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Il Cinema Ritrovato: East of Eden

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Elia Kazan’s East of Eden was James Dean’s first lead role in a film. “Screenwriter Paul Osborn suggested Dean, and after a brief interview, Kazan was sure this guy was Cal.” In his introduction for this film before its screening in the Arlecchino, Ned Price explained that an early stage of the Cinemascope lens was used for filming. Kazan was told (just like Ray was told for Rebel Without a Cause) not to do close-ups or move the camera. Obviously, both directors disregarded the suggestion. At times, it almost seems like Kazan tried to move the camera as much as possible. For example, during the scene when Cal is talking with his father while he is on a swing, swinging back and forth, toward the porch and into the shadow of the tree, Kazan uses a canted angle and panning to emphasize the tension between father and son.

“This original camera negative sustained heavy physical damage due to the popularity of the film.” The 4K restoration of this film was carried out from the 35 mm original camera negative at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging. Unfortunately, “the original stereo soundtrack master was erased by the studio so that the magnetic stock could be re-used for another film. (This was a common practice for most studios at the time, as it was difficult to obtain good quality magnetic stock.)” “The stereo soundtrack was retrieved by Chace Audio by Deluxe from 35 mm ‘Mag Stripe’ prints, manufactured for original release.”

East of Eden is important to cinema’s history and deserved to be restored because it is an adaptation of Nobel Prize winning author, John Steinbeck’s novel. The film was also James Dean’s first lead role as an actor, and earned him his first posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. This nomination was “the first of its kind for the awards ceremony and was the only film in which he starred to be released before his death.” East of Eden was Dean’s big break that launched his career and cemented his immortality through cinema in his three starring roles.

The film is about a boy named Cal who finds out that his mother is alive after believing his whole life that she died when he was a baby, because that is what his religious father told him. The character of Cal is an extremely lonely character. His father favors his brother, Aron, because they have a similar good nature about them. Cal is sorrow personified, and Dean captures this sorrow exceptionally well. Kazan notes that “Dean’s body was very graphic; it was almost writhing in pain sometimes… and his face is so desolate and lonely and strange.”

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Written by Ellie Schlosser

Quotes from: Robert Cornfield and Elia Kazan “East of Eden.” Il Cinema Ritrovato. 28th ed. and  “James Dean Classic Restored and Set for Berlin Premiere.” Park Circus



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