Complete James Dean Collection (1955)

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    James Dean is an icon. More than 50 years after his death his image is still universally recognised and his films are considered classics. Few actors can claim this sort of fame, and the fact that Dean starred in only three films makes this even more remarkable.

    Finally, all three films are available on DVD in a box set. East Of Eden, Rebel Without A Cause and Giant are presented together along with a documentary on Dean's career. Each of these films is a classic in its own right and are must-haves for any serious movie fan. James Dean's performances in each movie are electric and it is hard not to wonder what could have been if his life hadn't been cut short.

    All three movies are restored and well presented. For movies made in the mid 1950s they are of exceptional quality as befits their status as true classics of American cinema. If you haven't seen these films you should, and there is probably no better way to see them than in this boxed set.

    I won't waffle on further about James Dean's inspired performances or about the theatrical pleasure these movies provide, I'll let you get straight on to the reviews.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

East of Eden: Special Edition (1955)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Audio Commentary-Richard Schickel Theatrical Trailer Featurette-Forever James Dean Featurette-East Of Eden: Art In Search Of Life Featurette-Screen Tests Featurette-Wardrobe Tests Deleted Scenes Featurette-3/9/1955 New York Premiere
Rating
Year Of Production	1955
Running Time	112:50
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Elia Kazan
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Julie Harris James Dean Raymond Massey Burl Ives Richard Davalos Jo Van Fleet Albert Dekker Lois Smith Harold Gordon Nick Dennis
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	Leonard Rosenman

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 3.0 L-C-R (192Kb/s) Italian Dolby Digital 3.0 L-C-R (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.55:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.55:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English French Italian Dutch Arabic Bulgarian Romanian Russian English for the Hearing Impaired Italian for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    "Someday, he'll realise who his real son is" - Cal Trask

    Set in rural California in 1917, and based on John Steinbeck's novel of the same name, East Of Eden takes its title from the biblical story of Cain and Abel. After killing his brother, Abel, the Bible says that Cain fled and lived in the land of Nod, to the east of Eden. This is the film that propelled James Dean to superstardom. His performance in this, his first starring role, enthralled moviegoers and the movie industry alike.

    Like the biblical Cain, Cal (James Dean) finds he is less favoured than his brother. Desperate to win the affections of his strict father, who can only see the bad in his youngest son, Cal finds his efforts to please seem to drive his father further away. His brother is the apple of his father's eye, although it is Cal who truly loves his father more. Unable to fit in, Cal's actions slowly tear the family apart.

    This is not a movie that relies on action sequences or stunts, rather the drama is played out in the emotions and interactions of the characters. An intelligent adaptation of the last third of Steinbeck's novel, the characters are complex and interesting, a far cry from the two dimensional "good guys" and "bad guys" that are often portrayed on the screen. Although Cal is the "bad boy" we soon see his inherent good side struggling to surface, and we are drawn to him. Likewise his father, seen as a pillar of the local community, has his weaknesses. Although he has isolated Cal, we feel sorrow, rather than anger at his actions. Cal's older brother, Aron, while good, duty-bound and the pride of his father, is somewhat self-centred and proud beneath. No-one is truly good or truly bad, rather there is good and bad in all the characters.

    The entire cast give good performances, but it is Dean that stands out, breathing real life into his character and taking the viewer on an emotional journey that builds empathy and compassion for the tragic Cal.

    While not a movie to relax in front of, it does provide a rewarding movie experience for those who are willing to immerse themselves in the film while leaving their minds in gear.

    Finally available on DVD, this is a two disc collector's edition with plenty of extras covering both James Dean's career and this movie in particular. It is available separately or as part of the Complete James Dean Collection boxed set.

