Rating: 
Summary: Good Film, But Not True to Novel
Review: As a fan of SE Hinton novels and the impact they can have on young adults, I had my ninth grade students read Rumble Fish. As most of these students had previously read The Outsiders (and many had also read Tex), I knew this was a novel to hold their attention and inspire discussion. I was right. I like to let my students watch films of the books they have read after completing and testing on the material, so without viewing the film prior, I rented and then showed Coppola's Rumble Fish in my classroom. Ooops! While I found the film visually stunning and the performances stellar, I was stunned at the extraneous scenes added to the film that did not appear in the novel and at their inappropriateness ...). Again, as a film, and as an adult viewer I think the film is outstanding... but the essence of SE Hinton is her appropriateness for young readers. This film fell very far out of that realm. I dont even really understand the reasoning behind the additions... this film wasn't marketed to older viewers so no need for ... nudity! I can still recommend this film for its visuals and performances, but I was a bit disappointed at its distortion of the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Smith and Dillon...Rough, Tough and Natural
Review: Bill Smith performs his role as a local cop with a bad attitude, and teamed with Rourke and Dillon, this movie brought tears to my eyes. Watching this movie seemed very realistic for me, the emotions portrayed by the actors seemed so real I almost forgot I was watching a movie.
Rating:
Summary: Not to be missed!
Review: Certainly before its time, "Rumble Fish" is an amazing film. Nothing has been made like this in twenty years. Critics hated the film, but it's very popular among teens and young adults.Filmed in B&W in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a great cast: A young Chris Penn, Matt Dillion, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, and crazy Dennis Hopper. A bit aloof, and ambigious, but highly stylish with an excellent soundtrack, (just as weird) by Stewart Copeland. Standout scenes:Tom Waits in a pool hall speaking aboutthe youth of the day, and Dillon and Lane at a bus stop with ecellent effects. It's a shame this film never got noticed for what it is: Art, great cinema, with a great cast. Don't miss it! And order the soundtrack too. !!
Rating: 
Summary: Overblown, top-heavy pomposity-- but interesting.
Review: Coppola obviously is setting out to make the mythical American teen picture, set in the midwest, a modern gothic Rebel Without a Cause replete with Dennis Hopper as the drunken paterfamilias. The story in this film is very very weak. Essentially, it is a slave to the visual poetry of Coppola, which is at times breathtaking, but at others, painfully "innovative" Same thing can be said about Stewart Copeland's score, at times it's a bizarre reflection of the angst of youth, but mostly it's just from left field and an unsuccessful experiment. Matt Dillon's acting is atrocious. Very little to no character development with the supporting characters. A thoroughly disappointing film, but given its unique qualities, has to be appreciated. Just like Coppola himself!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent casting !
Review: Dennis Hopper, Mickey Rourke and Matt Dillon are well cast as an alcoholic father and his two misfit sons down and out in an urban setting. Story centers around the frustrations of feeling trapped in a city with little hope of a better life. Matt Dillon's character, "Rusty James", idealizes the days when gangs battled often and his older brother, "Motorcycle Boy" (Mickey Rourke), was a gang leader and was considered the main problem by the police. "Motorcycle Boy" is an uninspired genius whose sanity is slipping away. He is fascinated by the Siamese fighting fish. They apparently symbolize inner city youth who fight for little or no reason at all. He believes the fish would not fight if they were in the river. Maybe the gangs wouldn't fight if they were out in the country? Nicholas Cage, Lawrence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Christopher Penn and Vincent Spano are an excellent supporting cast. Tom Waits has a small part and S.E. Hinton, who wrote the novel the film is based on, appears briefly.
Rating:
Summary: One of Francis Ford Coppola's finest!
Review: Despite the less than admirable response this movie received when it was introduced to the American public, it is my opinion that this movie is highly underrated. The black-and-white film, time-lapse motion photography, and the recurring motif of clouds and smoke all contribute to the visual beauty of this movie. Based on the book by S.E. Hinton, the movie draws the viewer into a trance-like surrealism. Mickey Rourke's portrayal as the mystical, aloof Motorcycle Boy was excellent. This is the ultimate "coming-of-age" movie. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: One of Francis Ford Coppola's finest!
