sadly jimmie dean passed away today 52 years ago.
with only 3 major films and some television drama´s under his belt jimmie will forever be remembered as one of his generations greatest actors.

he surely is one of my alltime favorite actors
he had so much more to give to the world of cinema both in acting and im shure later on he would have started directing too.

he will forever stand as one of americas greatest cinema icons
he not only helped changed the way you acted in movies´s,but like Elvis he was also part of a much greater cultural change.

RIP James Byron Dean




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-09-30 18:48 by tigerman.

Wow! Just got the "East of Eden" DVD yesterday.

Never seen it before, can't wait to sit down this afternoon and watch it.

Oh you are in for are great experience I promise you Edith Grove

that is one hell of a movie and the acting aint bad either:-)

this movie is art all the way and both Jimmie and the other cast is faboulos

its a classic

please come back to this thread when you have seen it and give your opinion

A great film on many levels.

The director of that film, Elia Kazan, is one of the giants of American popular culture, for his breakthrough work on the stage and then on the screen. Later he became a bestselling author.

When he cast Dean in East of Eden, he created the image of youth in conflict that was the template of Presley. And the rest is history.

A brilliant Kazan film that no one should miss is "A Face In the Crowd." His film about an immigrant's journey, based on his own family's experiences, "America, America" is also worth seeking out.


David Dalton, who put out a couple of great books on the Stones also wrote "James Dean;The Mutant King" perhaps the definitive bio of him.

Hey loog yeah thats a great book on jimmie dean-the mutant king

and yeah elia kazan is a great ,great director

a street car named desire- is also one heck of a movie with a fantastic cast.

brando
vivien leigh
kim hunter
karlmalden

Kazan discovered Brando and made him a star, first in the stage production of Streetcar and then the movie.

He made Warren Beatty a movie star in Spendor in The Grass.

He even cast James Woods in his first film (The Visitors, 1972)

Kazan was incredibly important...so much so it's hard to measure.

Kazan is so important he makes Scorsese look like a wannabe.

loog droog, you are too much! I remember being a very young child overwhelmed by the power of "Face in The Crowd." Huge influence on me.

The first time I stumbled across A Face In the Crowd, about 20-some years ago my two reactions were:

"THIS IS ONE OFTHE GREATEST FILMS I'VE EVER SEEN!"

and then

"HOW COME I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE??"

Written by Budd Schulberg (who also worked with Kazan on On The Waterfront) it is a work of genius. Everyone should see this movie.

Ive never seen that movie- A Face In the Crowd- Loog,but I will for sure seek it out.

Haven't seen "A Face in the Crowd" in years but "East of Eden" is one of my fave movies ever.

I got 3 kazan movies

east of eden/dvd special edition
on the waterfront/vhs
a street car named desire/vhs

would like to get some more

The new 2-disc version of Streetcar includes the documentary "Elia Kazan: A Director's Journey" that's a great look at his career.

As a kid I always loved films I could sob in. Kazan was my man.

"Splendor in the Grass" is another great handkerchief film.

Prior to that Beatty had been a regular on the TV show Dobie Gillis.

Kazan saw something deeper in him, and cast him in the lead.

When Kazan got his honorary Oscar, Beatty was with the half of the room that was standing.

Like Brando, his entire career was basically due to Kazan.

ahhh the memories Splendor in the Grass



Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass,
of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;


William Wordsworth

And not to forget James Dean in Giant with Rock Hudson

And also a cool Eagles song.

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-10-01 02:10 by sweetcharmedlife.

I seem to recall reading once that Mick really didn't go much for the whole James Dean thing.

And wasn't Nicholas Ray (director of Rebel) connected to an early planned Stones movie project?

sweetcharmedlife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And also a cool Eagles song.


yup!

And didn't Elvis meet Ray once, and he recited some scene from "Rebel Without a Cause" verbatim?

All three of his movies were great but Rebel Without A Cause was the best imo. That red leather jacket he wore was the epitomy of cool.

It was also interesting the way that Hollywood split into two camps. You had the new method actors like James Dean and Marlon Brando and the old school actors like Humphrey Bogart who said he just didn't get the whole method acting business. To him acting was memorizing your lines and speaking them.

Just finished watching East of Eden for the first time.

A riveting film. Excellent portrayal of the good and bad that can exist within a family.

This is not the first Kazan film I've seen, and he does his usual superb job in getting the most out of the characters in the film.

James Dean is, of course, fabulous, but a lot of credit also goes to Julie Harris.

This film should be on anyone's "to see" list if it has not been seen already.

I seem to recall that Elvis was offered the lead role in East of Eden first but the Colonel knocked it back on his behalf.

Although I like his image and realise he is a huge figure in popular culture I have to say I think he was a really bad actor. Over the top to say the least. I understand that he was a master of some artsy-fartsy type of acting, however just never did it for me!