Rent East of Eden (1955)

Very irritated - East of Eden review by MR

To get sent this disc of ‘bonus material’ as a separate choice just feels like a con. A complete waste of a film and we did not even consciously ask for this. Going straight back! 

Glorious Cinemascope (spoiler). - East of Eden review by Steve

Elia Kazan's handsome epic only tells the last part of John Steinbeck's long novel of '52 and simplifies what remains. It is a loose updating of the story of Cain and Abel relocated in California, which plugs into the performance of its debuting star James Dean whose mannered, method inspired performance still crackles.

The theme which captured the spirit of the times is the generational schism between the introverted, maladjusted son (Dean) and his domineering, righteous father (Raymond Massey). Though with the early part of the novel omitted, this is hugely condensed. The search by the young man for personal identity and freedom was a sensation with '50s teenagers.

Dean's star performance feels like a great leap forward for Hollywood. What most attracts now is Kazan's spacious, artistic rendition of the Salinas Valley in Cinemascope. It is a beautiful production. The colour and camera effects still look amazing. The period of rural California on the edge of World War I is superbly realised.

Sadly the film ends badly with the boy seeking and finding understanding from the stubborn, dying patriarch, which negates the rest of the story. The plot is overstuffed,  but it remains an unflagging, ambitious blockbuster about all the big biblical sins. And the legend of James Dean still lives in his only starring film released before his death.