Rusty James (Dillon) is the leader of a small dying gang in an industrial town. He lives in the shadow of the memory of his absent older brother - The Motorcycle Boy (Rourke) - his mother has left his father drinks school has no meaning for him and his relationships are shallow. He is drawn into one more forbidden gang fight and the events that follow begin to change his life.
Filmed back to back with Coppola"s other adaptation of an S.E. Hinton novel ('The Outsiders') and set in the late 1950s 'Rumble fish' is, above all, an enigmatic story of time and societal alienation, with subtle allusions to Greek mythology. Cool, but dim, hoodlum Rusty James (another top notch performance by Matt Dillon) leads a gang of Greasers in some one-horse town in Hinton"s backyard of Tulsa, Oklahoma. James is the quintessential rebel without a cause, an amiable outlaw who longs for the days of organised gang warfare and rumbles, as he thinks this will give his life some meaning and he"ll finally have a chance to live up to his elder brother"s reputation, his brother being 'The Motorcycle Boy' (Mickey Rourke in the best performance of his career). A gang legend, whose gone A.W.O.L but returns in a blaze of glory only attract a lot of unwanted attention from cops who won"t let him be.
Rusty James is at a loss to explain why 'The Motorcycle Boy' has turned his back on violence, at first, he puts it down to injuries sustained in all the rumbles of old, colour blind, 'The Motorcycle Boy' describes his condition "Like black & white TV with the sound turned low". And though Rusty James"s gang includes the likes of Nicholas Cage (making his cinematic debut as Nicholas Coppola), the late/great Chris Penn, Laurence Fishburne and bookish Vincent Spano, there"s rarely a rumble on screen, for this movie examines relationships: the brother"s alcoholic father (an on form Dennis Hopper), Rusty"s put upon girlfriend (Diane Lane), 'The Motrocycle Boys' junkie moll (Diana Scarwid) and the rumble fish of the title; a pair of Siamese fighting fish who provide an obvious metaphor, trapped as they are in the pet shop fighting their own reflection , these fish dazzle us as they swim into frame in glorious Technicolor, providing sharp and beautiful contrasts to the black and white print of the picture.
Rusty James is Paris and Patroclus to 'The Motorcycle Boy"s' Achilles and Hector, Rourke"s arrival on the scene marks the cut off point where this stops being a teen gang movie, and becomes a surrealist slow burn character study, that whilst always interesting, takes the movie into new, and initially disorientating, territory.
'Rumble Fish' is a mini-masterpiece in monochrome, that"s a must have for any film fan; I"d recommend buying the Special Edition (region 1) as you get a cache of deleted scenes, an insightful making of / cast interviews from the time and an informative director's commentary track by Coppola.
We will publish your review of Rumble Fish [1983] on DVD within a few days as long as it meets our guidelines.
None of your personal details will be passed on to any other third party.
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Rusty James (Dillon) is the leader of a small, dying gang in an industrial town. He lives in the shadow of the memory of his absent, older brother - The Motorcycle Boy (Rourke) - his mother has left, his father drinks, school has no meaning for him and his relationships are shallow. He is drawn into one more forbidden gang fight and the events that follow begin to change his life. Actors Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Dennis Hopper, Diana Scarwid, Vincent Spano, Nicolas Cage, Chris Penn, Laurence Fishburne, Tom Waits, William Smith, Michael Higgins, Glenn Withrow, Herb Rice, Maybelle Wallace & Sofia Coppola Director Francis Ford Coppola Certificate 18 years and over Year 1983 Screen Widescreen 16:9 Anamorphic Languages English - Dolby Digital (5.1) Subtitles English ; German ; French ; Italian ; Spanish Duration 1 hour and 31 minutes (approx)
Francis Ford Coppola co-writes and directs this drama starring Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a local teenage gang leader (Rourke), despite reforming his ways, is still the hero of local adolescents. His younger brother Rusty (Dillon) idolises him, even though his mentor strives to persuade him that he has done nothing to be proud of. Meanwhile, things start to go downhill for Rusty as he's suspended from school, his relationship with his girlfriend Patty (Diane Lane) deteriorates and his brother refuses to reunite with him.
Rusty James, an absent-minded street thug struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days when gang warfare was going on.
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy
