DVD (Canada / U.S. / U.S. territories) release date: May 31, 2005
- Number of discs: 6
- Closed captioned
- Color
- East of Eden Two-Disc Special Edition, directed by Elia Kazan, with Julie Harris, Jo Van Fleet, Richard Davalos, Raymond Massey
- Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
- Audio: English (Dolby 5.1 Surround), French (Dolby 2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
- Audio commentary byfilm critic Richard Schickel
- Featurette: "Forever James Dean" (60 min.)
- "East of Eden: Art in Search of Life" (19 min.)
- Screen tests
- Wardrobe tests
- Deleted scenes
- 3/9/1955 New York Premiere
- Theatrical trailer
- Running time: 118 min.
- Rebel Without a Cause Two-Disc Special Edition, directed by Nicholas Ray, with Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo
- Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
- Audio: English (Dolby 5.1 Surround), French (Dolby 2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
- Audio commentary bybiographer Douglas L. Rathgeb
- "James Dean Remembered" (66 min.)
- "Rebel Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents" (36 min.)
- Screen tests
- Wardrobe tests
- Deleted scenes (16 scenes, no sound)
- Behind the cameras (3 segments)
- Theatrical trailer
- Running time: 111 min.
- Giant Two-Disc Special Edition, directed by George Stevens, with Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Carroll Baker, Dennis Hopper
- Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.66:1
- Audio: English (Dolby 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby 2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
- Audio commentary byfilm critic Stephen Farber, screenwriter Ivan Moffat, and George Stevens, Jr.
- Introduction by George Stevens, Jr.
- George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him (45 min.)
- Theatrical trailers
- "Memories of Giant" (51 min.)
- "Return to Giant"
- New York premiere telecast
- Hollywood premiere
- "Giant Stars Are Off to Texas" promo
- Stills
- Documents
- Behind the Cameras: On Location in Marfa, Texas
- Behind the Cameras: A Visit with Dimitri Tiomkin
- A Giant Undertaking
- George Stevens filmography
- Awards
- Cast and crew
- Running time: 201 min.
List price: US$68.92. (At Amazon: US$48.24.) Prices subject to change.
A Warner Home Video release.
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