Video

    For a movie originally released in 1955, this is an excellent transfer. There has obviously been a lot of work done to ensure a clean DVD transfer, but that doesn't mean it's perfect.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.55:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

    Like most movies from this era, the colours are somewhat flat and muted, not vibrant like today's blockbusters. This is, of course, a result of the film technology available at the time and not a fault in the restoration or transfer. The transfer is clean with no major film artefacts to spoil your viewing pleasure. The only thing I could find was a strange lightening of the image during some scene changes. These always occurred during a cross fade and I initially thought they may be splice marks. A frame-by-frame check proved this theory wrong, and it was apparent that for few frames after the cut there was a distinct colour shift in the new scene. I'm not sure what caused it, but it showed as a brief flash just after the cut. Not a major distraction, but noticeable.

    These aside, there were no noticeable problems with the transfer. Shadow detail and sharpness were fine given the limitations of the original film.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    English Dolby Digital 5.1 was indicated, but most of the work is done by the centre speaker in this film. The left and right fronts are used for some effect, but I failed to hear any real use of the rears. The subwoofer was also left without any real work. It seems almost as if Dolby Digital 5.1 was used so it could be promoted on the slick, rather than as an attempt to provide a true surround sound mix.

    The audio is clean and clear. Dialogue is always understandable and in sync. There was no hiss. In short, a good soundtrack for a movie of this era, even if the Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding is a little superfluous.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    There is an animated menu, but a nagging ad against video piracy is displayed first. Fortunately pressing your menu button skips this.

Audio Commentary - Richard Schickel

    A pretty standard commentary by film historian and author Richard Schickel. The production of the movie is discussed as well as comments on the significance of certain scenes and events. Not the best commentary I've listened to, but there is some interesting information passed, even if some of the discussions on the movie's meaning are somewhat obvious.

Featurette - Forever James Dean (59:48)

    A 1988 documentary on James Dean. Dean's life is traced from his childhood through to his untimely death in an automobile accident. Colleagues, friends and his son share insights into the real James Dean and provide a glimpse into his life and motivations.

Featurette - East Of Eden: Art In Search Of Life (19:29)

    A short documentary on the book and movie. Academics and John Steinbeck's daughter discuss both the book and the movie, the differences between them, and John Steinbeck's motivations and reasons for writing the novel.

Screen Tests (6:18)

    Pre-production screen test footage in Black and White, featuring James Dean and Richard Davalos performing a scene which never made it into the movie. The scene is shown a number of times from various camera angles and is unedited.

Wardrobe Tests (22:14)

    A series of short film clips without audio of James Dean, alone and with other cast members, modelling proposed costumes. I found this became very tedious very quickly, but I guess for the die-hard James Dean fans every frame is golden.

Deleted Scenes (19:12)

    Two scenes, both shown a number of times from various camera angles, that were eventually cut from the film. Although there is no commentary with them, it becomes quickly apparent why the decision to cut them was made.

Featurette - 3/9/1955 New York Premier (14:40)

    An archival TV broadcast of the New York premiere of the film. Cast members, director Elia Kazan and author John Steinbeck are interviewed along with various celebrities of the time. It is, as you would expect, black and white and there are large scratches down the right hand side of the entire piece. It must have been quite an event in 1955 as it was simulcast on TV and Radio.

Trailer (2:44)

    The original theatrical trailer for the film.

    Region 1 misses out on an Italian Dolby Digital 3.0 soundtrack and Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Bulgarian, Romanian, Russian, English for the Hearing Impaired and Italian for the Hearing Impaired subtitles.

    Region 4 misses out on Spanish subtitles.

    Other than these soundtrack and subtitle differences, and the NTSC vs PAL difference, the Region 1 and Region 4 releases are the same, so I'd call this one a tie.

    A film everyone interested in movies should see at least once. James Dean's inspired performance is worth the effort, but the film is so much more than this. If your movie taste is purely action or you don't like movies that challenge you to think about their message, then you will probably find this film a little slow and uninteresting. On the other hand, if you like intelligent, thoughtful movies you'll love this film.

    The video is good given the age of the movie.

    The audio is nice and clean.

