Rumble Fish (1983)

Rusty James, an absent-minded street thug struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days when gang warfare was going on.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

S.E. Hinton (novel), S.E. Hinton (screenplay),

Stars:

Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Dillon	...	Rusty James
Mickey Rourke	...	The Motorcycle Boy
Diane Lane	...	Patty
Dennis Hopper	...	Father
Diana Scarwid	...	Cassandra
Vincent Spano	...	Steve
Nicolas Cage	...	Smokey
Chris Penn	...	B.J. Jackson (as Christopher Penn)
Laurence Fishburne	...	Midget (as Larry Fishburne)
William Smith	...	Patterson the Cop
Michael Higgins	...	Mr. Harrigan
Glenn Withrow	...	Biff Wilcox
Tom Waits	...	Benny
Herb Rice	...	Black Pool Player
Maybelle Wallace	...	Late Pass Clerk

Storyline

Rusty James is the leader of a small, dying gang in an industrial town. He lives in the shadow of the memory of his absent, older brother -- The Motorcycle Boy. His mother has left, his father drinks, school has no meaning for him and his relationships are shallow. He is drawn into one more gang fight and the events that follow begin to change his life.

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Plot Keywords:

motorcycle | fight | thug | gang warfare | based on short story | 

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Taglines:

Rusty James can't live up to his brother's reputation. His brother can't live it down.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

La ley de la calle

Filming Locations:

Sapulpa, Oklahoma, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$2,500,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hotweather Films, Zoetrope Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of Francis Ford Coppola's top five favorite films of his own.

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Goofs

In the arcade, Rusty James is playing the video game "Pole Position", but the sound effects are from the game, "Pac Man".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Midget: Biff Wilcox is looking for you, Rusty James. He's gonna kill you, Rusty James.

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Connections

Referenced in Bamboozled (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Don't Box Me In"
Written by Stewart Copeland and Stan Ridgway
Performed by Stewart Copeland and Stan Ridgway

User Reviews

A Long Lost Hit From Francis Ford Coppola

After hearing such rave reviews, I really was excited to see Francis Ford Coppola's indie classic 'Rumble Fish'. The film was shot in black and white and it had an expansive cast of talented actors including Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Dennis Hopper, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Tom Waits and Nicolas Cage. I enjoyed Francis Ford Coppola's other films like Apocalypse Now and of course The Godfather Parts I, II & III. From what I heard it was filmed kind of like this year's smash hit 'Sin City' ('Rumble Fish' was black & white but with dashes of color) only on a smaller scale. I rented this indie sensation when I was on vacation because they had it in the hotel video store. I couldn't find it in the Blockbusters in Arizona (where I live) and my portable DVD player was acting up so I couldn't view the DVDs I brought a long with me for the trip. It may have been just fate that I got the opportunity to view Coppola's 'Rumble Fish', definitely one of the most, if not the most inventive motion pictures I ever gazed my eyes upon.

The film is set in a 1950s - 1970s setting. With it's black & white color and just the way the film is presented it gives the audience a feel of the old 1930s James Cagney crime noir flicks. It follows a young and dumb hoodlum named Rusty James (Matt Dillon), whose the leader of one of the two gangs in town. After a huge rumble played out like a West Side Story scene from hell, Rusty is left hurt real bad when the opposing gang leader stabbed him in the gut with a switchblade. Coming to Rusty James' rescue is his older brother, The Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke) who hasn't shown his face in town for a year after disappearing to California. The Motorcycle Boy helps his younger brother out, and eventually starts to hang around the neighborhood more. From there, the plot follows the two re-united brothers as they hang around the streets and cause trouble, while the Motorcycle Boy tries to teach his less then intelligent brother the meaning of life. Dennis Hopper stars as Rusty James and the Motorcyle Boy's dad, Diane Lane stars as Rusty James' sweet friend, Tom Waits stars as the grill master in the town's diner, and Chris Penn, Laurence Fishburne and a young Nicolas Cage are featured as some of Rusty James' gang buddies.

First of all, I adored the way 'Rumble Fish' was shot. With his extraordinary talent, director Francis Ford Coppola really creates a thing of beauty and opulence with 'Rumble Fish'. The only real downside of this picture is that the plot drags entirely too much, and that's pretty bad for a film running only 90 minutes. The writing is mostly good, but 'Rumble Fish' seems to be missing a real plot. The film substitutes hypnotic cinematography and cool scenery for an easy-to-follow plot, which in my opinion is a big mistake. Although this kind of bugs me, 'Rumble Fish' is a good film for the most part. The acting is superb with a engrossing and passionate performance by a very young Matt Dillon and a powerful and carefully layered performance by Mickey Rourke who in my opinion should have gotten an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor. Diane Lane is very good in one of her first roles, Dennis Hopper plays the alcoholic clueless dad perfectly and Tom Waits is a pleasure to watch. Nicolas Cage and Laurence Fishburne are also rock solid. If you want to see a film that's really out there and full of likable qualities, I'd recommend picking up 'Rumble Fish' your next stop to the video store. Chances are you'll find something or somethings to love about it. Grade: B