East of Eden (1955)

Watched in 2021: Movies (152 movies items)

" Director: Elia Kazan His 11th Movie. My 7th movie watched from the director. This is an excellent example of the "dangerous" new era in acting meeting the safe ways of Hollywood. Kazan did it with a number of actors, most famously with Brando. In this, Dean's acting may seem over the top for today's standards but it was goddam revolutionary for the time and it's entirely understandable why he was seen as the next big thing. The movie itself, while expertly crafted, isn't all that inter"

1001 Movies ... my own version (1950's) (100 movies items)

" Notes: James Dean is a real legend, even though he has made only 3 movies (in fact, he has made actually other movies but with a very small part). So, I was really curious to see those flicks to finally find out if the guy was actually any good. This movie was the first of his that I have seen and I have to say I was indeed really impressed. Honestly, even though the directing was really good, I thought that the story tended to get a little bit overdramatic but the performances, especially by "

1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe (1001 movies items)

" Notes: James Dean is a real legend, even though he has made only 3 movies (in fact, he has made actually other movies but with a very small part). So, I was really curious to see those flicks to finally find out if the guy was actually any good. This movie was the first of his that I have seen and I have to say I was indeed really impressed. Honestly, even though the directing was really good, I thought that the story tended to get a little bit overdramatic but the performances, especially by "

Elia Kazan’s Movies I Have Watched (12 person items)

" James Dean and Jo Van Fleet"

“"East Of Eden" is billed as a modern-day story of "Cain and Abel," between good and bad brothers with one of them feeling rejected by his father. The small Biblical account of the two brothers only mentions an offering they both gave God and then saying the brother whose offering wasn't accepted went out in a fit of jealousy and killed the other.

True, the "offering" by "Cal" (Dean) and its rejection by his dad "Adam" (Raymond Massey) leads to a climactic scene near the end of the film, but - this is just an assumption - most people viewed this simply as a story between "good" and "evil" pertaining to Dean and Davalos' characters.

I didn't see either of those guys as either the "good" or "bad" brothers. In fact, this film story is unusual in that every main character's ” read more

Best Films of 1955 (22 movies items)

" Director: Elia Kazan His 11th Movie. My 7th movie watched from the director. This is an excellent example of the "dangerous" new era in acting meeting the safe ways of Hollywood. Kazan did it with a number of actors, most famously with Brando. In this, Dean's acting may seem over the top for today's standards but it was goddam revolutionary for the time and it's entirely understandable why he was seen as the next big thing. The movie itself, while expertly crafted, isn't all that inter"

Movies the giraffe watched in 2018: June (27 movies items)

"First viewing - June 25th Since I've seen James Dean's other two major roles I figured I should check out the one I hadn't seen yet. East of Eden is easily my least favorite of his three films, but that doesn't mean it's not worth watching. I appreciated the story, especially the fact that I was rarely able to predict where it was going. Dean's performance here kept making me think of Brando when he was younger, their mannerisms and vocal delivery are similar in some ways. It never crossed the "