American Zoetrope
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Rumble Fish
Rusty James can't live up to his brother's reputation. His brother can't live it down.
Absent-minded street thug Rusty James struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days of gang warfare.
- Original title
- Rumble Fish
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $10,000,000
- Revenue
- $2,494,480
Wuchak
May 17, 2022 · via TMDB
_**Artsy flick about lost souls wandering the city in the Midwest, trying to find answers**_ In the Tulsa area, a teen delinquent (Matt Dillon) idolizes his charismatic older brother (Mickey Rourke), who had left the area a couple months prior. When his sibling suddenly returns he’s no longer interested in gangs or rumbling. They wander the town with their pal (Vincent Spano) hanging out at various places trying to find meaning and purpose. The peripheral cast includes Diane Lane, Dennis Hopper, Diana Scarwid, Nicolas Cage, Laurence Fishburne and William Smith with Sofia Coppola as the little sister. Filmed in B&W, “Rumble Fish” (1983) was the second of two flicks based on SE Hinton’s young-adult novels shot back-to-back by Francis Ford Coppola. The first one was “The Outsiders” (1983) and it was successful at the box office while this one failed to draw an audience. Unlike “Outsiders,” which takes place in 1965, this one is set in the modern day, 1982, the time of shooting (or at least the late 70s). Hinton, by the way, has a cameo as the hooker on the strip that propositions Rusty James (Dillon) and Steve (Spano). She was only 16-17 when she wrote “The Outsiders” and so that movie is from the perspective of a mid-teenager. By contrast, she was in her mid-20s when she wrote “Rumble Fish” and this is also reflected in the corresponding movie: The Motorcycle Boy (Rourke) has grown-up and is no longer interested in juvenile delinquency, which confuses Rusty James. Both “The Outsiders” and “Rumble Fish” are arty, but this one is more so. It’s a mix of “The Outsiders” and Coppola’s experimental “One from the Heart” (1981), along with bits of “The Warriors” (1979) and “Grease” (1978). Like “One from the Heart,” the story is very basic while the filmmaking is highly stylized, which results in a beautiful film that’s entertaining on a visual & audio level, but not very absorbing story-wise. What’s it all about? Some answers include: The challenge of unconventional people in a conventional world, living in someone’s shadow, the cult of personality, growing up while simultaneously giving up childish things, setting others free, how envy murders others (figuratively or literally), the potential corruption of authority, the resultant injustice and sacrificing oneself for loved ones. I can’t close without noting how Cage is in the prime of his life and surprisingly good-looking (speaking as a staunch heterosexual). Not that he later became Quasimodo, but I never viewed him as a handsome actor, like say George Clooney. The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot in the Tulsa area, as was “The Outsiders.” GRADE: B-
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Matt Dillon
Rusty James
Mickey Rourke
The Motorcycle Boy
Diane Lane
Patty
Dennis Hopper
Father
Diana Scarwid
Cassandra
Vincent Spano
Steve
Nicolas Cage
Smokey
Chris Penn
B.J. Jackson
Laurence Fishburne
Midget
William Smith
Patterson the Cop
Michael Higgins
Mr. Harrigan
Glenn Withrow
Biff Wilcox
Tom Waits
Benny
Sofia Coppola
Donna
S.E. Hinton
Hooker on Strip
Tracey Walter
Alley Mugger
Lance Guecia
Alley Mugger
Kristi Somers
Lake Girl
Dennis Gassner
Graphic Designer
Stephen H. Burum
Director of Photography
Buddy Joe Hooker
Stunt Coordinator
Buddy Joe Hooker
Stunts
Freddie Hice
Stunts
Tim A. Davison
Stunts
August Coppola
Thanks
Francis Ford Coppola
Director
David Valdes
First Assistant Director
Sandy King
Script Supervisor
Mark Radcliffe
Second Assistant Director
Janet Hirshenson
Additional Casting
Roman Coppola
Associate Producer
Francis Ford Coppola
Executive Producer
Fred Roos
Producer
Leslie Shatz
Dialogue Editor
Stewart Copeland
Original Music Composer
David Parker
Sound Mixer
Randy Thom
Sound Recordist
S.E. Hinton
Novel
Francis Ford Coppola
Screenplay
S.E. Hinton
Screenplay
Tough as They Come
City of God
The Departed
Reservoir Dogs
To Kill a Mockingbird
Raging Bull
Heat
The Straight Story
The Maltese Falcon
The Hustler
Boyz n the Hood
Sleepers
Gattaca
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Rabid Dogs
Legends of the Fall
Grease
Give Us Wings
Gangs of New York
Gone Baby Gone
Dead Man Walking
Seventeen
The Day the Rains Came
Collateral
The Boondock Saints
West Side Story
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Lethal Weapon 2
American Graffiti
The Darkest Minds
Dante: Beware of the Shark!
Fréwaka
The Princess Diaries
Tsotsi
Game Night
The Sisters Brothers
Tough Enough
Last Man Standing: Suge Knight and the Murders of Biggie and Tupac
Short Sharp Shock
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Salvation
It Happened on This Very Day
Red Heat
Cobra
Keep 'Em Slugging
Distress Signals
The Wasteland
Bound by Honor
Scarface
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing
Blue Story
Lawless
Siberian Education
South Central
The Bikeriders
Out of the Furnace
Hoodlum
Little Odessa
Out of Exile
The Perfect Weapon
Gangster No. 1
State Property
Belly
Fast Charlie
The Public Eye
Empire
Inside Man
The Newton Boys
The Krays
The Crew
The Rookie
Next of Kin
Suburbicon
Killer Heat
Oct 7, 1983
New York Film Festival
Oct 9, 1983
Oct 21, 1983
