Home > Documentary >

James Dean: Forever Young

James Dean: Forever Young (2005)

May. 20,2005
|
7.4
| Documentary

A brief career. A timeless stardom. In just three major movie roles, James Dean became an icon for the ages. Now his legacy shines even brighter thanks to this fascinating film that, filled with an astonishing treasure trove of newfound or rare glimpses of Dean's TV performances, is like a road map to his meteoric success. Michael J. Sheridan directs and Martin Sheen narrates this revealing documentary showcased at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Movie clips, romances, photos that are part of our national DNA (and the stories behind them), and the small-screen work that paved the way to the big screen are all part of the James Dean you couldn't see until now. Forever young. Endlessly fascinating.

...

Watch Trailer

Cast

Reviews

Diagonaldi
2005/05/20

Very well executed

More
PodBill
2005/05/21

Just what I expected

More
Mjeteconer
2005/05/22

Just perfect...

More
Derrick Gibbons
2005/05/23

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

More
sol
2005/05/24

Impressive documentary of 1950's Hollywood icon James Dean in both rare photos film and video clips seen for the first time since they were shown on TV and the movies almost 60 years ago. Dean who started his acting career doing Pepsi Cola commercials ended up becoming one of the top stars in Hollywood five years later only to get himself killed in a traffic accident on a lonely stretch of a California highway at dusk, at approximately 5:45 PM, on that fateful Friday afternoon of September 30, 1955.At the time of Dean's death the public were exposed to only one film that he stared in "East of Edan" with his next film "Rebel Without a Cause" slated to be released, in mid-October, just two weeks after he was killed. But as we see in this fascinating documentary Dean had already made a name for himself on both stage and TV with some three dozen roles that he cut his teeth and perfected his acting craft in. Holding his own against seasoned actors like John Carradine Rod Steiger Hume Cronyn and Robert Middleton Dean by the beginning of 1954 was ready to make the big time as well as big bucks in Hollywood. That's in famed Hollywood & Broadway director Elia Kazan casting him in the title role of the moody and ill tempered Cal Trusk in film version of John Steinbeck's best selling novel "East of Edan".It was in "East of Eden" that the movie going public finally got to see what an electrifying and talented actor James Dean really was. What the public didn't know was that one of the reasons that Dean was able to convey such explosive tension and almost maniacal intensity in his roles was that he was extremely near-sighted, his vision was 20/400, and had to squint, in him not being able to see as close as ten inches in front of his nose, to see or make out the actors and actresses that were in the scenes with him.After the success of "East of Edan" Dean was well on his way to movie immortality but his premature death at age 24 cut all that short; Or did it! In fact James Dean had become bigger in death then he ever was in life which is one of the many ironies and contradictions about him. And it's that his tragic death what makes Dean the legend that he is even more then any of the parts, on stage TV and in the movies, he played!One of the many ironies in Dean's life was that fellow actor Paul Newman tested for the part, which we see in a never before shown film clip, of Dean's brother and rival for his father affection Aron in his beak-out film "East of Edan" and lost out to Richaed Davalos for the role. As fate would have it the very next role that Dean was to play before his untimely death the part of boxer Rocky Graziano in "Somebody up There Likes Me" eventually went to Paul Newman! That like in James Dean's part as Cal Trusk in "East of Edan" became Newman's beak-out movie role. That eventually made him the major film star,in Newman taking the part which by then Dean was not available for, which James Dean was very probably descant to become!P.S Another ironic fact about James Dean is that on the day September 30, 1955 that he died he was exactly,in him being born on February 8, 1931, 9,000 days old!

More
blanche-2
2005/05/25

"James Dean: Forever Young" is a look at the actor, focusing a lot on the pre-Hollywood television years. There is lots of rare footage, plus the famous Newman-Dean screen test for "East of Eden", which I had seen on the A&E bio of Paul Newman.I know James Dean's story very well, but you wouldn't think I knew it at all from my reaction. When narrator Martin Sheen says, "In 1953..." and introduced another television show, I thought, "Gee, it's 1953. He died in 1955. When is he going to Hollywood?" The entire time, I kept thinking, he died before his 25th birthday? As if I didn't know that. Somehow, seeing this gifted, beautiful, vital man in action, it was harder to comprehend. Even harder to comprehend than that is that he was a contemporary of Martin Landau's. Think of Dean today, at 79. What might have been? I didn't really like Martin Sheen's narration. I found it intrusive and (this isn't his fault) it was like a resume. There wasn't footage on ALL of the TV shows, yet he talked about every one of them. Believe me, they could have skipped some. The narration also made the same stupid mistake that we hear over and over again: "He only made three films." Why does that drive me so crazy? He only STARRED in three films. He MADE more than three.The Hollywood part was fascinating. And the photos. Boy did the camera worship this man. He was born for the movies. This is well worth seeing for the photo shoots and footage of Dean off the set. There are no interviews with friends and coworkers, which is okay too. He speaks for himself.I read some complaints about the music. I had no problem with it. It wasn't '50s music but it fit the subject matter.As this was coproduced by Dean's nephew Marcus Winslow, the documentary emphasizes his interest in women. Like all classic stars, there are lots of rumors about his sexuality. Also, he was supposedly obsessed with Marlon Brando and emulated him in every way possible - this also wasn't covered.What is covered is that James Dean was an unusual person, possibly not as eccentric as he portrayed himself, but nevertheless a passionate and talented person, extremely magnetic and sexy. A true icon.Dean's love for fast cars and racing - at that age, I'm sure he felt immortal. And guess what, in a way, he was.Don't miss this one despite a few flaws.

More
Jem Odewahn
2005/05/26

Excellent James Dean documentary with plenty of early footage from Dean's television appearances to sate even the most hungriest Dean fan's appetite. This is a very well-crafted and produced feature that looks at the short, yet incredible life of Hollywood's symbol of youthful rebellion.One of the amazing things about Dean was the sheer amount of photographic evidence that he left behind in his death. There are countless images of our idol on offer here, and this can be attributed to Dean's love of photography and being photographed. There is a lot of images and early TV work used here rather than scenes from his three major films, but Dean fans surely can't complain as a lot of this footage is rare and hasn't been in public circulation for years.We get a look at the personality of Dean and the ingredients that make him such a lauded figure today. His qualities were frustrating, yet endearing and wholly recognizable.The legend lives on.

More
rhinestone_cowgirl
2005/05/27

I saw this film at it's American premiere at the James Dean festival in Marion, Indiana. I feel in love immediately and somehow all over again with James Dean. I think that my favorite aspect of the film was how it revealed the "real" Dean, the artist, not James Dean the rebel, because there's so much more to him than that stereotype. The film chronicles a fearless boy ready to tackle the world, not afraid to take chances and step on some toes, but not in a maniacal fashion, which is what I loved. I appreciated how I was able to watch much of the television work of Dean, as well as some of his screen tests, most notably for "East of Eden" in which he tests with a young Paul Newman. This is one of the most wonderful documentaries I've ever seen, and it's because it's made out of love for Dean, and love of art and film-making, not for the almighty dollar, and that alone makes it something very special.

More