East Of Eden

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Product Details

Director : Elia Kazan
Actor : Barbara Baxley, Timothy Carey, Lonny Chapman, Harry Cording, Dick Davalos
Format : AC-3, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Aspect Ratio : 2.35:1
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781419810749
Product Group : DVD
Release Date : 2005-05-31
Studio : Warner Home Video
UPC : 012569705913

ASIN : B0007US7F8

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Essential Video

East of Eden is an acknowledged classic, and the starring debut of James Dean lifts it to legendary status. John Steinbeck's novel gave director Elia Kazan a perfect Cain-and-Abel showcase for Dean's iconic screen persona, casting the brooding star as Cal, the younger of two brothers vying for the love of their Bible-thumping father (Raymond Massey) in Monterey, California, at the dawn of World War I. Massey is a lettuce farmer, striving for market domination with an ill-fated refrigeration scheme. Having discovered that his presumed-dead mother (Oscar® winner Jo Van Fleet) is a brothel owner in nearby Salinas, Cal convinces her to finance an investment that will restore his father's lost fortune, but neither money nor the tenderness of his brother's fiancée (Julie Harris) can assuage Cal's anguished need for paternal acceptance that comes nearly too late. Kazan's oblique camera angles and Dean's tortured emoting may seem extreme by latter-day standards, but their theatrics make East of Eden a timeless tale of family secrets and hard-won affection. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Kazan Struggles Mightily With Cinemascope (2005-07-20)

I have enjoyed East of Eden several times over a time span of some forty years; first in black and white on a small TV and later in colour but still in small screen format. So I looked very much forward to the new DVD release in its original format.The DVD package is certainly handsome with many welcome bonuses.Of particular interest is a short screen test segment featuring the two brothers in an intense dramatic confrontation. This revived memories of my first viewing of this classic and made me realize that the nature of this film would have been more suited to the 4:3, black and white format of previous Kazan helmed masterpieces such as A Street Car Named Desire and On the Waterfront.Kazan was not the only great director to experience teething problems with the recently (1954) introduced gimmick of Cinemascope. But the Studios, convinced that this was the way to woo potential audiences away from their TV sets, cajoled their leading directors to turn out major productions in this format irregardless of aesthetic suitabilities.No director has ever surpassed Kazan in capturing intense emotional confrontations between individuals, and the focus this requires is diluted and diminished by the widescreen format. Kazan does throw in some fine panoramic vistas of the stunning filming locales, but these are only fleeting moments that are not really central to the unfolding drama. Kazan skews camera angles in an attempt to add tension, but just plain old black and white and a more confined screen space would have been more effective ways to concentrate the action.Some viewers will probably grouse at the somewhat muted colour transfer, but this film was shot in WarnerColor (synonymous with Ansco Color) which the studios used for several years in order to shave costs. Unlike Technicolor, this was a one step colour processing that was both inferior and highly unstable. Restoring films shot in this colour format is quite a herculean achievement and they never equal the vibrancy of older films recorded in three step Technicolor.East of Eden is still a terrific cinematic achievement, but it would have been more powerful still if it had been shot in black and white small screen.

Wonderful acting by James Dean and Jo Van Fleet. (2004-02-08)

East of Eden is a great, sprawling American novel by nobel prize winning author John Steinbeck. The film East of Eden, directed by Elia Kazan, dramatizes only a small part of the magnificent book. However, what the film does, it does exceptionally well, thanks to the riveting performances of James Dean and academy award winner Jo Van Fleet.

Much has been written about Dean as an actor and what is certainly true is that when he is on screen, you can't take your eyes off him. As young Cal Trask, Dean vies for the attention and love of his father, Adam, Raymond Massesy, with his twin brother Aaron, Richard Davalos. Cal is a loser, no matter what he does, and Dean portrays sensitively the conflict Cal feels as he grows to manhood unloved and uncared for.

The rivalry between Cal and Aaron for their father's love as well as the affections of Abra, Aaron's girlfriend played by Julie Harris, generates much of the action and dramatic tension of the film. All Cal's gifts are rejected by his father, in contrast to Aaron, whose presents are appreciated and valued.

