Outsider: Rebellen ohne Grund

I loved this book as a kid, and I work with troubled kids who still love the book. I've seen this film a number of times over the years, and am still disappointed that, with such a FABULOUS cast, that it misses the grit and passion of the story.

Ya know what did it? The score. I understand that FFCoppola wants to make his films a family affair, but did he actually LISTEN to what his dad wrote? Sappy strings and a STEVIE WONDER BALLAD???? (ok, that part isn't her fault - what was FFC thinking???). What about some of the early rock songs of the time? I know that's been done a lot, and maybe they didn't want to "date" the film, but the fashion and language and cars and dress date it already; honestly, I've never heard a musical score that was so badly matched to a story. Heh, might as well get Danny Elfman (great score composer, btw) to write the scores for Star Wars.

Now, if you want to hear a terrific score that actually becomes a character of a story, see "The Shawshank Redemption"... the music in that amazing film, to me, is Andy's voice... listen for it, it expresses what's going on inside of Andy, and occasionally the other characters. THAT is what a film score is supposed to do.

In the Tulsa area in 1965 the rivalry between the Greasers (poor kids) and the Socs (rich kids) heats up after a gang member is killed. The Greasers supposedly responsible flee the area (C. Thomas Howell and Ralph Macchio), but ironically end up being viewed as heroes. Matt Dillon costars while the notable peripheral cast includes the likes of Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Diane Lane and Leif Garrett.

"The Outsiders" (1983) was one of two films Francis Ford Coppola shot back-to-back based on SE Hinton's young-adult novels. This one was successful at the box office while the even more artsy "Rumble Fish" (1983) failed to draw an audience.

Hinton began writing "The Outsiders," her most popular novel, in 1965 when she was 16, inspired by two rival gangs at her school, Will Rogers High School, which is about 2.5 miles west of downtown. I bring this up because the movie definitely comes across as an overdramatic tale from the perspective of a teenager. The most mundane, trivial events are presented as life-or-death happenings, like going to a drive-in theater or facing your nemeses at a park where one person idiotically brings a switchblade to a fistfight.

This explains why some people write the flick off as "the cheesiest and corniest movie ever." In its defense, you have to acclimate to it in order to appreciate it. Go back to what was happening in your life when you were in your mid- teens and how a fistfight or breakup was an earthshattering event. The movie captures this very well.

The original theatrical film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, while the 2005 Director's Cut runs 23 minutes longer and includes new music. It was shot in the Tulsa area.

GRADE: B-/B.

This movie feels very dated in terms of the way the drama is presented, but it is saved by standout performances from a laundry list of great actors cutting their teeth with the material. This is also worth watching in the present day for its portrayal of social class, and the universal theme of friends helping one another to learn, grow and survive. I also really loved that the small Midwest town isn't portrayed as a glamorous 1960s utopia, the housing is run down, businesses are shown struggling, and the feeling of growing up in a working class neighborhood is so real you can taste it. Ultimately, these things make The Outsiders worth a watch even if youre unfamiliar with source mayerial.

I had to read the book in seventh grade and we also watched the movie. I though both of them were fabulous. Francis Ford Coppola has adapted almost every detail of the book into this movie. I thought the acting was great and the plot was good for teenagers, which is the movie's, as well as the book's, target audience. I was surprised on how many stars were in this movie (seven) and it was much better than I thought it would be. It didn't seem cheesy and small but you felt like you were watching a real film. Even though the Greasers seem to be born into undesirable lives, watching this movie makes you want to go back to 1967 in the Southwest and be a Greaser, too. Fabulous movie and perfect for teenagers.

A terrific tweener for kids of any era. Serious but sweet, and refreshingly free of cynicism.

Godfather Coppola has a real way with family, go figure. But here he keeps the themes and emotions simple. One of the reasons for this story's lasting power is that it was written by a teenager, and so accurately reflects kids' perspective. It would have been very tempting to try and infuse an adaptation with "layers," to comment on the action and show yourself superior, but Coppola exercises great restraint and appropriate respect for the material. He knows it isn't profound stuff, but he understands that it *feels* profound to kids who identify with it. In walking this tightrope, he creates a rare thing: a movie that's for kids but neither talks down to or indulges them.

Lowe, Dillon, Estevez, Howell, Macchio, Garrett, Swayze. Only Cruise and Lane (and Sofia!) seem bigger now than they are here. That, and the 20-some years since, makes The Outsiders all the more poignant.