Before There Were 'Outsiders' There Were 'Ruble Fish'

DVDs:

	• Rumble Fish (Special Edition) Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke Universal Studios, 2005 average customer review:based on 76 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Lovely art, so-so movie

The plot and the action take a backseat to things like set design, photography, choreography and the Stewart Copeland soundtrack in this FF Coppola 1983 film version of an SE Hinton novel. Only the rumble fish are in color. I dug seeing the young and unmolested Mickey Rourke, and even Tom Waits was still young and groovy here. Nicholas Cage made his film debut, as well. The story line is some nonsense about how a younger brother can't live up to his older brother's ways. Dennis Hopper plays the alcoholic dad. Filmed in Tulsa two weeks after "The Outsiders," the better film of the two, this one is a fine b&w art film, but less than scintillating as a movie.

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Before There Were 'Outsiders' There Were 'Ruble Fish'

This was the first of two film adaptations based on the works of S.E. Hinton that Francis Ford Coppola directed in 1984. I prefer the second one but this one has a lot going for it. Reportedly Coppola was influenced by the work of renegade photographer turned renegade filmmaker Larry Clark. He captures exciting images of teens engaging in gang fights, having sex, doing drugs, and other forms of debauchery. All of it filmed in black and white. (The only color images are of the title fish). The Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke) is fascinated by them and spends his days watching them in their aquarium. He is a legend in his hometown with his named tagged on road signs and in tunnels. He's been away for two years leaving a void that his younger brother Rusty James (Matt Dillon) tries to fill. The problem is that Rusty doesn't have his brother's brains or charisma and isn't fit to lead anyone. The gangs aren't what they once were and Rusty James is the only person interested in bringing them back. He's having a hard time without his big brother around. Their dad (Dennis Hopper) is a drunk, and his girlfriend (Diane Lane) has eyes for his best friend Smokey (Nicolas Cage). Rusty longs for the day when the Motorcycle Boy will return and the two of them will rule the streets. When he gets his wish and the Motorcycle Boy returns Rusty is disappointed to discover that his big brother isn't the legend he once was. Years of fighting have made him color blind and partially deaf. As a result he always seems lost in his own dream world. Starting the gangs back up is the last thing on his mind. The two brothers try to reconcile their differences while dodging numerous enemies who wish to put an end to the both of them. Dillon and Rourke give strong, emotional performances. Dillon is the cocky hothead who tries to act tough and menacing whereas Rourke is extremely soft spoken and does his best to blend into the background and not stand out. Lane (18 at the time) is quite sexy in a smaller role. She shows acting potential that she would improve on with the 'Outsiders'. Cage is fun in one of his earlier roles as Rusty's main competition. The supporting cast also includes Laurence Fishburne, Tom Waites, Chris Penn and Vincent Spano. Watch out for a young Sofia Coppola (credited as Domino) as Lane's smart mouth little sister. Her performance is one of the film's biggest highlights.

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In The Time Of Motorcycle Boy

"The Wild Ones", "Easy Rider" those are movies that come readily to mind when one thinks about the freedom of the road- riding high on a motorcycle, and raising hell with the 'squares' come what may. Those were films of desperate alienation and the search for meaning in an earlier, seemingly, simpler America. The truth of that last comment will not hold up under closer examination but at least in the realm of motorcycle movies that appears to be true, as least as compared with the angst of the film version of S.E. Hinton's classic tale of teenage alienation, "Rumble fish".

Here Rusty James (Matt Dillon) is trouble personified, he just rolls into it like magic as he tries to make his way in a world that he did not create and that he barely tolerates. Needless to say this "up yours" attitude doesn't stop as the story unfolds even when big brother, Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke) comes back to town. From beginning to end Rusty is adrift and it is not at all clear whether he will "learn his lessons" about life, limits and staying the hell out of trouble. It is Hinton's super-realism that drives the plot but it is director Coppola whose tight shots (using virtually all black and white, a nice touch), and seemingly surreal footage makes this thing visually interesting as well.

In the interest of full disclosure when I was a kid, a somewhat troubled kid to boot, for a minute, I was very, very interested in being a bad motorcycle boy. However, as I have written elsewhere, it seemed to me to take too much effort to truly affect that stance. Reading books was easier for a runt like me. However, during that minute of interest I ran into more than one Rusty James and more than one who, one way or another did not make it. That point is driven home in this film.

Note: For those who are interested in seeing the early work of the likes of Nick Cage, Diane Lane, Vincent Spano and others this film is packed with budding stars. Oh, and for the old fogies, motorcycle movies actor personified- Dennis Hopper- is present and accounted for.

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Rumble Fish with additional material

Included in the two disc set is: interviews with Stewart Copeland (drummer for the police) about constructing the soundtrack. Also included is a documentary about the making of the film, as well as some deleted scenes. The film was quite different when it came out in 1983, shot primarily in B/W, with deep focus cinematography, in the style of Citizen Kane and lighting with long shadows and harsh lighting. Unusual for a Hollywood film about and for teenagers. Nonetheless, the film was somewhat successful and really holds up on DVD, where the image can be seen, the way it was intended to be.

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Good story.

I loved all of the books by S.E. Hinton, and the movies have great 80's movie stars.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

An absent minded street hood named rusty james tries to be like his legendary older brother and ruins his life in the process. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 08/01/2006 Starring: Nicolas Cage Michael Higgins Run time: 95 minutes Rating: R Director: Francis Ford Coppola

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