The best James Dean’s movies

James Dean

James Dean

08/02/1931- 30/09/1955
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best James Dean’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about James Dean.
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Giant

Giant
7.6/10
  • Genre: DramaWestern
  • Release: 24/11/1956
  • Character: Jett Rink
Giant is a movie of huge scale and grandeur in which three generations of land-rich Texans love, swagger, connive and clash in a saga of family strife, racial bigotry and conflict between cattle barons and newly rich oil tycoons.

Rebel Without a Cause

Rebel Without a Cause
7.6/10
  • Genre: Drama
  • Release: 29/10/1955
  • Character: Jim Stark
After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.

East of Eden

East of Eden
7.8/10
  • Genre: DramaRomance
  • Release: 10/04/1955
  • Character: Caleb Trask
In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.

Sailor Beware

Sailor Beware
6.2/10
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Release: 08/02/1952
  • Character: Boxing Opponent's Second (uncredited)
Meeting in a navy recruiting line, Al Crowthers and Melvin Jones become friends. Al has tried to enlist before, but was always rejected. He keeps trying so that he can impress women. Melvin, is allergic to women's cosmetics and his doctor prescribed ocean travel, so he decided to join the navy.

Fixed Bayonets!

Fixed Bayonets!
6.9/10
The story of a platoon during the Korean War. One by one, Corporal Denno's superiors are killed until it comes to the point where he must try to take command responsibility.

Tab Hunter Confidential

Tab Hunter Confidential
7.6/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 15/03/2015
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
In the 1950s, Tab Hunter was number one at the box office and number one on the music charts and was Hollywood’s most sought-after young star. Natalie Wood, Debbie Reynolds and Sophia Loren were just a few of the actresses he was romantically linked to. He was America’s Boy Next Door and nothing, it seemed, could damage Tab Hunter’s career. Nothing, that is, except for the fact that Tab Hunter was secretly gay. Now, the secret is out.

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
7.8/10
Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival footage make up this star-studded voyeuristic look at the Golden age of Hollywood during the 30s, 40, and 50.

Trouble Along the Way

Trouble Along the Way
6.8/10
  • Genre: ComedyDrama
  • Release: 04/04/1953
  • Character: Football Spectator
Struggling to retain custody of his daughter following his divorce, football coach Steve Williams finds himself embroiled in a recruiting scandal at the tiny Catholic college he is trying to bring back to football respectability.

A Star Is Born World Premiere

A Star Is Born World Premiere
7.3/10
  • Genre: History
  • Release: 28/09/1954
  • Character: Self
Live television broadcast of the world premiere. Described by various participants as the biggest world premiere in memory, even bigger than the Academy Awards.

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
7.7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 03/03/1985
  • Character: Self (archive footage)
Biography of the legendary filmmaker directed by his son.

Has Anybody Seen My Gal?

Has Anybody Seen My Gal?
7.1/10
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Release: 25/06/1952
  • Character: Youth at Soda Fountain (uncredited)
When a 1920s millionaire tests the fiber of his Vermont family, a young lady and her boyfriend feel the repercussions.

The James Dean Story

The James Dean Story
6.2/10
Released two years after James Dean's death, this documentary chronicles his short life and career via black-and-white still photographs, interviews with the aunt and uncle who raised him, his paternal grandparents, a New York City cabdriver friend, the owner of his favorite Los Angeles restaurant, outtakes from East of Eden, footage of the opening night of Giant, and Dean's ironic PSA for safe driving.

The Thief

The Thief
6.9/10
The son of a French aristocrat is accused of stealing his father's money and of stealing his step-sister's heart.

Sentence of Death

Sentence of Death
7.2/10
  • Release: 17/08/1953
  • Character: Joe Palica
A woman witnesses a murder during a store robbery but claims the accused man is not the killer. After he is convicted and weeks away from his execution date, she sees the real killer, but the police are reluctant to reopen the case.

Death Scenes 2

Death Scenes 2
4.9/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryHorror
  • Release: 01/01/1992
  • Character: Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
DEATH SCENES II continues the exploration into the dark recesses of violence and rage that ended in such heinous crimes as the Manson Family's assault on society. You'll see the gruesome aftermath of mob reprisals, public executions and international terrorism. DEATH SCENES II uniquely ushers the brave and curious into a spellbinding trip through the reality that is our world today.

The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender

The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
6.3/10
A film scrapbook, images, phrases from our past, hiding their meanings behind veils. Let's lift those veils, one by one, to find how images, at one time seeming innocent, have revealed, after decades, to have homosexual overtones.

Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration

Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration
5.7/10
  • Genre: DramaFamily
  • Release: 25/03/1951
  • Character: John
The story of the Crucifixion, set within the context of the Korean War.

James Dean: Forever Young

James Dean: Forever Young
7.4/10
A brief career. A timeless stardom. In just three major movie roles, James Dean became an icon for the ages. Now his legacy shines even brighter thanks to this fascinating film that, filled with an astonishing treasure trove of newfound or rare glimpses of Dean's TV performances, is like a road map to his meteoric success. Michael J. Sheridan directs and Martin Sheen narrates this revealing documentary showcased at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Movie clips, romances, photos that are part of our national DNA (and the stories behind them), and the small-screen work that paved the way to the big screen are all part of the James Dean you couldn't see until now. Forever young. Endlessly fascinating.

James Dean: Little Prince, Little Bastard

James Dean: Little Prince, Little Bastard
5.6/10
The collar of his coat turned up in New York: Images which have collaborated on building a myth – the image of eternal and misunderstood youth. Unlike Marlon Brando, the proletarian rebel with identifiable goals, James Dean was the timeless and androgynous youthful rebel. His death on the Interstate 46 leads us back to 1950s America, a time when youth was re-interpreted all anew.

The Real James Dean

The Real James Dean
8.5/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/08/2006
  • Character: Archival Footage
Although he'd starred in just three films before his untimely death at age 24, James Dean cast a long shadow that came to define cool. Using excerpts from Dean's personal diaries, found footage from screen and wardrobe tests and interviews with those who knew him best (including Dennis Hopper, Dick Van Patten, Graham Nash and Rod Steiger), this fascinating documentary explores the screen icon's lingering mystique.

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