REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE

Director Nicholas Ray transforms a potentially routine exposé of teenage rebellion into one of the great humanistic documents of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Three teenagers (James Dean, Sal Mineo, and Natalie Wood), all in juvenile detention for various misdeeds, are briefly drawn together as an elective family unit, but their bond is threatened by the intrusion of straight society. James Dean died behind the wheel of a Porsche Spyder less than one month before the release of REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, ensuring that the film would forever come wrapped in a shroud of tragic mystique. But more than just the film that launched its star (and his iconic red jacket) into the pop culture pantheon, REBEL is a deeply affecting exploration of teenage discontent, queer longing and the power of chosen families. Setting a vividly raging template for generations of cinematic rebels, loaners and outcasts, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE is Nicholas Ray’s first CinemaScope explosion and he fills every inch of the frame with passion.

“An unmissable film, made with a delirious compassion.” - Dave Kehr

“The sincerity of Nicholas Ray's cinema is almost operatic, surprisingly simple yet totally profound, almost holy.” - Neil Bahadur