Rumble Fish (1983)

Pretty Good

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Absolutely Fantastic

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Youth alienation seems to be the obvious theme of this story about a high school kid named Rusty James (Matt Dillon), a big believer in rough, angry neighborhood gangs, and his long-lost older brother who unexpectedly returns. Perhaps at a more subtle level, the story's theme relates to the passage of time, in hours and years, as evidenced by the film's visuals of passing clouds and the presence of clocks in numerous scenes.The story is thin. Rusty and his "gang" hang out, talk, walk around a lot, get angry, encounter various characters that appear in some scenes, then disappear. Ultimately, the glue that holds the plot together is the relationship between Rusty and his enigmatic, somewhat intellectual older brother, no longer a gang leader, who now functions as Rusty's mentor who over time, wised up. The story's era is unclear.Casting is okay except for a disconnect between story location and character accents. The setting is supposed to be Oklahoma; yet, most characters, and especially Rusty James, speak with a thick New York accent. Director Francis Ford Coppola made the same mistake in "The Outsiders", using the same location and some of the same actors.The film was shot in B&W, except for a couple of scenes where aquarium fish appear in red and blue. Overall photography is interesting in that visuals have a look and feel influenced strongly by German Expressionism, and include low-angle, noir lighting, heavy shadows, smoke and fog, and a few weird camera angles. Visuals in many scenes convey a gritty, dingy, urban look.In the copy I watched, dialogue sounded muffled and hard to understand. Background sounds combined general urban clanking noise with the rhythmic based ticks of a clock and light jazz to create an interesting if perhaps contrived overall soundtrack.An art film that was not well received by audiences when it came out, "Rumble Fish" would appeal to an art house audience but probably few others. I found the story talky and boring, though the B&W visuals were interesting in a stylized sort of way.

It's been years since I've seen this movie (time to watch it again). It's black-and-white to exquisite effect; the appearance of clocks is subtle but profound. I rarely like film versions of books I've enjoyed, but there are a few. This IS the book, enhanced, clarified, and brought to visual life. I enjoyed this movie as a story, as a theatrical piece and as an artistic venture.

Releasing after the much less artsy adaptation of S.E Hinton's The Outsiders Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish adaptation is prime example of where the once great director started to lose the plot and a product that shows the downfalls of trying to make a movie with the style over substance mantra.Filmed in a stark Black and White and filled with many a dream like quality Rumble Fish's presentation allows no connection to the story of Hinton's book which one feels would be ripe even this day to adapt if the approach was more grounded. Coppola set out to mimic artists and expressionism in his take on the disaffected youth of the 50's – 60's yet forgot to engage us in the plight of the characters who led by Matt Dillon as Rusty James do fine jobs in their roles. Rumble Fish is today mainly noteworthy for these early acting pieces by the likes of both Nicolas Cage and Dianne Lane. The weakest link of the film following the direction of Coppola is strangely the supposedly enigmatic Motorcycle Boy played by then desirable icon Micky Rourke.Rourke seems like an almost ghostly figure in the film playing Motorcycle Boy as a disinterested young man who barely seems to want to talk as witnessed in his irritating hushed tone and blank facial expressions. In a movie where the youth look up to this supposedly charming and charismatic bad boy it is a major miss-step by Rourke to play Motorcycle Boy as he does and Coppola to allow him to do so. Another flaw in the film is the seriously idiotic musical score by Police member Stewart Copeland who seemingly had taken the opportunity to experiment rather than craft an effective accompanying piece.Rumble Fish is not all bad but it's also a wasted opportunity to be a classic take on youth on family and the source material has a lot going for it that would work in a film format. Thanks to some novelty factors of seeing the young cast ply their early trade and an interest in what should be an affective story it remains watchable yet in the end merely showpieces as Coppola's beginning of his ever diminishing creative genius that at one stage was nigh unbeatable.2 foggy streets out of 5 For more movie reviews and opinions check out - www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com

Nostalgic Rusty James (Matt Dillon) yearns for the good old days of gang fights and ultra violence in a choking Oklahoma town. Things ain't been the same since brother Motor Cycle Boy (Mickey Rourke) blew town for the coast in search of errant mom. But return he does just in time to avenge a cheap shot by a rival on feisty scrapper Rusty. Together with assorted hanger ons including their drunken old man (Dennis Hopper) MB imparts words of wisdom in a whisper to bro as they meander the dingy streets of long shadows and vice.This was the third of FF Coppola's mediocrities after a spending the 70s making a quartet of classics and while it it does display moments of B&W surrealism and expressionism it drowns itself in pretense and self indulgence even before the arrival of hipster shaman Motorcycle Boy who lays it on thick from a deep state of torpor.The cast is filled with named talent but all over the top. Dillon is outlandishly loutish, O'Rourke in a lugubrious funk while Hopper continues to trip along in one altered state or another and Nicholas Cage sports a pompadour in hue and height somewhere between Elvis and Andy Kaufman's send up of him.Steve Burrum's photography offers up some striking graceful exposition in spurts but eventually lays it on too thick while Dean Tavalouris Ash Can School set design attempts to conjure up a Dante like circle of Hell but instead delivers a cloying purgatory out of Playhouse 90.Coppola's construction is loose ended his dialogue vapid the pace limpid. It is a daring attempt for an old master to be au courant and in tune with the times but Rumble Fish instead of being Jim Jarmusch comes across more like Mickey One on sedatives. It is an unintentional stoic self parody that even Francis forgets to let himself in on.