| The Outsiders | 
 enlarge | Actors: Darren Dalton, Matt Dillon, Leif Garrett, S.e. Hinton, C. Thomas Howell
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 1420
Format: Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 91
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: WARD042281D
UPC: 883929035427
EAN: 0883929035427
ASIN: B001BGS16W
Theatrical Release Date: 1983
Release Date: September 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/02/2008 Run time: 91 minutes Rating: Pg13
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| Customer Reviews:
Acting and style, blended with grit December 8, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
When I saw Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film adaptation of S.E. Hinton's 1967 novel (The Outsiders), two things quickly became true: the movie became one of my favorites, and I had to read the book.
Story: Three orphaned brothers, Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Darry Curtis live on their own, with Darry being a young adult, Ponyboy being sixteen, and Sodapop in between. The story is, in the novel, a school writing assignment by Ponyboy. The brothers are poor, live on the poor side of town (Oklahoma City, I believe), and are "Greasers," a group of rough boys who hang out together, care for one another, protect one another, and act as substitute families for one another. The other big group in town are the Socs (pronounced "sosh" with a long "o") and they are the rich, college-bound kids.
There are clashes between the two very different sub-cultures. The story covers one summer, starting with a confrontation between Ponyboy, accompanied by his friend Johnny, and several Socs, led by Bob and Randy. When a drunken Bob and Randy corner Ponyboy and Johnny in a park, tragedy and legal problems result. Ponyboy and Johnny flee to an abandoned church in the country, but their troubles do not end their. They end up heroes, saving children from a fire, but Johnny is seriously hurt. The boys end up back home, but war is erupting between the Greasers and the Socs, and more tragedy follows.
The cast here is remarkable in two ways: we see several very good young actors at their best, and it helped launch several significant acting careers, including much of the "Brat Pack."
C. Thomas Howell was brilliant and spot-on in his portrayal of the intelligent, creative, daydreamy, loyal Ponyboy. Ralph Macchio was equally good as Johnny, a depressed, gun-shy boy who is the product of an abusive, rejecting home. Matt Dillon plays a big role as Dallas Winston, Johnny's friend, who is tough, streetwise, and often joyously rebellious and delinquent. He also is loyal to Ponyboy and, especially, Johnny. Diane Lane is Cherry, a Soc who befriends Ponyboy and Johnny, but is also Bob's girlfriend. Cherry gives Pony boy a way to portray his depth and his values. Supporting roles go to several actors who were and, in some case, are still big names. Darren Dalton is Randy, teen heartthrob Leif Garrett is Bob, Patrick Swayze is Darry, Rob Lowe is Sodapop, Emilio Estevez is Two-Bit, and Tom Cruise, in his pre-couch-hopping days, is Steve Randle.
Francis Ford Coppola pushed the limits with this film. The story is dark and gritty, and violent, and he chose to give it a very stylish treatment, with several glorious shots that are reminiscent of the lush cinematography of Gone With the Wind, and a lyrical, poetic score. On the surface, this seems like a blatant, glaring mismatch. While it is stretching the issue, I think it was the right call, for two reasons.
First, if this story had been told in a more straightforward mode, that fit the bluntness of some of the characters' actions, it would have been an easily-forgotten, dark, violent, teen movie with little appeal to anyone over twenty or under ten. Many of the more subtle aspects of the story would have been submerged in the action, the actors would have struggled to break out of two-dimensional stereotypes, and the ethical sub-story would have been lost. Instead, by sticking this square peg into a round hole, all those less-obvious but more important factors were given the chance to rise above the violence and the action.
Second, for those who have read the novel, Ponyboy is a creative, intelligent dreamer, who does not fit the tough Greaser facade. He is, in the story, the author of the story. It is his story, told through his eyes, with the emphases on the power of friendship and finding the beauty in all aspects of the world. Hinton made that clear, and Coppola got the idea. He tried to give Ponyboy's story the treatment it deserved, and I think he succeeded. The real idea of this film comes from Robert Frost's poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay, and its relationship to youth, innocence, beauty, and values.
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
so dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Coppola got it right, in my opinion, and I enjoy the film.
-- Chris McCallister, author of Coming Full Circle
Buy THE OUTSIDERS: THE COMPLETE NOVEL DVD December 7, 2008
While this is the movie that was first released at 91 minutes, I recommend that fans purchase instead THE OUTSIDERS: THE COMPLETE NOVEL which runs for 119 minutes. Hinton herself has expressed a preference for THE COMPLETE NOVEL DVD's opening, which provides a more gradual introduction to each of the boys in the gang. It's truer to the book and gives viewers a better sense of the Greasers' personalities.
In addition to the opening, THE COMPLETE NOVEL DVD adds in other previously-unseen scenes and provides a new soundtrack, including Stevie Wonder's "Stay Gold" during the opening credits.
Don't get me wrong -- this is a good film and worth buying. I'm only saying that there is another version that is even better. It does the book more justice and gives you more footage for your buck.
The outsiders November 22, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
it is a wonderful cast and story. they do a wonderful adaption of S.E. Hinton's Novel. although- they miss a few chapters in the story.
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