 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
American Masters: James Dean: Sense Memories
James Dean has long survived his brief 24 years. September and October 2005 mark the 50th anniversary of both Dean's fatal automobile accident and the release of the film with which he is forever identified, Rebel Without a Cause. A cinema figure of such iconic and mythic dimensions, it is said of Dean that he didn't just change the way people acted, he changed the way people lived. He was an original; he was a natural. Synonymous with adolescent angst, he also redefined the American male ideal, making vulnerable sexy and alienation desirable. There are only three films to his legacy - East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant - crafted with three seminal directors, Elia Kazan and Nicholas Ray and George Stevens. Reality and art are closely linked in Dean and are seamlessly woven in this documentary - his film personae are all misfits, consummate outsiders, characters in search of identity and meaning, who echo the themes of loss and abandonment in his own life experience.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Download Questions (PDF file - Adobe Reader required)
|
|
 |
|
How do you account for James Dean's enduring popularity?
|
|
|
|
Which of Dean's three movies is your favorite? Why?
|
|
|
|
After seeing this documentary, what are your feelings about Dean?
|
|
|
|
Do you think Dean would be a star if he broke into the movies today? Why?
|
|
|
|
What do you think about the practice of analyzing someone's art though biographical data?
|
|
|
|
What do you think is James Dean's legacy?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
