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.
- New digital transfer from restored picture and audio elements
- Theatrical trailer
- New 50th-anniversary documentary: "Rebel Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents"
- Vintage documentary: "James Dean Remembered"
- Additional scenes (without sound)
- New: three segments from the Warner Bros. Presents TV series including Dean’s famous Drive Safely commercial TV spot
- Rare screen tests
- Wardrobe tests
| Weight | 0.77 lbs |
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