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The Outsiders (film)

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The Outsiders
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFrancis Ford Coppola
Screenplay byKathleen Rowell
Story byS.E. Hinton (novel)
Produced byGray Frederickson
Fred Roos
StarringC. Thomas Howell
Matt Dillon
Ralph Macchio
Rob Lowe
Patrick Swayze
Emilio Estevez
Tom Cruise
Diane Lane
Narrated byC. Thomas Howell
CinematographyStephen H. Burum
Edited byRob Bonz
Anne Goursaud
Melissa Kent
Roy Waldspurger
Music byCarmine Coppola
Production
company		Zoetrope Studios
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dateMarch 25, 1983 (1983-03-25)
Running time91 minutes (Theatrical)
113 minutes (Complete Novel)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million
Box office$25,697,647

The Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. The movie was released in March 1983. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the movie.

The Outsiders is noted for being the breakout film of many future stars. The movie earned C. Thomas Howell a Young Artist Award, became the first Brat Pack movie (with Rob Lowe and Emilio Estevez cast as supporting Greasers), and further established the careers of Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, and Diane Lane. Both Lane and Dillon went on to appear in Coppola's related film Rumble Fish.

Plot

The story begins with three confrontations between Greasers and Socials. In the first incident, five Socs gang up on Ponyboy and cut his neck with a switchblade. Johnny was attacked similarly a month earlier. The second event occurs when Bob and Randy find Cherry and Marcia walking home from a movie with Johnny, Ponyboy, and Two-Bit. Cherry and Marcia defuse this situation by going home with the Soc boys. Finally, Ponyboy and Johnny start to run away after Darry hits Ponyboy during an argument. As the two boys rest in a park, Bob, Randy, and two other Socs attack them, and Bob is stabbed and killed by Johnny while trying to drown Ponyboy.

With advice and supplies from Dally, Ponyboy and Johnny hide out in an abandoned church in a nearby town for a few days. At the church, Ponyboy reads Gone with the Wind and quotes the Robert Frost poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay." After Dallas arrives with news that Cherry has offered to support the boys in court, the church accidentally catches fire with some children trapped inside, and Johnny is hospitalized with severe burns and a broken back after he, Ponyboy, and Dallas rescue them. The boys are praised for their heroism, but Johnny is charged with manslaughter for killing Bob, and Ponyboy and Soda are threatened with being moved to a boy's home.

Meanwhile, Bob's death has sparked calls from the Socials for a "rumble". The Greasers win, but Ponyboy is injured, so Dallas drives him to the hospital, where the boys visit Johnny. Having lost interest in fighting, Johnny is unimpressed by the victory. He dies after encouraging Ponyboy to "stay gold", referring to the Frost poem. Unable to bear Johnny's death, Dallas robs a convenience store at gunpoint and is killed by the police.

Sometime later, Ponyboy is cleared of wrongdoing in Bob's death and allowed to stay with his brothers. After scenes in which Ponyboy and his brothers reconcile after an argument and Ponyboy finds a letter from Johnny saying that saving the children was worth sacrificing his own life, the film ends with a repeat of the first scene, in which Ponyboy writes a school report describing his recent experiences.

Cast

Greasers
Socs
Other characters

this is an amazing book and it is mainly about the greasers and the socs. what makes them so different its not money it is feeling the greasers are more emotional then the socs the socs are sophisticated and go along with life looking for something to make them happy but never finding it. i truly love this book ♥

Critical reception

The film was met with generally mixed to positive reviews from critics and watchers. Rotten Tomatoes gives The Outsiders a certified 65% "Fresh" rating on its site. One recent book said that the film's realistic portrayal of poor teenagers from the wrong side of the tracks "created a new kind of filmmaking".

Awards and nominations

The Outsiders was nominated for at least four awards upon its release. C. Thomas Howell won the Young Artist Award for the movie in the category "Best Young Motion Picture Actor in a Feature Film." Diane Lane was also nominated for a Young Artist Award, her being nominated for "Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture", and the whole movie was nominated for the Young Artist Award "Best Family Feature Motion Picture." Francis Ford Coppola was nominated for a Golden prize.

"The Complete Novel" re-release

In September 2005, Coppola re-released the film on DVD, including 22 minutes of additional footage and new music, entitled The Outsiders: The Complete Novel. Coppola re-inserted some deleted scenes to make the movie more faithful to the book. In the beginning of the movie, he added scenes where Ponyboy gets jumped, the gang talks about going to the movies, and Dally, Pony and Johnny bumming around before going to the movies. In the end, Coppola added the scenes in court, Mr. Syme talking to Ponyboy, and Sodapop, Ponyboy and Darry in the park. Also, much of the original score was removed and replaced with music popular in the 1960s. The director also removed several scenes in order to improve pacing, but they could be found on the second disc as additional scenes. In addition, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Diane Lane, and C. Thomas Howell gathered at Coppola's estate to watch the re-release. Commentary of the four is available together as well as Matt Dillon and Rob Lowe, who provided commentary at a separate studio.

Music

The original film's score was composed by the director's father, Carmine Coppola; the main title song, "Stay Gold", was sung by Stevie Wonder. The film did include one rock song, "Gloria", by the band Them.

The re-release of the film removes much of Carmine Coppola's original score, and instead replaces it with many songs that were hits from the 1960s when the film takes place, including:

References

  1. ZOETROPE.COM
  2. Hirshenson, A Star is Born, p.86

External links

Francis Ford Coppola
Films
directed
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