    The extras are good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Rebel Without a Cause: Special Edition (1955)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Audio Commentary-Douglas L. Rathgeb (Biographer) Theatrical Trailer Featurette-Documentary - James Dean Remembered Featurette-Documentary - Rebel Without A Cause: Defiant Innocents Featurette-Screen Tests Featurette-Wardrobe Tests Deleted Scenes-(No Audio) Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Behind The Cameras
Rating
Year Of Production	1955
Running Time	106:22
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Nicholas Ray
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	James Dean Natalie Wood Sal Mineo Jim Backus Ann Doran Corey Allen William Hopper Rochelle Hudson Dennis Hopper Edward Platt Steffi Sidney Marietta Canty Virginia Brissac
Case	Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI	$19.95	Music	Leonard Rosenman

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 1.0 (192Kb/s) Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.55:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.55:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English French Italian Dutch Arabic Bulgarian Romanian Russian English for the Hearing Impaired Italian for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    "You're tearing me apart!" - Jim Stark

    Rebel Without A Cause was a controversial release in 1955. For the first time a mainstream movie dealt with the issue of juvenile delinquency from the viewpoint of teenagers. It stripped back the veneer of the perfect Middle-American family and showed dysfunctional relationships, weak parents and teenagers who were unable to fit into the world they found themselves inhabiting.

   James Dean, in the role that made him an icon, stars as Jim Stark, a new kid in town whose first appearance in the movie shows him arrested for drunkenness late at night. It soon becomes apparent that Jim is a young man with big problems. Constantly moved from town to town as his mother runs from the trouble he finds himself in, he is never able to fit in and is shunned by the other teenagers as he is always the new kid on the block. Added to this, his relationship with his parents is strained as he struggles to reach out to his weak and ineffectual father, a man  whom he loves but cannot respect. Jim Stark is at heart kind and desperately wants to do the right thing but is unable to find direction, so he is confused, angry and alienated.

    Coerced by the head of a school gang into an illegal car race so he can save face and fit in, Jim finds his troubles multiply when his adversary is accidentally killed during the race. Haunted by his conscience, lacking family support and chased by the gang who do not want him to go to the police, Jim finds his only solace in an unlikely friendship with Plato (Sal Mineo); a troubled youth searching for a father figure; and Judy (Natalie Wood); the girlfriend of the dead gang leader.

    The performances of the entire cast are excellent with Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood earning nominations for best supporting actor and actress respectively. Also of note is the performance by Jim Backus as Jim Stark's father. Backus is probably better remembered for his role as the millionaire on Gilligan's Island and as the voice of Mister Magoo, but he plays this serious role of the weak and hen-pecked father credibly. It is James Dean, however, that stands out, giving his trademark role of the isolated, anguished misfit a depth and pathos that dominates the screen.

    Rebel Without A Cause is rightly considered a classic and everyone should see it at least once. Although some aspects are dated, its themes are universal - the movie still has as much to say about family relationships and social acceptance as it did in 1955. If made today, many of the issues the film alludes to would be spelled out graphically and, while some parts of the film may seem a little coy in the early 21st century, the movie is probably better for making you think rather than being brutally blunt.

    Filmed during a production break while he was making Giant, Rebel Without A Cause made James Dean into an icon. Sadly, Dean never knew how influential this film would be, nor how popular it would make him, as it was released after his untimely death.

Video

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.55:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

    This is another fine transfer of an older film and there is not really a lot to criticise with this one. In the first few scenes there are a couple of instances where there is a colour change for a few frames. This is quite noticeable around 4:36 when the video takes on a yellow hue for a few frames. This is in a part of the scene where there are no cuts or fades, just a fixed camera on Natalie Wood. For a number of frames Natalie becomes quite jaundiced as the whole frame gets a yellow tint to it. The effect vanishes as quickly as it appears.

    There is also a light amount of aliasing on occasion, but not enough to cause me any distraction nor to ruin my enjoyment of the movie.

