#465. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Natalie Wood and James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause (1955).

I've finally got around to watch the classic Rebel Without A Cause (1955), which I've previously only seen parts of. Generally. it was exactly as expected, as it is known for being one of the earliest true teenage dramas. Many of the themes are still relevant today, although the setting and the mentality is very 1950s. Acting wise, it reminded me of Elia Kazan's movie A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), where you can see two acting schools clashing against each other, the new method acting and the old classical Hollywood acting, but in this movie James Dean is the method actor and basically the rest of them are of the classical school (in many ways, even Natalie Wood).

I won't say too much about it other than it was nicely shot, with some interesting tilted framing, which I usually dislike in films. Also, some of the obvious moralizing dialogue took me out of the movie from time to time, and the choppy acting as well (from all the cast). It also surprised me where the story went. In the end, you feel like it didn't accomplish much, or tell anything truly significant about life as a whole. This might sound a little bit unfair because it deals with teenage life, but even then, I believe one could dig a little bit deeper and be a little bit more creative. One thing is for certain though, the movie is pretty entertaining all the way through, and never feels too long. Everything about the movie is a bit too middle-of-the-road.

5/10

#328-464. Mega-update on the Quest to Finish the 1001.

It's been approximately a year since my last update. As of the new 2013 edition and new updates, I have 386 movies left. If somebody wonders why it takes so long time to finish the book, it is because my studies take up most of my time and also, I watch a lot of other movies that are non-1001. I'll make some statistics when I finish the list/book.

Here a list of "1001-movies" I've watched since the last entry:

#328. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) - 8/10
#329. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - 6/10

#330. Le salaire de la peur (1953) - 7/10

#331. Shoah (1985) - 8/10

#332. American Graffiti (1973) - 7/10

#333. Suna no onna (1964) - 9/10

#334. Onibaba (1964) - 7/10

#335. Sanshô dayû (1954) - 7/10

#336. Kumonosu-jô (1957) - 6/10

#337. Gallipoli (1981) - 6/10

#338. W.R. - Misterije organizma (1971) - 6/10

#339. Dawn of the Dead (1978) - 4/10

#340. The Phantom of the Opera (1925) - 7/10

#341. Umberto D. (1952) - 9/10

#342. Cat People (1942) - 5/10

#343. Sedmikrásky (1966) - 7/10

#344. Animal Farm (1954) - 6/10

#345. Up in Smoke (1978) - 6/10

#346. Planet of the Apes (1968) - 7/10

#347. Laura (1944) - 6/10

#348. The Red Shoes (1948) - 8/10

#349. Novecento (1976) - 8/10

#350. Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) - 7/10

#351. Our Hospitality (1923) - 6/10

#352. Fantasia (1940) - 5/10

#353. The Bank Dick (1940) - 3/10

#354. It's a Gift (1934) - 2/10

#355. Sabotage (1936) - 4/10

#356. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - 6/10

#357. Five Easy Pieces (1970) - 7/10

#358. Der amerikanische Freund (1977) - 7/10

#359. Down by Law (1986) - 7/10

#360. Les yeux sans visage (1960) - 7/10

#361. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) - 5/10

#362. Viy (1967) - 5/10

#363. La règle du jeu (1939) - 6/10

#364. The Hills Have Eyes (1977) - 3/10

#365. Gabbeh (1996) - 5/10

#366. Goldfinger (1964) - 5/10

#367. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - 6/10

#368. Die Ehe der Maria Braun (1979) - 7/10

#369. Viskningar och rop (1972) - 9/10

#370. La belle et la bête (1946) - 5/10

#371. Philadelphia (1993) - 5/10

#372. The Player (1992) - 7/10

#373. David Holzman's Diary (1967) - 5/10
#374. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) - 7/10

