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Nicholas Ray's classic 1955 drama about teenage alienation catapulted James Dean posthumously to superstardom and boosted the careers of Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo and Dennis Hopper. It was bracketed in the Ray filmography by Johnny Guitar and Bigger Than Life, strong films about the pressure to fit imposed notions of American life, of what a man, a family or a community should be. The subject isn't repression but suppression—the stifling of emotion, the hammering of free spirits into predetermined slots. As such, Rebel gives Dean’s mannered, grotesquely self-conscious acting the most sympathetic framing he would ever get. Ray shot for a wide screen, so don't miss the opportunity to see this projected in a theater. The movie’s part of The Belcourt’s three-week tribute to Dean, which closes next week with George Stevens’ Giant.
Dec. 5-7, 2009
Dec. 5-7, 2009