    Other than these the video is clean and only suffers from the usual slightly muted colour that is common to films of this era.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Like the East Of Eden disc, Dolby Digital 5.1 is indicated, but most of the work is done by the centre speaker. The left and right fronts are used for some effect, but the rears were only slightly, if ever, used. The subwoofer was also left very quiet. Again, it seems like another case of encoding in Dolby Digital 5.1 just so it could be promoted on the slick, rather than as an attempt to provide a true surround sound mix.

    That aside, the audio is clean and clear with the dialogue always understandable and in sync without any hiss. A good soundtrack for a movie of this era, questionable use of Dolby Digital 5.1 notwithstanding.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu
    There is an animated menu, but a nagging ad against video piracy is displayed first. Fortunately, pressing your menu button skips this.

Audio Commentary - Douglas L. Rathgeb
    Another pretty standard commentary by biographer Douglas L. Rathgeb. The background to the movie and significance of various scenes are discussed, along with behind the scenes information on the production. Not the most riveting commentary I've heard and a lot of the commentary seemed to be speaking for the sake of not having silence, with very obvious information on what was occurring in the scene being offered.

Featurette - James Dean Remembered (66:19)
    A 1974 TV special on James Dean. Dean's life and work. Interviews with Dean's friends and fellow actors give an insight into the real person behind the on-screen persona.

Featurette - Rebel Without A Cause: Defiant Innocents (36:28)
    A documentary on the film giving background to the story and information on its filming and production. The themes and inspiration for the story are also detailed.

Screen Tests (6:25)
    Pre-production screen test footage in Black and White, featuring James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo performing an early draft of one of the scenes from the film as well as another scene that was not included in the final shoot.

Wardrobe Tests (5:03)
    Black and white footage of James Dean and other cast members during the wardrobe tests.

Deleted Scenes
    A selection of 16 scenes that were deleted from the final film, including five Black and White scenes from the original shoot before the decision was made to film in colour. There is no audio and no option to Play All - they must be selected one at a time.

Featurette - Behind The Scenes-Behind The Cameras (21:23)
    A series of TV specials from 1955 used to promote the movie. An early "Making Of" type of format that features interviews with James Dean, Natalie Wood and Jim Backus.

Trailer (2:16)
    The original theatrical trailer for the film.

    Region 1 misses out on the Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 soundtrack and Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Bulgarian, Romanian, Russian, English for the Hearing Impaired, and Italian for the Hearing Impaired subtitles.

    Region 4 misses out on Spanish subtitles.

    Other than these soundtrack and subtitle differences, and the NTSC vs PAL difference, the Region 1 and Region 4 releases are the same, so I'd call this one a tie.

    The definitive James Dean role and a movie that is much more than just a showcase for this screen icon. This movie is highly recommended and a movie that should be seen at least once. This Special Edition is a great package at a reasonable price. Even if you're not a big James Dean fan and don't want the boxed set, Rebel Without A Cause deserves a place in your collection.

    A nice video transfer for a film of this age.

    Clear, if not outstanding, audio.

    Extras are mildly interesting, but not must-haves unless you are a real die-hard James Dean fan.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Giant: Two-Disc Special Edition (1956)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio Introduction-George Stevens Jr. Audio Commentary-Stephen Farber, Ivan Moffat & George Stevens Jr. Featurette-George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him Featurette-Memories of Giant Featurette-Return To Giant Featurette-New York Premiere Telecast Featurette-Hollywood Premiere Featurette-Giant Stars are off to Texas Gallery-Photo Gallery-Documents Featurette-Behind-The-Cameras: On Location in Marfa, Texas Featurette-Behind-The-Cameras: A Visit with Dimitri Tiomkin Theatrical Trailer-4 Awards
Rating
Year Of Production	1956
Running Time	193:14
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL FLIPPER (104:04) Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	George Stevens
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Rock Hudson Elizabeth Taylor James Dean Chill Wills Dennis Hopper Carroll Baker Mercedes McCambridge Jane Withers
Case	Gatefold
RPI	$36.95	Music	Dimitri Tiomkin

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 1.0 (192Kb/s) Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.66:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.66:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English French Italian German Spanish Dutch Arabic Bulgarian Romanian English for the Hearing Impaired Italian for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Remembered by many for the sole reason that this was James Dean's last film before he met an early death in a car accident, Giant is also remembered for winning the Best Director Academy Award for George Stevens. In the early 1950s, Warner Bros funded a movie that would be bigger than almost anything before it. An epic of grand scope with a large cast and an even larger subject -- Texas. The filming ended up running over schedule, it was well over budget, and it ran well past its originally intended two and a half hours. But in 1956 it became the most successful film Warner Bros had ever made to that point.

