Steineded How sad is this?

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

alexanderdavies-99382 I remember reading about this documentary many years ago and felt quite intrigued. The timing for this feature length tribute was just right. Released for the cinema in 1957, "The James Dean Story" really captures the spirit of the man as well as the star. It's great to see people who knew Dean being interviewed and that counts for a great deal. All the major aspects of Jimmy Dean are covered: the loss of his mother at a young age, his initial efforts in the field of acting, how Dean was thought of as a person and other aspects besides. The narrator does a fine job of guiding the viewer through the documentary and his voice is commanding.

l_rawjalaurence Released two years after Dean's death at the untimely age of twenty-four, THE JAMES DEAN STORY is a valuable document as it includes interviews with many of the family and close friends who knew him - his grandmother, his aunt and uncle, his acquaintances in New York and Hollywood, and other workers who befriended him. Sometimes their testimonies seem somewhat stilted on screen, as if co-directors Robert Altman and George W. George had rehearsed their dialogue beforehand and were prompting them into making reactions. On the other hand their love for Dean seems palpable, despite his reputation for being difficult.Narrated by theater actor and sometime director Martin Gabel, the film paints a portrait of a troubled personality whose father and mother died young and who was brought up in rural Indiana by his aunt and uncle. Although extremely helpful with the chores, young Dean always appeared lonely, as if in search for something he could never access. Apparently he used to spend a lot of time under a favorite tree, that not only served as a place of sanctuary but gave him the time and space to reflect.He cut his theatrical teeth at school, and then decided to make the big move from Indiana to New York. After a short time in the wilderness, he landed a role in the short-lived production SEE THE JAGUAR (1952), but shot to stardom two years later in THE IMMORALIST, adapted by Ruth and Augustus Goetz from the novel by André Gide. His raw energy, stimulated by loneliness, produced an electrifying performance that outshone those of his costars Geraldine Page and Louis Jourdain.Yet this was not enough for him - after a dispute with the producer, Dean walked out on THE IMMORALIST to seek his fortune in Hollywood. After spending many nights sequestered in local hostelries, hobnobbing with stars and hangers-on, he landed a leading role in EAST OF EDEN (1955), directed by Elia Kazan. The rest, as they say, is history.Gabel's narration sounds a little portentous at times, but nonetheless we are given a portrait of a complex personality at once alienated from yet keenly desirous of praise from the world. His career really took off with the help of father-figure directors such as Kazan and Nicholas Ray, who understood his potential and made every effort to develop it. Dean was a mercurial actor - even more so than his illustrious contemporary Marlon Brando - who never gave the same performance twice, either on stage or screen. If a director could develop that raw energy, then they could be assured of a memorable performance from him.True to the spirit of the late Fifties, we are not told about the actor's alleged bisexuality. Our attention focuses rather on the way in which the actor did not perform on screen at all, but simply drew upon his perpetual feelings of alienation and loneliness to produce a series of electrifying screen characterizations. Truly he was an icon of the times, whose early demise only served to enhance his legendary status.

wes-connors "The James Dean Story" is introduced as "A different kind of motion picture," explaining, "The presence of the leading character in this film has been made possible by the use of existing motion picture material, tape recordings of his voice and by means of a new technique - dynamic exploration of the still photograph." The only "tape recordings of his voice" noteworthy is one short recording Mr. Dean make while visiting his family in Indiana; he wanted to record any family recollections of his great-grandfather Cal Dean, intrigued because he played a similarly named "Cal" in "East of Eden". Dean asks if Cal Dean was interested in art, and learns the relative was an auctioneer. James Dean was interested in art and had warm relationship with his family, obviously. That's the only 100% accurate revelation in this documentary. James Dean was interested in art and had warm relationship with his family.An amazing "screen test"/"outtake" from "East of Eden" appears near the film's end. It's a black and white scene between Dean (as Cal Trask) and co-star Richard Davalos (as Aron Trask). Dean is at his mesmerizing best. If this scene appeared only here, and no "East of Eden" film was completed, this documentary would be an essential, high rated film. But the scene, a perfect "10" in isolation, should be considered an "East of Eden" extra. Dean's "Traffic Safety Film" is also worth seeing.There are the expected interviews with family and friends. My favorites were the guy (Lew Bracker) going through a box of stuff Dean left with him, and Dean's family. There wasn't enough from Aunt Ortense and the letter from Dean to his little cousin was very nice. More reading of Dean's letters would have been welcome. Dean's unidentified writer friend seemed to have a better thesis for the film; filmmakers might have considered developing it as a main focus.Robert Altman's direction of Martin Gabel's reading of Stewart Stern's script is dreadful. What were they thinking? Perhaps, filmmakers can be forgiven due to the closeness of Dean's passing. Don't expect "The James Dean Story" at all. This movie is more about Dean's effect on people (both the fans and filmmakers) than the man. It is very clearly an early piece of the James Dean myth-making "legend". Tommy Sands sings "Let Me Be Loved". The narrative refers to Dean as "He" with a god-like air. The shots of Dean's family seeming to "know" the moment he dies are truly wretched.** The James Dean Story (8/13/57) Robert Altman ~ James Dean, Martin Gabel, Richard Davalos

SnorrSm1989 I liked this documentary THE JAMES DEAN STORY a lot when I watched it for the first time. As I had not really seen any other documentaries about Dean to compare with, it provided me with much information about the actor unknown to me at the time. When I watch it again now, I realize that there have been made several more thorough, and perhaps less speculative documentaries about James Dean since this was first released in 1957. This documentary is clearly a product of its time; Dean had tragically passed away only two years before, and one senses that the film tries to present him in a way to match the expectations of his fans. Whereas some later documentaries (and biographies) have made a point of trying to separate the man and the myth, THE JAMES DEAN story is transparently calculating at times. The narrator Martin Gabel also speaks in rather calculating (if engaging) manner, as if able to walk into Dean's soul and read his thoughts (a side-note: Marlon Brando reportedly considered doing the narration, but finally declined). This film is clearly aimed at a popular audience, who has not been constantly fed with documentaries about anything and everything through TV such as today.On the plus side, however, the documentary is not so overly concerned with Dean's status as a "Hollywood rebel" as one might expect. Much focus is also given to other aspects of his life than being a movie star, such as his interest in painting and playing the drums. Some of the interviews are also of interest; the recollections of the two bartenders whom Dean used to hang around with shed light on the cheerful, less solemn side of James Dean. The part where Dean's cousin Marcus (at that time about ten years old) reads out loud a letter he received from Dean a few months before the latter's sudden death is quite touching. Leith Stevens' jazzy soundtrack is excellent, and really fits the mood of the film. In the end, THE JAMES DEAN STORY is by all means worth to watch to anyone interested in the life and talent of James Dean, though there have been made more all-around satisfying documentaries since the time of its making. (This review has later been somewhat revised and updated)