An American youth is driven to desperation trying to win his father's love. Based on the classic Steinbeck novel ... a modern story of Cain and Abel set against the approach of World War One. Read more
| Starring | James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, Jo Van Fleet |
|---|---|
| Director | Elia Kazan |
| Genres | Drama |
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An American youth is driven to desperation trying to win his father's love. Based on the classic Steinbeck novel ... a modern story of Cain and Abel set against the approach of World War One.
| Starring | James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, Jo Van Fleet |
|---|---|
| Director | Elia Kazan |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 52 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Released | DVD: 06 Jun 2005 Production year: 1955 |
| Format | DVD |
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John Steinbeck's sprawling, wordy novel here becomes a sprawling, wordy movie about two brothers vying for their father's love. It's Cain and Abel territory and the biblical parallels are rammed home by Elia Kazan's heavy-handed direction and Paul Osborn's at times too turgid script. The film drags rather and has dated badly, but it's still well worth seeing, for one main reason, of course: James Dean's first starring role, in which he came to embody the frustrations of American teenagers. It was writer Osborn who recommended Dean, though Kazan was set on casting Marlon Brando, but when Kazan met Dean — a heap of twisted legs and denim rags, looking resentful for no particular reason — he recognised the potential.
Kazan brilliantly uses CinemaScope to portray the vast, lush landscapes and moody interiors, and coaxes rousing performances from his cast, including James Dean in his first film role as a rebellious teenager.
Oh god, first film I ever saw with James Dean and it was awful. Hardly stuck to the plot of the book, and jumped in to the middle of the story missing everything out that made the characters act in the way that they did.
Avoid at all costs, go and read the book.
this film is basically an excuse for James Dean to strut around your TV screen for an hour or so. This is one of my favourite books, however in this film the characters are completely misinterpreted, 90% of the story is missing, which makes the story confusing and pretty boring.
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