Review: Despite the less than admirable response this movie received when it was introduced to the American public, it is my opinion that this movie is highly underrated. The black-and-white film, time-lapse motion photography, and the recurring motif of clouds and smoke all contribute to the visual beauty of this movie. Based on the book by S.E. Hinton, the movie draws the viewer into a trance-like surrealism. Mickey Rourke's portrayal as the mystical, aloof Motorcycle Boy was excellent. This is the ultimate "coming-of-age" movie. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Ready To Rumble
Review: Following his acclaimed adaptation of S.E Hinton's book, The Ousiders, director Francis Ford Coppola decided to make another of the author's books into a film. Rumble Fish is another comming of age story. Coppola wanted to stretch his creative juices, and wanted to distinguish it from The Outsiders, so he made a rather bold move by shooting most of it in black and white. This was a risky move, considering that its target audience is the teenager, and typically they avoid colorless films.Rumble Fish tells the story of Rusty James (Matt Dillon), a gang member, who's being pulled in many directions by the people in his life. His brother, "Motorcycle Boy" (Mickey Roarke), his alcoholic Dad (Dennis Hopper), and his girlfriend Patty (Diane Lane), all want Rusty to straighten out his life. He soon finds himself with some difficult choices to make. The cast is quite solid. Of particular interest to watch is the interplay between Dillon and Roarke and Dillon and Lane. Roarke plays the older brother with authority and range that the actor isn't exactly known for of late. Lane maintains the give and take with Dillon that began in The Outsiders. Dillon, plays a man who struggles with influences all around him, while trying to make the right choice. The use of minimal color works and serves to highlight the cinematograpy and contrasts the action well. I can't explain why the movie isn't as remembered as it should be. But... As good as I believe the film is, the minimal extras on the DVD, are disappointing Production notes and the theatrical trailer is all you get. I wish there were more of a perspective on the film. Rumble Fish is stiil recommended just the same.
Rating:
Summary: "He's like royalty in exile..."
Review: Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish was booed by its audience when it debuted at the New York Film Festival and in turn was viciously crucified by North American critics upon general release. They resisted the allure of such a dreamy, atmospheric film that works on so many levels. It is also Coppola's most personal and experimental project--on par with the likes of Apocalypse Now. Rumble Fish curiously remains one of Coppola's often overlooked films. This may be due to the fact that it refuses to conform to mainstream tastes and stubbornly challenges the Hollywood system with its moody black and white cinematography and non-narrative approach. Rumble Fish curiously remains one of Coppola's often overlooked films. It refuses to conform to mainstream tastes and stubbornly challenges the Hollywood system with its moody black and white cinematography and non-narrative approach. It was a movie clearly ahead of its time: a stylish masterpiece that is obsessed with the notion of time, loyalty, and family. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Coppola's film is that it presents a world that refers to the past, present, and future while remaining timeless in nature. Right from the first image, Rumble Fish is a film that exudes style and ambience. It opens on a beautiful shot of wispy clouds rushing overhead, captured via time lapse photography to the experimental, percussive soundtrack that envelopes the whole film. This creates the feeling of not only time running out, but also a sense of timelessness. As always, Coppola assembled an impressive ensemble cast for his film. From The Outsiders, he kept Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Glenn Withrow, William Smith and Tom Waits, while casting actors like Mickey Rourke and Vincent Spano, who were overlooked for roles in the film for one reason or another. They all fill out their roles admirably, but Mickey Rourke in particular is mesmerizing as the Motorcycle Boy. He portrays the character as a calm, low key figure that seems to be constantly distracted as if he is in another world or reality. Every scene is filled with dreamy imagery that never gets too abstract but, instead, draws the viewer into this strange world. Coppola uses colour to emphasize certain images, like the Siamese fighting fish in the pet store--some of the only colour in the film--to create additional layers in this complex, detailed world.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Coppola
Review: Francis Ford Coppola(Godfather Trilogy, Apocalypse Now) has fashioned a near perfect film. Very stylized cinematography and story telling make this a very different film from conventional Hollywood Cinema. A young Matt Dillon plays Rusty James, a teenager stuggling to live up to his brother's notorious neighborhood reputation as a tough guy and a cool cat. He wants desperatly to be like him and is constantly talking about him or hearing about him from others. The film is not very long and it is totally character driven. Rusty James gets into a fight and when things are looking bad for him the Motorcycle Boy, as his brother is known, bails him out. Rusty James visits with his girlfriend(Diane Lane), hangs out at the pool hall, and spends the rest of the time chasing after the Motorcycle Boy(Mickey Rourke). The scenes with Dillon, Rourke, and their alcoholic father(Dennis Hopper) are quite entertaining, as are the scenes with Dillon and his buddies played by yougsters Nicholas Cage and Laurence Fishbourne among others. Rourke steals the film as the Motorcycle Boy. He beautifully captures the mysterious rebel persona of the character. This film is a visual masterpiece and really more a piece of art than a movie. If anything it is worth seeing just to look at. However, the story is compelling and the young cast is flawlessly directed.
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