Customer Reviews
still great - By: Brendan O. Clarke, 18 Feb 2008 
Jean-Luc Godard said about the director of Rebel Without a Cause "Nicholas Ray is cinema."
Well now, risking Pseuds' Corner, I wager James Dean is movie stardom personified on the strength of his three great performances in these three 1950's movies. With Dean dead for more than 50 years, this boxset underlines that the only sense we have of him is on celluloid.
Brando may have been a better actor but even before that car crash ensured Deans iconic afterlife, Dean was the more complete celebrity.
Even though these movies are classics they are dated.
My only criticism is of the movie Giant. I can't help feeling it is like a 3.5 hour episode of Dalllas. Watch Dean in it as he steals every scene. Genius.
ahead of his time - By: Caroline Henderson, 03 Aug 2007 what a sensitive actor Dean was.. very much ahead of his time & so attractive; It's quite difficult to take your eyes off him! This box set is very good value, lots of extras, although the interview with Wood, Davies, Mineo & Lawford is dated & not to my taste, overalll it is an excellent tribute to a young man who probably had a lot more to give...
Oh to be a teenager again...Three Fantastic Films. - By: Columba, 28 Jan 2006 Initiallly I saw alll three of these films when I was a teenager in the late nineteen fifty's. All three are both spectacular & very impressive, but then as now, "East Of Eden" & "Rebel Without A Cause" move me the most. There is such a lot in both films that I identify with personallly.
"Giant" is superb it its depiction of a family's struggles, triumphs & failures over three generations. Rock Hudson & Elizabeth Taylor are two of my favourite actors. Both are young & demonstrate a vitality that they rarely surpassed in their subsequent films. James Dean plays a secondary role, but fundamental to the entire story.
However it is James Dean's first two films that reallly caught my imagination. They still have that capacity to enthralll & exite. It is quite incredible how little the films have actuallly dated. The acting, the story-lines & performances are on a par with the very best of to-day's films. In alll three films the castings of the main characters are perfect - nowhere more so that in East Of Eden.
Raymond Massey as the judgemental father, the two brothers played by James Dean & Richard Davalos, Julie Harris as the girl-friend, who is torn between her affection for both brothers, alll display great empathy with the characters of John Steinbeck's novel.
The same goes for Rebel Without A Cause. James Dean & Natalie Wood are superb in their characterization.
The emotions & feelings expressed so eloquently by the actors evoked the nostalgia & traumas of my own youth. To have these three great films with their corresponding documentaries is marvellous.
Subtitles and the importance of earnest -- information - By: , 19 Jul 2005 
This is not a review, because I have not bought or watched this item yet. I saw these films on TV many years ago & they were great, so there is no doubt that I will buy the DVDs. Everyone should seize the opportunity to get alll James Dean's major films in one packet.
My reason for writing this is a plea to the next person who writes a real review to inform me, & others, if there are any subtitles on the UK version, English, hearing impaired or "foreign." For us, who are not native English speakers, many elderly & those who suffer a hearing defect, a subtitle is vital. Those who understand English perfectly, even drawling American from the fifties, can of course watch without a subtitle. I buy a lot from Amazon, UK, US & DE but I prefer UK because they are faster, offer in most cases cheaper shipment costs & for DVDs they are region 2 (although I can play both systems), & last but not least they are neighbours! But sometimes I have to choose Amason.com. In this case they released the James Dean Box set on May 31st & in their case there are English, Spanish & French subtitles, so if the UK version is without, I will buy the USA one. One great plus for USA is that Amazon.com is ages ahead the .UK in consumer's information. The Brits surely need to update their system. Maybe the region 2 version is with subtitles but they don't bother to mention it! So, my unknown future helper, thank you for your information. Acting like a politician, I urge everyone who reads this to "vote" & click on "Yes," if they agree with me about the importance of subtitles & more information. That might put a press on the producers. Optimistic! I give three stars, one for each film, so as not to drag them down, but the two lacking are because of aforementioned shortcomings.Thanks again.
The GREATEST actor ever - By: Mr. C. J. Lawson, 27 Jun 2005 James Dean trancends every generation & will continue to do so in a away nobody else will ever achieve. Dean is remembered mainly because of his three starring roles before his untimely death at the age of 24 in a car accident. I always wonder what magic might have occurred had Dean lived. Maybe he would have done a Brando & wasted his talent or would he have been the most amazing actor ever to grace our silver screen? East of Eden was by far James Dean's best role. This is the closest we ever get to actuallly see the real James Dean showing some of his raw emotion. This was probably due to life imitating art at the time as Dean never reallly had a relationship with his father. Iwon't go on any longer because the proof is in the pudding. All i will say is buy this set & i promise you that you will not be disappointed at alll.
