Rumble Fish: Special Edition DVD Review:

Two weeks following the completion of The Outsiders, Francis Ford Coppola began the production of a film version of another S.E. Hinton novel. Although Rumble Fish is by the same author, is also about urban teens, and even has a few of the same actors, it couldn’t be any more different than The Outsiders. While The Outsiders is a very traditional book and film, Rumble Fish is a complex and multi-layered art film. There were innovative measures taken for nearly every element of the film, from special effects to musical score, and it fits perfectly in this surreal film.

Rumble Fish follows the relationship between two brothers in an impoverished industrial town. Rusty James (Matt Dillon) looks up to his older brother, The Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), and he struggles to live up to the reputation. There isn’t much to do in the town except wonder about what life would be like outside of it, and fight. The Motorcycle Boy has a tendency of disappearing for periods of time, and during those times Rusty defends his reputation with fights. When he isn’t fighting, Rusty spends his time with a local girl (Diane Lane).

The complexity of Rumble Fish comes from all of the symbolism. The plot is actually quite simple, but the way it is played out is extraordinarily unique. Most amazing is the cast. This was essentially Nicholas Cage’s first film, showing that Francis Coppola once again had the eye to pick out young talent. There are also amazing performances by Dennis Hopper and Lawrence Fishburne in the film. Hopper plays the washed up father and Fishburne is a guardian angel of sorts for Rusty.

The film is nearly entirely in black and white, aside from a few sequences of color. There is also an amazing scene in which the two brothers examine rumble fish in a pet store, and although everything else is in black and white, the fish are vibrant colors. This is not a new technique, but at the time it was impressive and innovative.

The special features on this special edition are slight, but very good. As always, I am impressed with the director’s commentary. Many directors can’t seem to be bothered to come back and record a commentary on their old films, but Coppola always seems willing. There is a featurette about the making of the film, which deals more with the technical aspects of the film and the casting than anything else. It is very interesting and ends very quickly because of this. There is a featurette on the music of the film, which was done by Stewart Copeland, the former drummer of The Police who won a Golden Globe Award for this percussion based score. There are also deleted scenes, a music video, and the theatrical trailer. The deleted scenes are not much different than many scenes already in the film, but I suppose it is nice to have them just the same. Any little detail in a special edition is welcome.

Although the film is fantastic, and the disc seems in great shape, the packaging seems a bit off. I am not a fan of the cover art, which just looks old, and there is also no insert inside the DVD. It seems to me that a new design could have been drawn up for the special edition, and it could have looked a lot better. It is these little details which make the package more appealing.



Ryan Izay