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Rating:  -
This film tells the definitive story of how Dean became the overnight sensation that he was in EAST OF EDEN. The documentation and research is impressive as well as Mr. Sheridan's tenacity in finding all of these lost gems. When will they be available on DVD?
Rating: -
first thing is first, i love the title. anyway, this is a really good Documentary of James Dean life and career. i tells you everything about the best actor who lived! every james dean fan needs to get this DVD!
Rating:  -
JAMES DEAN -- FOREVER YOUNG is essential viewing for anyone interested in the actor; the writer/director's done a wonderful job of assembling hard-to-find film clips, particularly from Dean's early days in live tv. The screen tests with Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman are fascinating, too. (On the strength of this scene, she'd have made an interesting Abra.) My major problem with this overview? No mention of Dean's bisexuality. True, the production team needed cooperation from the Dean estate, and many of his fans probably don't want to think closely about that side of his life. But Dean's proclivities have been extensively documented in print by now, and Liz Sheridan and Pier Angeli definitely weren't the entire story. Given that much of Dean's appeal (like that of his contemporaries Brando and Clift) tempers traditional notions of American masculinity with a feminine side, seems a terrible pity to continue mythologizing a complete heterosexuality that apparently never existed.
Rating: -
James Dean - Forever Young is a fascinating documentary into the life of James Dean, a lot of thought & effort has obviously gone into the production of this short (around an hour in length) documentary.
My advice? Ignore any negative remarks about Forever Young from people who haven't even seen a Jimmy Dean film before (why would anyone watch a documentary on his life if they have never seen one of his films before!?)
In short, all James Dean fans need to pick both "James Dean - Forever Young" and "James Dean - Sense Memories" as they're both a fascinating watch and a wonderful compliment to the new special edition releases of "Rebel without a Cause" and "East of Eden".
Rating: -
At the beginning of a special screening of JAMES DEAN: FOREVER YOUNG, two of its film editors opened with introductory remarks, among which was that the production had been a "labor of love". At the end of the showing, the question fleetingly crossed my mind: With friends like this, who needs enemies?
This documentary is a sterile visual record of Dean's brief acting career, which spanned the period 1949 to his death in 1955. The film includes brief snips from roughly two-thirds of his 38 television roles, as well as slightly longer segments from his few feature films. There are also matter-of-fact asides about his brief, first marriage to a dancer, his romantic pairing with actress Pier Angeli, and his love of Porsche cars and auto racing, the last interest indirectly leading to his death on a public highway as he drove his sports car to an event in which he was to compete.
I was only six years of age at the time of Dean's death. Obviously, I wasn't old enough to have become a fan. Subsequently, I've never seen any of his big three feature films (GIANT, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, and EAST OF EDEN) even though "Jimmy Dean" is an American household staple. (Whoops, sorry! That's breakfast sausage.) What makes this documentary such a disservice to its subject is that it's neither compelling enough to prod me to watch any of those films nor read-up on the man's life and career. My 3-star award will cause worshippers of the James Dean Icon to howl with indignation. That's OK; I understand, and forgive all the negative votes this review will attract.
If I was alive fifty years from now, even I could extract segments from three feature films by, say, Johnny Depp (e.g. CHOCOLAT, THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, and THE LIBERTINE), and string them together in a short documentary with commentary in such a manner as to make contemporary audiences beg to see the entirety of each movie and read a bio of Depp's life. The fact that the creators of JAMES DEAN: FOREVER YOUNG didn't do that, at least for me, indicates that 1) they tried too hard and lost their way, or 2) there wasn't sufficient starting material to begin with. Either way, it's a lost opportunity to achieve something greater. As it is, this 50s "rebel" comes across as surprisingly mundane.
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