Customer Reviews

East of Eden (Two-Disc Special Edition)

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This is my favourite movie!
My mom loved the book and the movie. She turned me on to the charms of James Dean.

East of Eden,a novel by John Steinbeck, is probably one of the greatest books I have ever read, and I am an english literature teacher. I was much looking for ad to seeing this film, especially as the star is a movie icon, James Dean!
How disappointed I was. The film, as an entity, in and of itself, is not terrible, but if you have read the novel and are thinking this might be the same story-FORGET IT.

After reading the book East of Eden from John Steinbeck, I wanted to look again at the movie (which is the last part only of the book). Was not disappointed. James Dean is very good, and it's pretty much, with a few exceptions, the same as the book. I recommend it.

I have enjoyed East of Eden several times over a time span of some forty years; first in black and white on a small TV and later in colour but still in small screen format. So I looked very much forward to the new DVD release in its original format.
The DVD package is certainly handsome with many welcome bonuses.
Of particular interest is a short screen test segment featuring the two brothers in an intense dramatic confrontation. This revived memories of my first viewing of this classic and made me realize that the nature of this film would have been more suited to the 4:3, black and white format of previous Kazan helmed masterpieces such as A Street Car Named Desire and On the Waterfront.
Kazan was not the only great director to experience teething problems with the recently (1954) introduced gimmick of Cinemascope. But the Studios, convinced that this was the way to woo potential audiences away from their TV sets, cajoled their leading directors to turn out major productions in this format irregardless of aesthetic suitabilities.
No director has ever surpassed Kazan in capturing intense emotional confrontations between individuals, and the focus this requires is diluted and diminished by the widescreen format. Kazan does throw in some fine panoramic vistas of the stunning filming locales, but these are only fleeting moments that are not really central to the unfolding drama. Kazan skews camera angles in an attempt to add tension, but just plain old black and white and a more confined screen space would have been more effective ways to concentrate the action.
Some viewers will probably grouse at the somewhat muted colour transfer, but this film was shot in WarnerColor (synonymous with Ansco Color) which the studios used for several years in order to shave costs. Unlike Technicolor, this was a one step colour processing that was both inferior and highly unstable. Restoring films shot in this colour format is quite a herculean achievement and they never equal the vibrancy of older films recorded in three step Technicolor.
East of Eden is still a terrific cinematic achievement, but it would have been more powerful still if it had been shot in black and white small screen.

Given the nature and extent of Oprah Winfrey's influence, it is only a matter of time before this film -- based on the Steinbeck novel of which she is so fond -- is available in a DVD format. Let's all hope that the special features are worthy of our patience and forbearance in the meanwhile. It has been almost 50 years since this film first appeared, in the same year during which Rebel Without a Cause was also released. Both feature James Dean. I have often wondered to what extent his unique and abundant talents as an actor would have developed, had he not perished in a car accident immediately after the filming of Giant had been completed. Of course, we will never know. His was a compelling presence in each of only three films and especially so in East of Eden in the role of Cal Trask.

The basic story is derived from the Biblical account of Cain and Abel. Adam Trask (Raymond Massey) has two sons, both of whom he presumably loves. However, he favors Aron (Dick Davalos) because he (unlike Cal) never says or does anything to irritate him. Aron is "the good son," complete with a girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris) whom his father obviously adores. Of course, Cal feels resentment toward both his father and brother. He desperately wants his father's love. (Later in the film, he even tries to buy it with profits he earns from investments enriched by World War One.) Under Elia Kazan's brilliant direction, tensions build relentlessly to what seems certain to be a tragic conclusion. Feeling rejected by his father, Cal seeks out his mother who left her husband and sons years ago. Kate Trask (Jo Van Fleet) now owns and manages a brothel in another town nearby and has become wealthy. Cal climbs aboard a freight train so that he can visit her frequently. Over time, they develop mutual respect and affection. Finally the climatic moment occurs and then....

The acting throughout the cast (with one exception) is outstanding. Van Fleet received an Academy Award for best actress in a supporting role and Dean was also nominated for the award as best actor in a leading role. Burl Ives and Albert Dekker are noteworthy in their supporting roles. However, Julie Harris (age 30 at that time) seems to me miscast as the teenage Abra. As for Massey, he does the best he can with the role of Adam Trask, recycling elements of his earlier portrayal of John Brown in Sante Fe Trail. Most of Steinbeck's fiction is set in the Monterey area, as is East of Eden. Kazan and his cinematographer, Ted D. McCord, took full advantage of that uncommonly lovely area when shooting various exteriors.

Having seen what can be done to enhance the clarity of image and sound in other classic films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), I eagerly await the DVD version of East of Eden. Hopefully, its "special features" will also be special.