Rent Rumble Fish (1983)

A cult film - Rumble Fish review by CP Customer

Very surprised there are no reviews here, so.....

I loved it when I was younger and watched again more recently with my son. Worth watching just see these actors while they were young. Compare with The Outsiders and James Dean films or St Elmo's Fire.

Style in Search of Soul - Rumble Fish review by griggs

Early on, I feared Rumble Fish might favour style over substance, especially given Matt Dillon’s wooden performance. Instead, it unfolds as a surprisingly thoughtful exploration on youth culture, gang life, belonging, and the toxic side of teenage masculinity. Coppola’s experimental choices–especially the striking black-and-white cinematography–give the film a dreamlike quality, elevating it beyond a standard coming-of-age story. Dillon’s stiffness risks undermining the film, but Mickey Rourke’s quiet magnetism as his older brother keeps it grounded. Yet, for all its ambition, the film’s visual style and narrative never fully coalesce, leaving it more intriguing than emotionally resonant. A flawed yet fascinating film, defined by its visual boldness and Coppola’s willingness to take risks.

Teenage Angst - Rumble Fish review by Steve

Nostalgic juvenile delinquent picture set in a middle US industrial town. It was directed by Francis Coppola the same year he made The Outsiders, both adapted from novels by SE Hinton, a popular author with teenagers. Rumble Fish is more of an arthouse film, shot in an expressionist style in noir-ish b&w with weird tilts and close ups....

Other than for SE Hinton aficionados, it's the creative visual riffs backed with Stewart Copeland's spiky New Wave score which make this worth watching. The pessimistic adolescent melodrama might appeal to youngsters, but presumably kids now have JD stories of their own. Still there's plenty for buffs and fans of atmosphere. 

This is contemporary but the studio sets give it a '50s feel, the golden age of the JD picture. The actors are dreadful, but Matt Dillon as the crazy mixed up kid and Mickey Rourke as his cool older brother are crucially both doing impressions of Brando in The Wild One (1953). Nicolas Cage is doing Elvis, so maybe he missed a meeting.

It's the arty flourishes which give this cult appeal still, such as the deep shadows painted onto the walls, like in German silents. Or the time lapse photography which tells us that youth is/was ephemeral. It's basically Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending rewritten for an '80s teen audience, and performed by their favourite stars.