East of Eden
In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother Aron for the love of their father Adam. Carl is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, to how to get ahead in business and in life, to how to relate to his estranged mother.
The 1955 period drama is directed by Elia Kazan from a screenplay by Paul Osborn and based on the 1952 John Steinbeck novel of the same name. The film stars James Dean, Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Burl Ives, Richard Davalos, and Jo Van Fleet.
East of Eden was nominated for 3 Academy Awards with Van Fleet winning for Best Supporting Actress. East of Eden was named one of the 400 best American films of all time by the American Film Institute. In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Rio Bravo
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
The 1959 American Western film is directed by Howard Hawks. The screenplay is by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett and is based on the short story “Rio Bravo” by B.H. McCampbell. The film stars John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, and Ward Bond.
In 2014, Rio Bravo was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
What We Thought:
With Warner Bros. celebrating 100 years, we are seeing a slew of classic films hitting 4K for the first time. The latest are East of Eden and Rio Bravo. Both films were restored and remastered by Warner Bros. and look pretty darn good and maybe even better than their original releases.
East of Eden is based on John Steinbeck’s novel and landed James Dean an Oscar nomination. It’s one of the few films of Dean’s career before his untimely death. It’s a retelling of the biblical story of Cain and Abel with one brother vying for the attention of his father against his other brother. Set in California during World War I, it’s a beautifully acted film with a timeless story. Dean is fantastic in the role, but you can clearly see why Jo Van Fleet landed a Supporting Oscar as the believed to be dead mother. I probably hadn’t seen the film in 30+ years so it was nice catching up with it. With it only being 1 of 3 leading roles for Dean in his career, it’s an important film, but it’s also highly entertaining.
The family dynamic is what always resonated with me. The two brothers are polar opposites in terms of personality and lifestyle and the father treats them differently accordingly. Plus the ending will always get to you. One brother can’t accept the lies around his mother and like most men at the time enlists for the war. The other brother gets what he wanted from his father, but at a pretty steep cost. It’s a classic film that you should add to your collection.
Rio Bravo stars John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson and more. Wayne plays a Texas sheriff who arrests the brother of a local rancher for murder and must hold him in custody until he can be picked up by a U.S. Marshall. He gets help from a drunk, a cripple and a young gunfighter to fight off the gang trying to free Joe from custody. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s similar to 3:10 to Yuma if you’ve seen that.
I grew up on John Wayne films so this is right up my alley. The cast is fantastic and even has Bing Russell (Kurt Russell’s dad) in it as the man the brother kills in the beginning. Another film I probably haven’t seen in decades, it’s a classic western to me. Sure the story is similar to countless other films, but Wayne was a master at these cowboy roles. Mix in Angie Dickinson as the love interest and you have my attention. I honestly hope more of The Duke’s films hit 4K because I’d collect them all.
The Nerds Templar 