Review of Rumble Fish

Introduction

I still don`t know what Arthouse cinema is. It`s a rather regrettable lapse for someone who writes about films, but I have never found the usual definition as satisfactory, "A film that is shown in independent cinemas to a minority audience, usually with little writing at the bottom." In a day and age where even independent cinemas have to cater to a majority to keep their heads above water that definition becomes irrelevant. It`s hardly the province anymore of the Late Night Review on Newsnight, with their collection of corduroy encrusted academicians pontificating about the minutiae of subtext while using as obscure a vocabulary as possible. "Well, I feel that the first act clumsily reflected the moral degradation of society as a whole, it`s obvious that there is a failure of the establishment to connect with the grassroots working classes and it completely maintains the accepted doctrines regarding the lack of female empowerment in a phallocentric cultural hegemony." To which Mark Lawson will inevitably reply, "Yes Germaine, but what do you think about the Quidditch match?" So no help there. It`s time to take matters into my own hands and watch Rumble Fish, a film that I have often seen described as Arthouse and decide for myself.

Rumble Fish takes a look at a waning gang culture diminished by drug abuse through the eyes of Rusty James, a gang leader who seeks to recreate the glory days of when his brother the Motorcycle Boy ruled the roost. The absent Motorcycle Boy is idolised by his younger brother who tries to live up to his reputation. Rusty James has the hottest girl and the coolest gang, but something in his world is lacking. When the Motorcycle Boy returns, Rusty James` world gradually falls apart as he sees that his brother isn`t the man he idolised…

Video

Rumble Fish has a commendable 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer that doesn`t show any signs of artefacts. There is some notable print damage in a couple of scenes, but by and large this is a good clean print. The film was shot mostly in monochrome and is a film student`s masterclass. Francis Ford Coppola directs and the cinematography by Stephen H. Burum is amazing. Black and white has always been an atmospheric and powerfully moody medium, and here the screen just smoulders with intent and style. The heat and latent violence that the camera conveys is palpable and the mood is oppressive and encompassing.

Audio

Rumble Fish has been given the DD 5.1 treatment in English and Italian as well as DD 2.0 tracks in French, German and Spanish. The remix is telling with atmospheric use of the surround for mood and effect. The dialogue is always clear and Stewart Copeland of The Police fame provides the music.

Features

A trailer and bountiful subtitles.

Conclusion

Rumble Fish is something of a mixed bag. Excellent direction and cinematography as well as some brilliant cast performances are offset by a dull script and lightweight story. I feel that Rumble Fish is very much a film of its time. It caught a period in the early eighties that reflected a mood that is not at all prevalent today. The disillusionment and disaffection of youth is a perennial subject for filmmakers, but how they approach the subject is very much a product of those particular times. Had I seen Rumble Fish when it first came out, I too may have been profoundly affected by the film, but having seen it now, 20 years after it first came out, I can only be amused by how dated and naïve it feels.

The cast is outstanding, with a wonderfully smouldering performance from Matt Dillon as Rusty James as well as the epitome of cool Mickey Rourke as The Motorcycle Boy. Others mentionable are Dennis Hopper as their drunk but articulate father, early performances from Nicolas Cage, Chris Penn and Laurence Fishburne as gang members as well as Diane Lane as the girlfriend Patty.

The script itself comes across very much as a play, with the gritty and murky underworld of the gangs being treated as such by the characters. The over choreographed violence (almost reminiscent of West Side Story) is not at all realistic, and the characters are amazingly articulate as they debate their motivations. I suppose the words I am looking for are contrived and pretentious. But even among the one-dimensional script and lightweight narrative there are moments of clarity, flashes of cinematic perfection that capture the imagination.

Rumble Fish is a very stylised piece of cinema that is very much of its time. I doubt that it will find a new audience today, but for prior converts who can recapture the feelings that this film originally engendered, this is a well presented but extras free disc. For me personally, while I didn`t thing the story was enthralling, the film was great to look at. And I still don`t know what Arthouse is!