#375. Une histoire de vent (1988) - 5/10

#376. Des hommes et des dieux (2010) - 6/10

#377. Ringu (1998) - 6/10

#378. Good Bye Lenin! (2003) - 6/10

#379. Todo sobre mi madre (1999) - 7/10

#380. The Masque of the Red Death (1964) - 4/10

#381. La notte (1961) - 9/10

#382. L'eclisse (1962) - 9/10

#383. Bringing Up Baby (1938) - 5/10

#384. Brief Encounter (1945) - 5/10

#385. The Docks of New York (1928) - 5/10

#386. The Great Escape (1963) - 6/10

#387. Force of Evil (1948) - 5/10

#388. The Sound of Music (1965) - 6/10

#389. Midnight Cowboy (1969) - 7/10

#390. The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) - 5/10

#391. Sommarnattens leende (1955) - 5/10

#392. Young Frankenstein (1974) - 6/10

#393. Little Caesar (1931) - 4/10

#394. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) - 7/10

#395. The Producers (1968) - 5/10

#396. All the President's Men (1976) - 7/10

#397. Il deserto rosso (1964) - 9/10

#398. La nuit américaine (1973) - 8/10

#399. Zabriskie Point (1970) - 8/10

#400. Harold and Maude (1971) - 7/10

#401. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080... (1975) - 8/10

#402. Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962) - 8/10

#402. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) - 6/10

#403. Shame (2011) - 6/10

#404. The Lady Eve (1941) - 6/10

#405. Idi i smotri (1985) - 7/10

#406. Fanny och Alexander (1982) - 10/10 (A new masterpiece for me. I've nearly completed all of Bergman's ouvre, which was a lot of fun)

#407. Stagecoach (1939) - 4/10

#408. Shane (1953) - 5/10

#409. Sayat Nova (1968) - 7/10

#410. Get Carter (1971) - 7/10

#411. L'année dernière à Marienbad (1961) - 9/10

#412. JFK (1991) - 4/10

#413. Letyat zhuravli (1957) - 7/10

#414. La dolce vita (1960) - 9/10

#415. Bab el hadid (1958) - 6/10

#416. To Be or Not to Be (1942) - 6/10

#417. Popiól i diament (1958) - 7/10

#418. El espíritu de la colmena (1973) - 8/10

#419. Trouble in Paradise (1932) - 5/10

#420. A Night at the Opera (1935) - 7/10

#421. Strictly Ballroom (1992) - 3/10

#422. The Nutty Professor (1963) - 3/10

#423. Shanghai Express (1932) - 4/10

#424. Romper Stomper (1992) - 5/10

#425. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) - 4/10

#426. Chung Hing sam lam (1994) - 7/10

#427. Judge Priest (1934) - 3/10

#428. Wu du (1978) - 3/10

#429. The Public Enemy (1931) - 4/10

#430. Carrie (1976) - 4/10

#431. Madame de... (1953) - 5/10

#432. The Thin Man (1934) - 6/10

#433. Pickup on South Street (1953) - 4/10

#434. The Last Wave (1977) - 5/10

#435. The Reckless Moment (1949) - 4/10

#436. The Big Heat (1953) - 6/10

#437. Ordet (1955) - 5/10

#438. Within Our Gates (1920) - 5/10

#439. Sans soleil (1983) - 7/10

#440. Ôdishon (1999) - 6/10

#441. Fa yeung nin wa (2000) - 7/10

#442. Anatomy of a Murder (1959) - 6/10

#443. Me and My Gal (1932) - 4/10

#444. Fellini - Satyricon (1969) - 4/10

#445. Hable con ella (2002) - 4/10

#446. Ai no korîda (1976) - 3/10

#447. The Birth of a Nation (1915) - 4/10

#448. Roma, città aperta (1945) - 6/10

#449. The Jazz Singer (1927) - 4/10

#450. Il gattopardo (1963) - 6/10

#451. Boudu sauvé des eaux (1932) - 5/10

#452. West Side Story (1961) - 4/10

#453. Les enfants du paradis (1945) - 5/10

#454. Viridiana (1961) - 9/10

#455. Voskhozhdeniye (1977) - 6/10

#456. Dancer in the Dark (2000) - 2/10 (The worst von Trier I've seen by far.)

#457. Being There (1979) - 7/10

#458. Obchod na korze (1965) - 7/10

#459. Woodstock (1970) - 7/10

#460. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) - 4/10

#461. Koyaanisqatsi (1982) - 6/10

#462. The Last Picture Show (1971) - 7/10

#463. Ma nuit chez Maud (1969) - 8/10

#464. Pierrot le fou (1965) - 7/10