James Dean (TV 2001)

A biopic about the actor James Dean, whose stardom of the ultimate teenage rebel as well as the premature death made him a legend. His roles are depicted having much in common with his ... See full summary »

Director:

Mark Rydell

Writer:

Israel Horovitz

Stars:

James Franco, Michael Moriarty, Valentina Cervi

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Franco	...	James Dean
Michael Moriarty	...	Winton Dean
Valentina Cervi	...	Pier Angeli
Enrico Colantoni	...	Elia Kazan
Edward Herrmann	...	Raymond Massey
Joanne Linville	...	Hedda Hopper
John Pleshette	...	Billy Rose
Barry Primus	...	Nicholas Ray
David Proval	...	Daniel Mann
Samuel Gould	...	Martin Landau (as Sam Gould)
Amy Rydell	...	Christine White
Wendy Benson-Landes	...	Julie Harris (as Wendy Benson)
Karen Kondazian	...	Mrs. Pierangeli
David Parker	...	James Whitmore
Craig Barnett	...	George Stevens

Storyline

A biopic about the actor James Dean, whose stardom of the ultimate teenage rebel as well as the premature death made him a legend. His roles are depicted having much in common with his personal life, most notably the difficult relationship with his father.

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Plot Keywords:

actor | lie | coffin | hospital | reference to james whitmore | 

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Taglines:

Too fast to live. Too young to die.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language

Details

Official Sites:

TNT

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

James Dean: An Invented Life

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Five Mile River Films, Gerber Pictures, Marvin Worth Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 95 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leonardo DiCaprio turned down the role of James Dean.

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Goofs

The label on the box James Dean sends, reads "Santa Monica, CA". In the late forties/early fifties it would have read "Santa Monica, Calif." because the two-letter state abbreviations weren't used yet.

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Quotes

Rolf Wütherich: Watch that Ford.
[car signals left-hand turn]
Rolf Wütherich: He's turning left.
James Dean: He's gotta see us.

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Crazy Credits

Most of this film was based on fact... some was an educated guess.

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Connections

Featured in The 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2002)

User Reviews

Wonderful

Wonderful. James Franco brilliantly channels James Dean in what is easily one of the best made-for-television movies ever made. Franco delivers a knockout performance in his portrayal of one of the most celebrated teen idols of all time.

The movie opens with Dean filming a scene from East of Eden, adding his own personal twist to the shot. A focused relationship of this film is the one between Dean and his father. After Dean's mother dies when Dean is only 9 years old, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. His father seems to be embarassed by him, and will not invite him into his home. Eventually, Dean's father will not see him at all.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this movie, and hope that from beyond the grave, Dean is watching, and smiling. Franco's next big role is that of Peter Parker's best friend Harry Osborn in the big-budget superhero flick Spider-Man, and I for one cannot wait.