The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

Recently, I have been fortunate enough to see two out of the three films James Dean made in his short but powerful film career: “Rebel Without a Cause” and now “East of Eden.”  Both of them have been released on 4K this year through Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.  “Giant,” the third film in Dean’s career, has also been released on 4K as well.  It’s been a tremendous cinematic experience to watch these particular films on 4K for the very first time and see a true artist at work. I’m a huge fan of method acting from the likes of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, and it’s been eye-opening to see Dean and his method acting on display here.

Dean plays a character named Cal Trask. Much like his character in “Rebel Without a Cause,” he’s troubled, confused, and he doesn’t get along with the older generation. That is the genius of Dean and why he was so ahead of his time.  He really knew how to convey on screen what young men and women were feeling at that time: disconnected, misunderstood, unhappy, angry, and filled with angst.  He does it effortlessly without ever being too showy or over-the-top.  He knows when to ramp up the anger and frustration, and also what to express with his facial expressions and mannerisms.  Everything on screen with him is very naturalistic.

The film is set in 1917 California, located in both Monterey and Salinas.  It shows the struggle of young Cal trying to reach out to his mother Kate, played by Jo Van Fleet, someone he has long believed to be dead.  His father, Adam (Raymond Massey), told him and his brother Aron (Richard Davalos) that she died shortly after their birth. Cal, however, finds out she’s a successful woman running a brothel who left their father because of his strict religious ways.  She wanted to be free to do her own thing and felt as though she was wasting her life away with him.  Cal thinks he is evil like his mother while he believes his brother Aron is good like his father.  The film was clearly inspired by the story of Cain and Abel.  It comes from the 1952 novel of the same name by John Steinbeck.

There is also a young woman named Abra (Julie Harris), and she’s the girlfriend of Aron, but she seems to connect more with Cal.  She sees the good in Cal, even if he struggles to see the good in himself. The two of them have tremendous chemistry on screen, and I loved the playful back and forth between them.  It was truly something special to behold.  Taking nothing away from this talented cast and the tremendous screenplay from Paul Osborn, but this is Dean’s show here.  Credit is due as well to the direction of Elia Kazan. Having previously worked with Brando, he knows how to step aside and let the camera focus on the star of the show.  He uses skillful camera movement to allow us to take in the character and everything around him.

This is classic Hollywood craftsmanship at its finest here from Kazan and Dean.  Human stories are always very powerful, and Dean does not shy away from the good intentions of his character as well as his bad ones.  He’s struggling to win the love of a stern father; a love he fears he might never get in life.  He’s also trying to figure out how to deal with the fact his mother is alive and rather cold, cruel and indifferent to how things happened between her and her husband.  She does seem to care about Cal, but she’s complex and complicated, much like he is.  At a time where a lot of things were black and white, Dean was someone who was always painting in shades of grey.  It’s truly a magnificent cinematic journey to watch him in this film.  It also leaves us wanting more, but sadly he left us far, far too soon.  Thankfully, we have his movies on physical media to relive over and over again.

* * * * out of * * * *

4K Info: “East of Eden” is being released on a single 4K disc from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. The film has a running time of 117 minutes and is rated PG for thematic elements and some violent content.  It also comes with a digital copy of the film.

Video/Audio Info:  The HDR on this film is a visual feast with bright colors and moody darks.  I can’t imagine it ever looking better than it does with this 4K release.  It’s truly stunning to watch, and I was really happy with the clean, crisp and vivid look of the film.  There is also a great Dolby Atmos soundtrack for the film along with subtitles in English, Spanish and French.

Special Features:

Commentary by Richard Schickel

Should You Buy It?

In order for studios like Warner Brothers to preserve film history, it is up to us as consumers to buy films like “East of Eden” on 4K.  It’s very affordable, and they have done a great job of making this film from 1955 look truly top-notch.  When people ask me why I collect 4K’s, I often point to the older films from Hollywood, as they really are the ones which benefit the most from a 4K upgrade.  They still maintain their original charm and the feeling is still there, but they are being seen in the best possible way on 4K as it truly enhances the experience in every way possible.  I’m such a fan of great acting and great characters.  This film is filled with so many great performances, powerful moments, and characters that are well-developed and fleshed out over the course of almost two hours, which flies by when you are truly invested in their well-being.  James Dean was one-of-a-kind, and it’s a shame his life was cut short, as he would have kept churning out one classic film after another.   This is a four-star film which needs to be bought on its release date.  If you love classic Hollywood, you won’t be disappointed.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.