    Starring quite a young cast for the type and grandeur of the story told, Elizabeth Taylor, who was only 23 at the time, is joined by Rock Hudson who was not really known for his dominant leading roles. He was only 29. As mentioned, this was James Dean's last film - he was tragically killed in a car accident on the way to a race meeting after wrapping up his filming for the movie. As a result, he never saw the finished product. He was only 24.

    Giant is an epic in every sense. With a story spanning nearly thirty years and taking in two generations, it is based on the equally epic novel of the same name by Edna Ferber, a novelist known for her sweeping grand tales. Texas rancher Jordan 'Bick' Benedict (Hudson) travels to Maryland to buy a horse from a prominent family. He soon ignores the horse because he is instantly smitten by the owner's daughter, Leslie (Taylor), and effectively sweeps her off her feet as only they can do in the classics. The two are married and Leslie packs up her life and moves back to the ranch with Bick, 'Reata' in West Texas. The dry and dusty plains of the ranch are a far cry from the lush green fields of Maryland, but Leslie, being the confident and able young woman that she is, takes this sudden upheaval in her stride with absolutely no fuss. Unfortunately she runs afoul of Bick's sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge). The two just don't hit it off with Luz feeling that her position as woman of the house has been usurped. The two do not get a chance to reconcile their differences, as Luz is tragically killed by the very horse that caused Bick and Leslie to meet. It is Luz's wish that a small portion of Reata be left to one of the struggling cowhands. When Bick discovers that Luz has left this land to Jett Rink (James Dean), he is livid. Bick and Jett have a history, with Bick having tried to fire him many times. But Jett was a favourite of Luz's, and so Bick must obey his dead sister's wish. Jett immediately starts drilling for oil on his land and in one of the best scenes in the film strikes it lucky. Suddenly his fortune is made, thus ending his need to covet what the Benedicts have, because he is now more than able to afford anything he wants.

    The story then unfolds over many years, culminating in the ongoing conflicts that arise not only between Jett and Bick, but the children of the Benedicts. As the youngsters grow up, poor Bick begins to come to the slow realisation that Texas and Reata are not the same as when he was a child, and his son is probably not the best person to take over the ranch. He must also face long-standing prejudices he harbours when his teenage son Jordan Jnr (Dennis Hopper) marries a lady of Mexican descent. The themes of greed, success, racism, and female liberation are the cornerstones upon which this tale is built. These latter two topics were not often covered in mainstream films in the 1950s and this film tackles them with a certain frankness that is quite normal to watch nowadays, but must have made many people quite uncomfortable when viewed in 1956.

    Giant is among those handful of films that is quintessentially American. I do think this means you need to be American to fully appreciate it, and if by chance you are Texan as well, then this film is a state institution. I am still glad I finally have had the chance to see it.

Video

    Any film that was made in 1956 is going to have its share of problems, and while Giant underwent some extensive restoration (and I mean extensive - there are no film artefacts present at all, not one) for its 40th anniversary edition, there are some problems. It's not all grim, since there are many, many things to like about this transfer, it's just unfortunate that there are also a couple of things to hate about it as well.

    Presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1, it is not 16x9 enhanced, but this lack of 16x9 enhancement is not really all that much of a problem.