Like Cain in the Bible, Cal has a dark side which he thinks comes from his mother Kate, who abandoned him at birth and whom he has discovered runs a brothel in Salinas, California, a short train ride from the Trask ranch. Cal introduces himself to Kate, played to perfection by Jo Van Fleet, first to try to learn about himself, who he is and why he experiences his inner rage and frustration. Later he will borrow money from her to invest in order to help his bankrupt father. Cal's investment in bean futures, just prior to America's entry in World War I, pays off, but his father rejects his money in a confrontation which moves us toward the dramatic conclusion of the film.

The scenes with Dean and Van Fleet are the highlight of the film and a treasure of American movie making. Both actors are electric with Dean drawing from his inner uncertainty and fire and Van Fleet, the consumate professional, using all her skills and intelligence. They approach one another gingerly, each testing the response of the other, not trusting themselves and their own emotions, and finally becoming frustrated with their inablility to connect with one another. These scenes are wonderful to watch. We should not expect a happy ending and we don't get it.

East of Eden, released in 1955, justly takes its place in a small list of fine American films, not just because of the great performances of James Dean and Jo Van Fleet, but also because it dramatizes timeless themes in a most convincing fashion. Those viewers who love the film and like to read will almost certainly enjoy the novel on which the film is based.

It's only a matter of time.... (2004-02-04)

Given the nature and extent of Oprah Winfrey's influence, it is only a matter of time before this film -- based on the Steinbeck novel of which she is so fond -- is available in a DVD format. Let's all hope that the special features are worthy of our patience and forbearance in the meanwhile. It has been almost 50 years since this film first appeared, in the same year during which Rebel Without a Cause was also released. Both feature James Dean. I have often wondered to what extent his unique and abundant talents as an actor would have developed, had he not perished in a car accident immediately after the filming of Giant had been completed. Of course, we will never know. His was a compelling presence in each of only three films and especially so in East of Eden in the role of Cal Trask.

The basic story is derived from the Biblical account of Cain and Abel. Adam Trask (Raymond Massey) has two sons, both of whom he presumably loves. However, he favors Aron (Dick Davalos) because he (unlike Cal) never says or does anything to irritate him. Aron is "the good son," complete with a girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris) whom his father obviously adores. Of course, Cal feels resentment toward both his father and brother. He desperately wants his father's love. (Later in the film, he even tries to buy it with profits he earns from investments enriched by World War One.) Under Elia Kazan's brilliant direction, tensions build relentlessly to what seems certain to be a tragic conclusion. Feeling rejected by his father, Cal seeks out his mother who left her husband and sons years ago. Kate Trask (Jo Van Fleet) now owns and manages a brothel in another town nearby and has become wealthy. Cal climbs aboard a freight train so that he can visit her frequently. Over time, they develop mutual respect and affection. Finally the climatic moment occurs and then....

The acting throughout the cast (with one exception) is outstanding. Van Fleet received an Academy Award for best actress in a supporting role and Dean was also nominated for the award as best actor in a leading role. Burl Ives and Albert Dekker are noteworthy in their supporting roles. However, Julie Harris (age 30 at that time) seems to me miscast as the teenage Abra. As for Massey, he does the best he can with the role of Adam Trask, recycling elements of his earlier portrayal of John Brown in Sante Fe Trail. Most of Steinbeck's fiction is set in the Monterey area, as is East of Eden. Kazan and his cinematographer, Ted D. McCord, took full advantage of that uncommonly lovely area when shooting various exteriors.

Having seen what can be done to enhance the clarity of image and sound in other classic films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), I eagerly await the DVD version of East of Eden. Hopefully, its "special features" will also be special.

Begging for DVD! (2003-12-10)

Of the three James Dean films, this is the best of the three. After all, Elia Kazan directed it. As just as potent and relevant today, especially in terms of the family breakdown and the pain and confusion of adolescence, it features one of the most memorable debuts by an actor ever. This of course being one James Byron Dean. With its beautiful widescreen photography, it is a classic film that will benefit greatly from a DVD release, especially when you consider that Dean's other two films are already available on disc, and that on the video version of East Of Eden, nearly every frame clearly features characters cut in half or completely missing in the shot that they are actually featured in. Come on, Warners! We are waiting!

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