James Dean

James Franco gives a marvelous performance as the ultimate anti-hero James Dean. He not only looks like James Dean, he ACTS like James Dean. Michael Moriarty does a good job as James Dean's distant father. The rest of the cast gives solid performances. And the period recreation is realistic. My only complaint is that is the telemovie is a too short, but then again, so was James Dean's life. 8/10

This is a TV biopic of James Dean. It starts with director Elia Kazan (Enrico Colantoni) egging Dean on as he keeps rubbing Raymond Massey the wrong way. Then it goes back to his childhood as he loses his beloved mother. His cold distant father Winton (Michael Moriarty) would abandon him to other family members. He would never get the approval from his father that he craves so much. He would ascend through the acting world in NYC and Hollywood as well.

I'm not a big enough Dean fan to know how much truth is in this picture. However there is no denying that James Franco is the perfect guy of his generation to play the guy. It's much more than mimicry. He is channeling his spirit somehow or at least his public persona. He is really the rebel without a cause. The production is OK for a TV movie. The style is old school and functional. Watch it for Franco's performance.

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.

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).