Il était une fois James Dean

This is Movie History 101 for serious film fans. Those meeting James Dean for the first time will (or should) immediately acquire all three of his films and devour them post haste. There are going to be, among the older crowd, some (maybe many) who will say that James Franco didn't really look a lot like James Dean, and that he wasn't able to bring the magic of James Dean to the screen. Well, "Duh-uh." If they can make a man or woman look more like an ape than an ape does, they could have recreated a rubber-masked James Franco who would have been a dead ringer. But would that be Art? As to the wizardry of James Dean, that miracle is unlikely to happen again in the lifetime of any of this movie's viewers. Taken for what it is, this flick is first-rate entertainment, presenting an insider's view of some of Hollywood's finest:Louella Parsons, Jack Warner, Martin Landau (as a very young and struggling actor in New York.) Evaluated as it should be (as a TV film among TV films) I give this one an 8+ on a scale of 10.

Wonderful. James Franco brilliantly channels James Dean in what is easily one of the best made-for-television movies ever made. Franco delivers a knockout performance in his portrayal of one of the most celebrated teen idols of all time.

The movie opens with Dean filming a scene from East of Eden, adding his own personal twist to the shot. A focused relationship of this film is the one between Dean and his father. After Dean's mother dies when Dean is only 9 years old, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. His father seems to be embarassed by him, and will not invite him into his home. Eventually, Dean's father will not see him at all.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this movie, and hope that from beyond the grave, Dean is watching, and smiling. Franco's next big role is that of Peter Parker's best friend Harry Osborn in the big-budget superhero flick Spider-Man, and I for one cannot wait.

"East of Eden" came out when I was 21 and very impressionable, and from then on I was a James Dean fanatic. So were most of my friends, but we didn't see his other two films until after his death. We identified with the roles he played. Cal Trask, Jim Stark, and Jett Rink were just as mixed up and insecure as we were, and James Dean could play those guys because he was mixed up, too. After we saw "Rebel," all of us wanted red jackets like the one he wore in that movie.

In this new movie, a young actor named James Franco plays James Dean, and he beautifully conveys not only the angst and many of the distinctive mannerisms but also some of James Dean's offbeat humor. I suppose one reason Franco was chosen to play Dean is that he looks like him. Not a lot, but there is a resemblance. He could have done a caricature of Dean, but happily he didn't fall into that trap.

Some of the writing was disappointing. The actress who plays Pier Angeli is beautiful and quite good, but what can you do with lines like "You don't understand" and "My mama won't let me"? Those are not her exact lines, but you get what I'm saying.

Dean's relationship with Jack Warner is well done. Also his relationship, or rather his lack of a relationship, with his father. But I kept wishing they'd show more about the making of the films. How did he relate to Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Carol Baker, Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood? And what were the films about? If I didn't already know James Dean's films, I still wouldn't know much about them after seeing this biography. But maybe I would be inspired to check them out.

The movie in itself could have been much better. Many of the facts weren't quite right and I agree that it should have been longer. But I don't look at this movie that way, and so I am able to deeply enjoy this movie. For me, what makes this movie work is the way they portray James Dean. I am yet another James Franco admirer for his incredible job in playing Dean, and I also like the way he was looked upon. Since watching this movie I have found myself deeply interested in the Icon and watching all his movies, and even reading a bio on him. And I have found it interesting that everyone who knew him, and even people that didn't know him, all have different interpretations on who James Dean really was. They all see him in a different way. I really like the way he was seen in this TV movie. The writers could have done a better job with the story but did a GREAT job in creating James Dean as they saw him.

This is a good movie for getting a whole new generation of people watching James Dean. This isn't the best movie for people who want to know more about him. For that, go read a book on him, but try not to get too much of a biased one. This is a good movie for going more inside the personality and mind of James Dean. I think whoever chose which way to go with the interpretation must have really liked James Dean when everything comes down to it, as well as the director Mark Rydell.

Great acting by everyone, especially Franco, Mark Rydell (as Jack Warner), and Rydell's daughter Amy Rydell (as Christine). She seemed incredibly likeable, like someone I would want to be friends with. And that's how it seems she really was.

I watched this film with the idea I was going to hate it as I have all other attempts to recreate the life of James Dean, especially the one starring Casper Van Dien, which was deplorable. But the new TNT won me over more times than it missed. Without being aware, I discovered an occasional tear running down my cheek. James Franco did as well as anyone could to play James Dean. The times when he lost me were when Mark Rydell had him smile, full view with a horrible set of teeth. I realize this is picky, but if something is noticeable to break your concentration, then it is wrong. I wish Ted Turner had made this a two-nighter. There were scenes that could be expanded, especially with Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan. I would've like to've seen more off-camera interaction between James and Julie Harris...and later on, when he became friends with Elizabeth Taylor and an enemy of Rock Hudson, two people that played predominant roles in the final days of James' life. Mark Rydell, who also directed, was marvelous a dead-ringer for Jack Warner. All and all I'd have to give it 2 1/2 stars out of four. It skimmed James's biography and could have had more depth, rather than playing on a sordid father-son relationship based on speculation. But thank God, Mark Rydell didn't spend to whole two hours exploiting James' relationship with Pier Angeli as the Van Dien version did, just to reinforce James Dean's preference for heterosexuality. I would love for Ted Turner to put out a three or four hour version of this same movie on DVD...I bet a lot of good scenes are lying on the editor's floor. All and all...pretty good show! (but could have been great without having to trim the movie for commercials).