    While the image is at times a little softer than expected it is certainly a clean and mostly sharp image, but not one that jumps off the screen at you. The big negative is the presence of some of the worst edge enhancement I have ever seen. This is certainly the most disappointing aspect of the transfer. There is extensive ringing around many of the actors, so much so that they look like fluorescent lights at times. The worst examples occur on Disc One early on around 7:27-7:38, and it pops up again enough times to be quite off-putting and very, very noticeable. Most edge enhancement manifests itself as a slight lighter coloured thin ring around objects, usually people. This is actually quite a bit wider than normal and pops up not just on people, but on the sides of buildings and even around the cattle and horses. Thankfully it isn't in every scene and appears worse in the first hour, then clears up dramatically. Also thankfully, there is really nothing to complain about in terms of grain and there is no low level noise.

    Colours are excellent, though not the superb saturation you would expect with a full-on Technicolour film (this being shot using the Eastmancolor Process which was, according to the commentary, a bit of a disappointment to the director), but it is still a joy to behold on most scenes. Most notably, the early scenes set in Maryland (though filmed in Virginia) are among the most vibrant with fully saturated greens, reds, and wonderful blue sky.

    There are no MPEG artefacts. Aliasing is basically non-existent, and amazingly there are no film artefacts. Truly, I did not see one. Amazing for a film this age, and a real testament to the restorers. This fact alone is one reason enough to take a look at this disc.

    Plenty of subtitle options are available. I sampled the plain old English variety for much of the film and found them mostly accurate.

    Since the film is well over three hours in duration, the authors have wisely decided to spread the film over two sides of disc one. Both sides of the DVD-18 are dual layered efforts, but I was unable to pick the layer change on either side. The disc must be flipped over at 104:04, not a bad place for a quick break. The second side starts instantly so the flow of the film is not harmed all that much.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are four soundtracks on this disc. The main focus of attention is on the remastered Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo surround encoded soundtrack. The other languages supported are French and Italian. Both these languages receive Dolby Digital 1.0 soundtracks. Rounding out the audio selection is the English Dolby Digital 2.0 commentary track. I listened to both English tracks.

    While you would probably be initially disappointed to see there is no full Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track present, the matrixed Dolby Digital 2.0 surround track is certainly the next best thing. While there is a little harshness at times, it is remarkably clean and distortion free, with prominent dialogue and solid effects throughout. If all 1950s films sounded like this there would be no complaints from me.

    The score is by Dimitri Tiomkin, who is actually a Russian composing very American-themed tunes. While a little dated and clichéd by today's standards, it captures the mood of 1920s to 1950s Texas extremely well.

    There is very little surround or subwoofer use, except during a few of the cattle scenes and when Jett Rink's oil gusher finally bursts into life.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    For a film that is nearly fifty years old I was quite taken aback with the quantity of extra material here. This film obviously means an awful lot to many people. This would certainly rank amongst the most comprehensive sets of extras I have ever seen, with a total running time of nearly three hours (not including the full length audio commentary which when added to the duration adds another three hours  - value indeed). Extras of this quantity and quality are usually only associated with a new film and have been made especially for DVD, and not with fifty year old films.

Disc 1

Main Menu Audio

    The static 16x9 enhanced menu features audio, but little else in terms of action.

Introduction

    A 2:53 minute introduction to the film with George Stevens Jnr. discussing the importance of the film, his father's dreams for the finished product, and the restoration undertaken by Warner Bros.

Audio Commentary - Stephen Farber, Ivan Moffat & George Stevens Jr.

    This commentary features the voices of the director's son, George Stevens Jr, (who was involved in the production to some extent), screenwriter Ivan Moffat and film critic Stephen Farber. It is screen specific and runs for the entire duration of the three-plus hour film. Stevens Jr does most of the talking, although Moffat often chimes in with interesting observations about what he was intending to convey on the screen with his script. All three speakers have very distinct and different voices so there is no confusion over who is talking about what at any given time. Stevens and Moffat provide the nostalgic perspective to the commentary (always important for a good one, in my opinion), while Farber takes the critical angle and though obviously a strong fan of the film, does provide some interesting critique of his own.

