East of Eden

UPC: 012569705913

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Suitable for Children]

Summary: This truncated screen version of John Steinbeck's best-seller was the first starring vehicle for explosive 1950s screen personality James Dean, who plays Cal Trask, the "bad" son of taciturn Salinas valley lettuce farmer Adam Trask (Raymond Massey). Although he means well, Cal can't stay out of trouble, nor is he able to match the esteem in which his father holds his "good" brother Aron (Richard Davalos). Only Aron's girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris) and kindly old sheriff Sam Burl Ives) can see the essential goodness in the troublesome Cal. When Adam invests in a chancy and wholly unsuccessful method of shipping his crops east, his wealth plummets. In an effort to save the business, Cal obtains money from his estranged mother (the proprietor of a whorehouse) and invests it in a risky new bean crop. The gamble pays off (thanks in no small part to the war), but Adam refuses to take the money from Cal, and the resultant quarrel causes Adam to have a stroke. Released the same year as Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden provided Dean with his first Oscar nomination, for Best Actor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Film - Any Source – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Picture - Drama – null Special Achievement – null Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences International Prize For Best Dramatic Film – Cannes Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Special Achievement – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: ccNew digital transfer from restored picture and audio elements
Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1
Commentary by Richard Schickel
Theatrical trailer
Languages: English & Fran?ais
Subtitles: English, Fran?ais & Espa?ol
New 50th-anniversary documentary East of Eden: Art in Search of Life
Vintage documentary Forever James Dean
Additional scenes
Screen tests
Wardrobe, costume and production design tests
3/19/1955 New York premiere footage

East of Eden

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/31/2005

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 118 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 -- Movie
1. Overture [3:00]
2. Credits and Foreword [1:48]
3. Kate's Follower [6:10]
4. Not Interested [4:54]
5. The Icehouse [3:06]
6. Talk to Me, Father [5:51]
7. Kate's Place [4:02]
8. Talk to Me, Mother [2:06]
9. Parental Backstory [5:26]
10. The Lettuce Fields [8:29]
11. Hard Lessons [4:10]
12. Full of Beans [3:36]
13. Business Proposition [6:44]
14. "He Tried to Hold Me!" [4:11]
15. Enlistment Parade [3:05]
16. Warring and Waiting [2:32]
17. The Carnival [3:55]
18. Ferris Wheel Confession [4:03]
19. Anti-German Hysteria [3:59]
20. Brothers at Odds [3:21]
21. Caller in the Night [4:26]
22. Birthday Presents [7:24]
23. Look at the Truth [3:14]
24. Hello to Your Mother [2:00]
25. No More Forgiveness [2:46]
26. Aron's Farewell [1:36]
27. Prognosis [2:17]
28. Abra's Plea [4:03]
29. Take Care of Me [5:08]
Side #2 -- Special Features
1. American Rebel [1:18]
2. Hollywood Immortals [1:43]
3. Remembrances [1:41]
4. Phenomenon [4:24]
5. Early Life [5:39]
6. William Bast [5:24]
7. Early Gigs [1:40]
8. See the Jaguar, The Immoralist [1:06]
9. Winning the Role of Cal [:37]
10. East of Eden; Julie Harris [5:36]
11. Romance [5:03]
12. Fame; Kenneth Kendall [3:31]
13. Rebel Without a Cause [4:28]
14. Infatuation With Speed [1:59]
15. Giant [2:56]
16. Lariat Tale; "Last Supper" [2:17]
17. September 30, 1955 [3:09]
18. No More Jimmy [1:24]
19. Rumors and Ransacking [1:49]
20. Lonely No More [1:41]
21. End Credits [2:12]

Rebecca Flint Marx

A grand, visually remarkable adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel, East of Eden was one of the films responsible for the cult that grew up around James Dean. Released in 1955, the same year as Dean's Rebel Without a Cause, Eden featured the actor in his sullen, troubled prime, rolling his eyes, mumbling his words, and stuffing his hands into his pockets as only he knew how. At once angry and vulnerable, Dean's performances in both movies established him as an icon of youthful discontent for decades to come. Aside from its place in the Dean iconography, East of Eden remains remarkable for Elia Kazan's use of CinemaScope, capturing with harsh vibrancy the expanse and breathtaking desolation of the California farmlands. The landscape crackles with a moody intensity that mirrors the conflicts among the film's central characters. In this respect, East of Eden earned its place in Hollywood legend: it featured great performances from its human principals, while the scenery gave a spellbinding performance in its own right. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Barbara Baxley  Actor 
Jonathan Haze  Actor 
Harry Cording  Actor 
Frank Mazzola  Actor 
Elia Kazan  Director 
Elia Kazan  Producer 
Leonard Rosenman  Composer (Music Score) 
Paul Osborn  Screenwriter 
Julie Harris  Actor 
James Dean  Actor 
Raymond Massey  Actor 
Burl Ives  Actor 
Dick Davalos  Actor 
Jo Van Fleet  Actor 
Albert Dekker  Actor 
Lois Smith  Actor 
Harold Gordon  Actor 
Timothy Carey  Actor 
Mario Siletti  Actor 
Lonny Chapman  Actor 
Nick Dennis  Actor 

Country: USA