2.55:1 Widescreen

"In northern California, the Santa Lucia Mountains, dark and brooding, stand like a wall between the peaceful agricultural town of Salinas and the rough-and-tumble fishing port of Monterey, fifteen miles away It's 1917 just outside of Monterey."

James Dean was somewhat of a brief candle. Very much like Marylin Monroe, he came upon Hollywood so bright and hot only to burn for a short time. And while Norma Jean had a few good years in which to shine, Dean would have less than a handful. In those few years he made three incredible films. His last was Giant, and before that was perhaps his best known, Rebel Without A Cause. East Of Eden was the first of this trilogy of films that would pretty much make up the career of James Dean. All three films were made in the years 1955-1956, and just as suddenly as Dean had come upon the scene, billed as the next Marlon Brando, he was gone. One car ride into eternity and it was all over just as it had begun: Explosive and brief. Through Warner Brothers 100 years of movies restoration and release celebration, we have already seen and reviewed Giant and Rebel Without A Cause. Now the trilogy is complete in the place where it began: Elia Kazan's masterpiece, East Of Eden.

"If I had one day when I didn't have to be all confused and I didn't have to feel that I was ashamed of everything. If I felt that I belonged someplace. You know?"

There are a handful of films in Hollywood history that have stories as compelling if not more so than the story the film itself tells. I don't know if there has ever been a film about the making of Rebel Without A Cause. There have certainly been several books, but this is one of those classic films which is surrounded by so many legends, some of them urban myths, but so many of them were true that I find it rather difficult to watch the film on its own terms. With Warner's 100th anniversary celebration of 100 classic films, I had a nice chance to revisit the classic motion picture, and this time I tried my best to watch it without all of the noise that goes along with it. That wasn't easy, but I think I've now seen the film for itself more now than I ever did before. It was a groundbreaking film with an incredible cast that broke so many taboos of the time that you get the idea someone wasn't really paying attention to what was going on on the screen. It's as compelling today as it was then, and maybe more so with all of the baggage. The truth is I've never been able to watch Rebel Without A Cause the same way twice. Now I can try as often as I like with a nearly flawless print finally in UHD Blu-ray and in 4K. Warner Brothers is having a birthday, and I've been unwrapping all of the presents.