Featurette - George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him

    This featurette is tucked away on side two of the flipper disc, and since the film starts automatically when inserted you might actually miss it. Selected from the menu, this is a 45:39 minute interview style documentary with several of the people who worked with George Stevens during his career. Included are the likes of Warren Beatty, Frank Capra,  Rouben Mamoulian, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Alan J. Pakula, Antonio Vellani, Robert Wise and Fred Zinnemann.  The gentlemen discuss Stevens' impact on the world of film, his methods, and his unique traits. Quite enlightening and not tarnished by the usual fluff style beat-up.

Disc 2

Featurette - Memories of Giant

    This is a fairly lengthy retrospective look at the film, running for 51:38 minutes. It contains interviews with George Stevens Jnr, and some of the surviving cast including Caroll Baker and Jane Winters. It appears to have been made in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the film about five or six years ago. The principal cast are not interviewed (only Elizabeth Taylor is still alive), but there is some older interview material featuring Rock Hudson. Enlightening, if a little self-congratulatory and smug.

Featurette - Return to Giant

    Another lengthy featurette which is also a retrospective look at the film. This one is narrated by The Eagles' Don Henley and was made in 1996. It contains more scenes from the film and a few more interviews with people associated with the filming. Unfortunately many of the interview segments are repeated from the Memories of Giant featurette. Running time is a healthy 55:10 minutes.

Featurette - New York Premiere Telecast

    A slightly bizarre live television telecast of the 1956 New York World premiere of the film, hosted by Chill Wills and Jayne Meadows. Running time is 28:53 minutes and the image is very, very poor, being grainy, smudged and hazy black and white. The audio is also appalling. All manner of guests arrive and are herded onto a tiny stage area in front of the television cameras and are asked all manner of inane questions. Several cases of mistaken identity and the embarrassing "sorry - but who are you again?" questions are asked.

Featurette - Hollywood Premiere

    Similar to the New York Premiere, this features the stars arriving in Hollywood and being interviewed as they walk the red carpet. This one only runs for 4:20 minutes and is much more bearable than the New York premiere featurette.

Featurette - Giant Stars Off To Texas

    A very brief 38 second glimpse of the cast and crew having a celebratory meal before heading off to Texas to commence filming.

Gallery-Photo

    Running automatically for 7:11 minutes, these are several dozen predominantly black and white (with a few colour) photos from behind the scenes and other off-screen action. Presented in a 16x9 enhanced frame, the photos themselves are quite small in the middle of the screen.

Gallery - Documents

    This is a fascinating series of documents all relating to the production of the film, consisting of several inter-office memos between the director and head of Warners, Jack Warner, with the latter expressing his concern about delays and budget over-runs. My only concern here is that each memo is not presented on screen long enough to read the whole thing before it moves to the next one, and to make matters worse, you are unable to pause it. Running for a total of 4:24 minutes, this is a veritable time-capsule of material documented during the making of the movie.

Featurette - Behind-The-Cameras: On Location in Marfa, Texas

    A 5:58 minute black and white television special which take a brief but nonetheless interesting look at the effect the film had on the small Texas town of Marfa.

Featurette -Behind-The-Cameras: A Visit with Dimitri Tiomkin

    The same television special, this time featuring composer Dimitri Tiomkin as a guest. He explains his philosophies on composing and performs a couple of the tunes from the film. Running time here is 6:34 minutes and this is also presented in black and white.

Theatrical Trailer

    There are actually four trailers presented here, and all will give you some idea of the extent of the restoration of the main film. They are grainy, discoloured, and filled to the brim with artefacts and reel markings.

    The four trailers are:

• 1956 Book Trailer - Cartoon style, the film is laid out in a series of pages turning in a book. Quite neat. Running time is 1:28 minutes and the quality is actually not that bad. More of a teaser trailer than anything.
  
• 1956 Original Trailer - This is more the traditional trailer. Running time is a mammoth 3:36 minutes. It features excerpts from the book trailer and bits from the film as well. Presented full frame 1.33:1, the quality is pretty ordinary with lots of artefacts.
  
