Why So Blu?

Rebel Without A Cause (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Warner Bros is celebrating its 100th birthday in 2023. And lucky for us physical media collectors, they are doing so with some boffo new 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray releases of many of their classics. Films coming to the format for the very first time. We’ve already seen Training Day to kick things off but more are on the way from seminal astute staples like East of Eden to beloved genre fare like the Christopher Reeve-led Superman films. On April 4th, these get a big kick to the engine as The Maltese Falcon, Rebel Without A Cause and Cool Hand Luke all debut on the format. Gorgeous restorations and classic bonus features abound, these are all available to order at the click of a button at the end of the review. In this review, we’ll be covering the 1955 film that announced James Dean wasn’t just a flash in the pan, that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with. Rebel Without A Cause saw James Dean pining “You’re tearing me apart!” long before Tommy Wiseau made the line a midnight shouting classic.

Film

James Dean stars in a movie that shocked the United States with a performance that still electrifies the screen twenty-five years after his untimely death prior to the film’s release. In this archetypal drama of teenage angst and rebellion, three high school students who should lead idyllic lives in their stable, comfortable suburban families explode with a violence and sexuality that their parents cannot understand. This film–which ripped the façade from the post-war American dream to expose the rage of the country’s youth–resonates with an energy that has made it a modern classic and a powerful coming-of-age story.

This was the film that ultimately confirmed that the kid from East of Eden, James Dean, was a force to be reckoned with. A tour de force powerhouse performance he wouldn’t live to see praised. Its the pinnacle of both his talents and his super cool bad boy image. When people talk about the cinematic icon James Dean, its Rebel Without A Cause. As much as his death struck and shocked the world, so did the performance that came in its wake. James Dean’s film career as a leading man was itself a film trilogy. And this is the breakout sequel, epic middle chapter.

From the jump, Dean comes in and gets the viewer on his side with being humorous and against the grain of the law and superiors that surround him. But we latch onto him when he opens up and shares with us the troubled individual that’s hiding behind the showboating. Dean gives one of the most committed and vulnerable performances we’ve ever seen on screen. The guy is so powerful that its pretty hard for others to find his level in the film to match or bounce off of him. Kudos to Natalie Wood who just sort of lets him do his thing and plays reactionary, making her performance all the much stronger. The person who best tap dances with James Dean is that of Edward Platt. He knows the perfect yin to his yang and in doing so gives us a car and trust in that character.

Aside from the Dean performances, this is a rather well directed and crafted film that works almost as much as a teen thriller as it does a coming of age drama. There’s a chase element and race against the clock setting that kicks into gear and definitely asks for you to buy into some suspense. There are nice touches of creative camera work all over the place in the form of wicked, off kilter angles and movements that play to great effect or perspective of a scene. There’s a reason this film has stood a test of time beyond James Dean. He’s the reason you go find it, but the reason you go back or recommend might be because of how good and uniquely crafted it is.

There used to be a thematic timelessness to Rebel Without A Cause that I want to think somehow still shines through. Though when I see young people Tweeting about having trouble connecting with “old movies”, I start to have my doubts. I feel movies like this or American Graffiti or Fast Times At Ridgemont High should still carry merit. But regardless, they are still well made films that really broke through and broke new ground when they released and typically its easy to see why.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are from the standard Blu-ray disc, not the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC/H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Rebel Without A Cause makes a heck of a debut here on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. Its a gorgeous, colorful, very technicolor looking image that has a pristine image. The colors are quite strong and well saturated with an image that is crisp, showcasing plenty of depth and detail. This one is quite a looker and I can’t imagine there being many reasonable complaints about it.

Depth:  Depth of field is pretty strong, showcasing some terrific space and pushback. The cinematography’s sense of scale is definitely bolstered here in this transfer. Motion is cinematic and smooth with no issues of blurring or jitter distortions during any of the rapid action moments.

Black Levels: Black levels are very deep and natural. They impressively really bring out this picture with great contrast in darker rooms or the nighttime sequences. No details are lost in the sea of black and patterns, textures and finer details like hair follicles are easily discernible. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors here are of that gorgeous technicolor feel. Red is the color that really jumps out the most. From a red car to James Dean’s iconic jacket, its quite a vibrant color. Other colors are pretty bold themselves and blues and greens come across pretty strong too.

Flesh Tones:

Noise/Artifacts:  Clean

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, Original Theatrical English Mono 2.0 DTS-HD MA, French 2.0 Mono Dolby Digital, German 2.0 Mono Dolby Digital, Italian 2.0 Mono Dolby Digital, Spanish (Castilian) 2.0 Mono Dolby Digital, Spanish (Latin American) 2.0 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Spanish (Castilian), Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Spanish (Latin American)

Dynamics: Rebel Without A Cause got an Atmos remix here for this edition. And its not one that goes crazy or anything. Its well balances, clean sounding, very spacious and feels quite relaxed. Most of the mix is up front, but it does casually fill the room. For those that get peeved by new mixes for older movies, Warner Bros DOES include the original theatrical mono mix in lossless form to show your forum bros how good of a purist you are.

Height: From above there is a lot of ambiance or light touches of the score. It comes into plays otherwise mainly in moments where it would makes sense for there to be use from above.

Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer proves its most effective when finding the deeper tones in the score, but does have some nice moments when accentuating a crash or relevant action sound.

Surround Sound Presentation: Most of this mix hangs out up front, there are some nice contributions from the sides and rear channels for more than just ambiance and room building. The mix tries to keep it real here and doesn’t overextend its bounds, knowing the right times and places to go an extra mile.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp.

Extras

Rebel Without A Cause comes with the standard Blu-ray edition and a redeemable digital code. With exception to the commentary, all bonus material is found on the standard Blu-ray disc.

Audio Commentary

• Douglas L. Rathgeb

James Dean Remembered (SD, 1:06:22)

Rebel Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents (SD, 36:30)

Dennis Hopper: Memories from the Warner Lot (HD, 10:31)

Screen Tests (SD, 6:27)

Wardrobe Tests (SD, 5:05)

Black & White Deleted Scenes Without Sound

• Kids Exit the Planetarium (SD, 2:42)
• Gang Outside the Planetarium (SD, 1:12)
• Gang Outside the Planetarium (Alternate Angle) (SD, 2:41)
• Plato Gets on the Bus (SD, 3:01)
• Kids Run Down the Ramp (SD, :55)

Color Deleted Scenes Without Sound

• Kids Drive Up to School (SD, 1:36)
• Kids Walk Up to School (SD, :57)
• Kids Leave School (SD, :31)
• Jim Sees Judy (SD, :55)
• Kids Leave the Planetarium Auditorium (SD, 3:04)
• Jim Hustled Into Precinct (SD, :51)
• Gang Attacks Plato (SD, :49)
• Gang Attacks Man (SD, 1:43)
• Cops Arrive at Planetarium (SD, :58)
• Parents Arrive at Planetarium (SD, 1:20)
• Plato Falls from the Planetarium (Alternate Ending) (SD, :36)

Behind The Cameras

• Natalie Wood (SD, 7:57)
• Jim Backus (SD, 5:47)
• James Dean (SD, 7:44)

Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2:25)

Summary

James Dean’s performance in Rebel Without A Cause continues to impress and command the film over 60 years later. Warner Bros has really gone all out here in this restoration. A beautiful, colorful transfer goes with an audio track they went for the top tier with an Atmos mix that sounds quite spacious and clean. All of the excellent extras carry over from the previous Blu-ray release. A film and presentation worthy of a pick up as soon as you’re able.

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