Review of Rumble Fish (1983) by Stuart K — 15 Jul 2009
In the early 1980's, Francis Ford Coppola had been brought to his knees after the failure of One From The Heart (1982), which bankrupted him. Now, desperate for money to pay off his massive debts, he adapted two books by author S.
E. Hinton, shot back-to-back. The first was The Outsiders (1983), the other one was this, an inventive and experimental film which featured much of the 'Brat Pack' of the 1980's. Shot in an almost noirish black and white in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
It follows Rusty James (Matt Dillon), who is the leader of a street gang, but lives in the shadow of his brother, The Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), who had all street gang fights stopped after a treaty.
But, Rusty James breaks the treaty after a fight with Biff Wilcox (Glenn Withrow), and The Motorcycle Boy reappears after a 2 month absence, and Rusty James' life is thrown into disarray. It's a powerful, brooding film, a little dated now, but well made and daring for it's time.
It's young cast give off top notch performances, (including Nicolas Cage, Chris Penn and Laurence Fishburne), with a powerful score by Stewart Copeland off The Police which keeps the mood up.
This review of Rumble Fish (1983) was written by Stuart K on 15 Jul 2009.
Rumble Fish has generally received positive reviews.
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