• 1963 Re-Issue Trailer - Similar to the original trailer, without the book components, this features new titles. Running time is 2:24 minutes.
  
• 1970 Re-Issue Trailer - The youngest trailer of them all and probably the one in the worst condition. This 2:56 minute trailer is almost identical to the 1963 re-issue trailer but is dirty, discoloured and filled with so many artefacts you wonder where the restorers started from for the main film.

Awards

    Two static screens of all the awards the film won, including the Best Director Oscar for George Stevens.

    A Canadian Region 1 version was released a couple of years ago, but this is no longer available. Strangely enough that release featured a 1.85:1 aspect ratio complete with 16x9 enhancement, which is not the same aspect as the original theatrical release - some reports indicate that this is the reason it is no longer available as Warner's were asked to pull it from sale by George Stevens Jr.

    The similar Region 1 version to our version was only released in June 2003, and from what I can gather the releases are almost identical, save for one extra soundtrack on our disc. Both appear to be formatted as one DVD-18 and one DVD-9, and both contain the same extras.

    The Region 4 disc misses out on:

• Nothing

    The Region 1 disc misses out on:

• Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 soundtrack

    Giant is certainly a big film, and not just because of its name. It is big in duration, big in scale, and big in stars. It is the quintessential American tale of success and patriotic spirit, coupled with themes of racism and female liberation. I can't help but feel that you need to be from the USA to fully appreciate and get the most out of it. It is certainly an important film in the history of cinema, one that deals with issues now considered mainstream, but were then seldom touched. The presence of James Dean and his untimely death just as production was wrapping up only adds to the intrigue associated with it.

    The video effort provided by Warner Bros for this special edition is remarkable, though not without flaw. I didn't spot a single film artefact, anywhere. Unfortunately, the edge enhancement is at times amongst the worst I have ever seen.

    The Dolby Digital 2.0 surround audio is actually pretty polished. Mostly clean and solid, it's not a modern Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack by any means, but for a fifty year old film it ain't half bad.

    The extras are formidable. A quality selection which allows you to gain an in-depth understanding of this important film.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

James Dean: Forever Young (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating	?
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	84:07
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Michael J. Sheridan
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Martin Sheen
Case	?
RPI	Box	Music	Timothy Wynn Patrea Patrick Fred Roth

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.66:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Varies	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English Arabic Bulgarian Croatian Czech Danish Dutch Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hungarian Icelandic Italian Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Slovenian Spanish Swedish Turkish English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

    This final disc of the Complete James Dean Collection is a documentary that is only available with the boxed set. Narrated by Martin Sheen, it traces Dean's career from his early bit parts in Pepsi advertisements through to his tragic death at a mere 24 years of age.

    The documentary comprises a wealth of old footage of James Dean's TV appearances as well as a number of stills taken by professional photographers, candidly by his friends, and photos taken by Dean himself. There is also 16mm film footage taken by Dean of behind the scenes happenings on the Giant set, as well as scenes from early films in which he had bit parts. It is not an overly sentimental documentary and gives a factual account of Dean's career without romanticising him.

Video

    The video quality is variable as the source material is mixed. Most of the documentary consists of 1950s TV footage and old film stock, so sharpness is often poor and almost every film artefact you can name is present at some point. Scratches, hairs and spots all appear at some some stage, but, due to the historic nature of the footage, this is not really a criticism of the video quality. Considering the origin of much of the material, the video transfer is more than acceptable.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    A Dolby Digital 2.0 track is provided and it is clear and without problems. Some of the old TV footage suffers from the bandwidth and hiss limitations of the era, but the commentary is always clean and distinct. Most of the sound is concentrated around the centre sound stage, with only some audio effects moving to the left or right.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There are no extras.

    As far as I can determine, the Region 1 disc is identical to the Region 4.

    An interesting documentary on the career of one of the most influential and iconic actors ever. If you are a James Dean fan you will want to see it. Those who are unfamiliar with Dean's work will find this documentary enhances their appreciation of the movies in this set.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall