Product Details

• Actors: James Dean, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 1.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Turner Home Ent
• DVD Release Date: February 3, 2009
• Run Time: 459 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001KXZGO6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,544 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #4 in	Movies & TV > Classics > Classic Stars > Dean, James
  #15 in	Movies & TV > Classics > Classic Stars > Taylor, Elizabeth

• For more information about "TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Dramas (East of Eden / Cat on a Hot Tin Roof / A Streetcar Named Desire / Rebel Without a Cause)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This item is part of The TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Turner Classic Movies' Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Dramas collects four movies on two double-sided discs, with top picture quality and the bonus features that appeared on disc 1 when two of those films were released on two-disc sets, or the features that appeared on the single discs of the other two. The first disc pairs two of James Dean's three major films, Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden (both 1955), with commentary tracks by author Douglas L. Rathlieb and historian-filmmaker Richard Schickel, respectively. The second disc offers two Tennessee Williams adaptations: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), starring Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie the Cat and Paul Newman, and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), starring Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh. Bonus features include commentary tracks by author Donald Spoto and by Karl Malden and others, the featurette "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Playing Cat and Mouse," and movie trailers. --David Horiuchi

Product Description

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE In one of the most influential performances in movie history, James Dean plays the new kid in town whose loneliness, frustration and anger mirrored those of postwar teens and still reverberate today. Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo were Academy Award nominees for their achingly true performances. EAST OF EDEN A wayward Salinas Valley youth (James Dean) vies for the affection of his hardened father (Raymond Massey) with his favored brother (Richard Davalos). Julie Harris and 1955 Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Jo Van Fleet co-star in this adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel. CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF Tennessee Williams Pulitzer Prize play thunders across the screen in a powerful film adaptation starring Elizabeth Taylor as frustrated Southern belle wife Maggie the Cat and Paul Newman as her disillusioned ex-athlete husband. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE: THE ORIGINAL DIRECTORS VERSION Four Academy Awards including three for acting! Elia Kazan directs the landmark movie of Tennessee Williams Pulitzer Prize play about the clash between brutish Stanley Kowlaski (Marlon Brando) and his dreamy sister-in-law Blanche Dubois (Vivien Leigh).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Four top-drawer romantic classics in an economical package, November 14, 2008

By	calvinnme "Texan refugee" (Fredericksburg, Va) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This is one of the first of what is planned to be 27 sets of four films each from Warner Home Video. They are bare-bones releases of classic movies sold at a discount to introduce classic film to the masses. That is a good idea, and for that I salute Warner Home Video. This set is about romantic dramas, with an emphasis on the works of Tennessee Williams and James Dean. The following are the contents of this set:

East of Eden (1955) - Directed by Elia Kazan and starring James Dean. Adam Trask is a California farmer with two sons - Aron and Cal. Cal feels that his father holds him in only medium esteem while he gushes over Aron. Cal also learns what really happened to his mother, and begins visiting her. When Adam loses a fortune in a failed shipping venture, Cal decides to win Adam's favor by going into business himself and getting his father's money back. However, he decides to go to his mother to get his start-up capital.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) - Directed by Richard Brooks, stars Paul Newman as Brick and Elizabeth Taylor as his wife, Maggie. Brick is an alcoholic ex-football hero who has the favor of his father, played by Burl Ives. Brick's older brother does everything the way his father says to do it, but still does not have his father's heart. The problems in this disfunctional family rise to the surface when it is learned that "Big Daddy" doesn't have long to live.

Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - Directed by Elia Kazan starring Marlon Brando as Stanley, the brutish bridegroom of Stella (Kim Hunter). Stella has an older sister Blanche (Vivien Leigh) who acts as though she is a southern belle rather than an aging woman with a dreary existence in the French quarter of New Orleans. When Stanley hears Blanche encouraging Stella to leave him, he plots a cruel revenge.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) - Directed by Nicholas Rey, stars James Dean and Natalie Wood in a film that is more about the disenchantment of the modern teenager with society than it is a romantic drama classic. It's a different kind of romance. At face value you could say the two wind up together because they both feel so alone, but there is a real chemistry and attachment there that is beyond just emotional survival.

These romantic dramas are often more dramatic than romantic, but they are all five stars. As is common in this Warner series, these films have more deluxe editions in DVD sets if you are interested. For fans of James Dean, his two films can be found in The Complete James Dean Collection (East of Eden / Giant / Rebel Without a Cause Special Edition). The sad thing is, with the exception of a few cameos and TV appearances, this really is the complete James Dean collection. As for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Streetcar Named Desire, they are both in more deluxe versions on the excellent Tennessee Williams Film Collection (A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 Two-Disc Special Edition / Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 1958 Deluxe Edition / Sweet Bird of Youth / The Night of the Iguana / Baby Doll / The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Films, Bad Transfer, April 1, 2009

By	L. Blaxton (AZ, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great collection of classic films. I originally bought this mainly for Rebel Without A Cause and A Streetcar Named Desire but I found all the films to be enjoyable.

I only have 2 real complaints about the product. The first is that the discs are dual sided, instead of one per film. I know this isn't earth shattering but it's much easier for the disc to get scratched. TCM could have chipped in the extra $2 or whatever it is so each film would have been on a separate disc.

The other problem I have is the video transfer. Overall the transfers are okay but none look that great. Rebel Without A Cause was a big disappointment as many parts of the frame during scenes are blurred, pigmented, and have colors fading/warping. I understand this is usual for older films but a restoration would have been nice.

In conclusion, if you are a film buff I would recommend this. I got mine elsewhere for only $16, making it only $4 a film so it was a steal. Any classic film buff or James Dean fan will love this set.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT, BUT WHERE ARE ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S MISSING '50s FILMS, February 13, 2009

By	B. BURNETT (South Africa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Great to read that TCM are planning to release 27 editions - is anyone possibly aware whether the Elizabeth Taylor films The Girl who had Everything, Beau Brummell, Rhapsody, Raintree County and The Last Time I Saw Paris are in the line-up? It's incredible that these films have not appeared on DVD [with the exception of many inferior issues of The Last Time I Saw Paris] If not, why not? It's a major mystery, and an insult to Miss Taylor, why Warners/TCM have ignored these titles. If the rights had not been sold to TCM, i am certain that MGM would've released them years ago.