The next Central Saint Martins Film Society screening will be Rebel Without A Cause (1955) on Monday, 10 February in the LVMH 003 Lecture Theatre. The supporting programme will begin at 5.30pm; the film will begin at 7.30pm. Rebel Without A Cause will be screened on Blu-ray.
We’ll also welcome the return of a favourite film of the CSM Film Society, the 50 minute, 1958 documentary about South London teenagers, We Are The Lambeth Boys. John Kent, one of the original Lambeth Boys, will be with us for a Q&A about the making of the film and being a teenager in the 1950s. There’s also 9 copies of the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound magazine to be won in our interval raffle. Full details of the evening are below.
The Central Saint Martins Film Society is open to all students and staff across UAL’s six colleges. Bring anyone with a UAL pass. It’s free and booking is not required. You can come for the feature film, or the supporting programme, or both.
Rebel Without A Cause
Set over 24 hours, this portrait of angst and generational conflict tells of Jim Stark (played by James Dean), an alienated new kid in town who falls in love with Judy (Natalie Wood), girlfriend of the local gang leader, Buzz (Corey Allen). Buzz challenges Jim to a ‘chicken run’, a head-to-head car race, but when it ends in a fatality, Jim and Judy along with their new friend, John ‘Plato’ Crawford (Oscar-nominated Sal Mineo, giving cinema’s first portrayal of a gay teenager), go on the run from the police and their parents.
Rebel Without A Cause was directed by Oscar-nominated Nicholas Ray in glorious CinemaScope and stunning Technicolor and released only a month after James Dean’s death at the age of 24. The film is the blueprint for every film about youth rebellion and is packed with classic scenes: the chicken run, the knife fight, the Planetarium. Even James Dean’s red jacket is iconic. You’ll recognise locations from, among many other films, La La Land, Sunset Boulevard and The Terminator. Appropriately, Rebel Without A Cause was banned in several countries, including New Zealand and Spain, and not released in the UK un-edited until 1967. Nicholas Ray’s cinematic style, specifically his framing and expressionistic use of colour, has been a major influence on the work of Todd Haynes, Curtis Hanson, Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders.
Supporting Programme
- James Dean: He only made three feature films, but his legacy is as strong today as ever, as this biography and career profile of Hollywood’s ultimate cult star shows. We’ll also hear friends, colleagues and girlfriends recalling James Dean’s artistic reputation and ambiguous sexuality. There’s also a 3 minute, filmed interview with James Dean himself.
- Colour in Film: From hand-painted frames and scene tinting to colour correction and grading, we see how colour is used in film lighting and design to enhance character mood, illustrated with clips from The Grand Budapest Hotel and Blue is the Warmest Colour.
- Screen Aspect Ratio: Do you know your 4.3:1 from your 2.39:1? Don’t all rush for the exit because, as Rebel Without A Cause’s widescreen will prove, the size of the image is important in film-making.
- Stewart Stern: The writer of Rebel Without A Cause talks about James Dean’s death, the subsequent release of the film and why it has continued to speak to generations of young people to this day.
- We Are The Lambeth Boys: Shown three years ago at the CSM Film Society, this is the only material we have ever repeated but such is the popularity of Karel Reisz’ invaluable record of Britain’s first generation of ‘Teen Agers’ that we’re bringing it back for a new generation of students to enjoy. Filmed in a low-key, naturalistic way reminiscent of the French New Wave, the documentary gives voice to members of a working class youth club in Kennington while the filmmakers regard their subjects with intelligence, respect and dignity. We hear the youngsters’ opinions on issues such as capital punishment, see them at work and play, and join them at a dance and cricket match at Mill Hill Public School. Reviewing the film, the London Evening News said: ‘Queues of cinema enthusiasts, even longer than for the Festival of Britain, stood in the drizzle for hours in the hope of seeing this film which has become the talk of the town.’
British Film Institute
If you’ve never been to BFI Southbank, check it out. It shows dozens of films every week – classics, cults, rarities, underground, experimental – and it’s only £3 for anyone 25 or under. That’s just the price of a coffee for two hours of cinema! Just go to:
https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/login.asp
From February, the BFI will be holding a two-month retrospective of Elia Kazan, director of James Dean’s East of Eden and a major influence on the introduction to cinema of the ‘Method’ style of acting studied by James Dean, Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Brie Larson and dozens of other A-list screen actors.
Screening Details
Date: Monday 10 February
Venue: LVMH 003 Lecture Theatre
5.15pm: Doors Open
5.30pm: Supporting Programme
7.30pm: Rebel Without A Cause
9.15pm: Finish
About the Central Saint Martins Film Society
The Central Saint Martins Film Society exists to develop an interest in, or encourage further knowledge of, cinema amongst students and staff. We show classic feature films relevant to courses at Central Saint Martins and University of the Arts London and which are commonly referenced by collaborators throughout a creative career, everything from animation to horror with each film accompanied by a 60-90 minute, contextual supporting programme.