The Next Reel

Looking at the characters James Dean played in his three leading roles, it’s clear that he was excited to play complex characters that weren’t easy to define as simply ‘protagonist’ or ‘antagonist.’ In his final film, Giant, Dean plays a cowhand that could have easily become a love interest in the first half of the film before he takes a darker turn later on. After looking at his previous films, it seems absolutely like a role Dean would take. Join us as we wrap up our series on Dean’s three films with George Stevens’ 1956 epic Giant. 

Possibly James Dean’s most iconic role, Rebel Without a Cause hit theaters in the fall of 1955 – less than a month after Dean’s tragic car crash that took his life – and immediately found its audience. The movie was a success, thanks in a large part to all of the teens that connected with the characters and the story, seeing more of themselves on-screen than they had before. Dean’s death made the film something to talk about, but the fact that the film had something to say too has made it a classic. Join us as we continue our James Dean series with Nicholas Ray’s 1955 film Rebel Without a Cause.

James Dean was the lead in only three films released in 1955 and 1956. He died tragically in a car crash on September 30th, 1955, only ever getting to see one of his three films finished. What he never got to see is how the performances he gave in those three films left an indelible impression on cinema, creating a voice for teenagers of the day and a cult icon for decades since. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we look back at James Dean’s career, kicking it off with Elia Kazan’s 1955 film East of Eden.

After the box office failure of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and the box office success of Oldboy, Park Chan-Wook wanted to continue with the themes he’d been exploring of revenge but he wasn’t sure what angle to use. That’s when he struck on the idea of having a female protagonist. That, paired with the concept of justified vengeance, gave Park the idea he needed and Lady Vengeance was born. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we wrap up our series on Park Chan-Wook’s unofficial vengeance trilogy with his 2005 film Lady Vengeance. 

After the box office failure of his previous film, Park Chan-Wook worked hard with his next script to make something that would really draw people in. He cast two of South Korea’s biggest stars to play the leads and based it on a successful manga comic, weaving a dark mystery together that was very operatic. And it worked! His 2003 film Oldboy was a huge box office success and garnered incredible praise for everyone involved. It also helped establish Park as a filmmaker of note. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our series on Park Chan-Wook’s Vengeance Trilogy with his film Oldboy.