James Dean - The Movie [2001]

One of James Franco's earlier films, initially made for TV and now released on DVD, is an interesting examination on the short life story of 50's Hollywod movie star James Dean (he only made three feature films before he died). You could be mistaken for thinking they put James Dean into storage after his unfortunate accident at the age of 24 and with the magic of medicine and Hollywood resurrected him. Franco's portrayal is that good. Not only does he look like the legend he has also done his homework on mannerisms, eccentricities and accents. The story itself is derived from various sources and anecdotes offering up a fairly authentic portrait of the man himself, flaws and all. There are no rose coloured glasses here. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in movie stars of the past. I also suggest a viewing of Dean's three movies East of Eden, Rebel Without A Cause and Giant all available in glorious high definition in The  James Dean - Ultimate Collector's Edition [Blu-ray] [1955] [Region Free ] multi disc set.

I had never heard of this until my then girlfriend mentioned it, stating that it was one of her favourite movies. With it being discontinued I couldn't find it in shops.Really enjoyed the movie, well made and well acted. I can't imagine any other actor being chosen ahead of James Franco. Not only does he look a lot like James Dean, but I feel he really managed well to capture James Dean's attitude, mannerisms, and spirit in this movie.After watching this film I am surprised that I had never heard it when it was initially released as it is better than a lot of films in the mainstream. Now that I have seen it I am glad, and I will watch it again.

not a lot of news about JD's life here, but the acting is really fine. all the minor characters are well developed and add to the understanding of the story in their brief appearances.

Great watch, great portrayal, well written, acted and directed

The best James Dean biography film ive seen. James franco is perfect for the role. Definitely recommend for any James Dean fan

This item was purchased as a gift. The recipient loved the item. Excellent quality and highly recommended service. The item was well packaged.

I returned it as dont have vhs format to play

James Dean is too complex to be able to portray him accurately, but this is a good attempt to help the viewer understand the underlying anger and impatience of a mixed-up kid.

I wish this had been released in theaters - it certainly should have been. I LOVE it, a lot. James Franco knows how to act and he plays James Dean to a T. I had no idea he was capable of Oscar-winning acting, although he's been very good in most of the substandard roles he usually gets. As some other reviews state, he pretty much steals the show, and every scene. Some of the other actors are good, and some are just ok. Amy Rydell (daughter of director Mark) is superb as Christine White, who was an amazing but underrated actress whose career died long before White herself did, and Amy did a superb job of it. Rydell himself was absolutely convincing as Jack Warner. The guys who played James Whitmore and Martin Landau were nothing too great but the guy who played Kazan was pretty good, as was the Italian gal who Dean was in love with. As James Dean definitely experimented with the same sex, it would have been nice if there had been a bit more of that in the film. All in all though, this was way more than I expected. I think Rydell succeeded greatly with what he had to work with - Dean's life was so short and most of those who were alive at the time are now gone, and as Rydell humbly admits in the closing titles, "some of it was an educated guess." Usually TV movies suck. This one SO didn't, though. I wish it had been about 30 minutes longer. James Franco though...I think way more highly of him now. He should never have done any of those films with Seth Rogen in them because they were so so so way beneath him!

Film biographique un peu romancé sur James Dean, rôle intérprêté par un James Franco tout à fait magnifique, qui arrive à prendre possession du mythe.

rien a dire pour ce qui aime cette acterre bien interpretté james franco qui interprette james dean que du bonheur

This is quite a remarkable made for TV film about the intense, fast and tragically short life of the master of method acting; James Dean.James Franco plays Dean so convincingly that at times it is easy to forget that this is not James Dean himself.Bio films always take a little licence with actual facts and events and no doubt this is true here.Overall Franco reveals his own, quite stunning and at times, moving, acting ability and it is easy to see why he is now achieving great things.As a film `James Dean` is outstanding entertainment and I think even the man himself would be proud.One thing which needs to be noted is that in real life Winton Dean (James` father) was not the unfeeling, uncaring man portrayed but did indeed care greatly for his son. Winton had to sell everything including his car in order to pay the medical bills when James` mother was dying and felt that young James had a better chance living with his uncle on his farm. In fact in James` letters to his father after he had remarried to Ethal they started with `Dad and Mom`. Winton also sent James money when he could. Not touched on here was the fact that Winton was also drafted during the war and went to see James when he could whilst in service. Winton was disappointed in his son`s early interest in the arts as to him it was not a manly interest, but the evidence is that Winton loved James dearly.

Voilà un film pauvre en mise en scène mais sauvé par le génie James Franco qui compose un James Dean tout à fait émouvant et convaincant.