“The Outsiders,” 1983 coming-of-age drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton, which details the conflict between two rival gangs divided by their socioeconomic status: the working-class "Greasers" and the upper-class "Socs." Those were also the years when “West Side Story” (1961) was huge, six years after “Rebel Without a Cause,” or James Dean times.
S. E. Hinton or Susan Eloise Hinton was 15, high school years, when she started writing the novel; the book was published when she was 18. Ms Hinton is credited with introducing the YA (young adult) genre. Yet it took 16 years for her definitive work to get translated or adapted into cinema.
The initial lure of the “The Outsiders” is its cast, which basically lit up the Hollywood marquee from that point a.k.a. the Brat Pack of the 1980s. Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, and Diane Lane. And what do you know, Leif Garrett! In fact, Tom Waits was there as well + brief uncredited appearances by Nicolas Cage (who is director's nephew) and Melanie Griffith.
Ironically, the lead star of the film, C. Thomas Howell, who later garnered a Young Artist Award for his performance as Ponyboy, didn’t evolve into stardom as the others. As for me though, I believe it was Ralph Macchio as Johnny who delivered the best acting.
Three more films based on Hinton novels also were release that time: 1982’s “Tex,” with Emilio Estevez, 1983’s “Rumble Fish,” with Diane Lane, and 1985’s “That Was Then... This Is Now,” again with Estevez.
I was around half a decade younger on “The Outsiders” timeframe but it wasn’t so hard to identify. I might as well their age. Although the distance from the 60s to 21st century’s computer technology is harder to connect, compared with 1960s to 1940s perhaps, this movie is still a must-see for adolescents or youths approaching adulthood.
Definitely. A fine conversation piece. That is, if today’s teenagers could sit through 91 minutes of the movie, and then a discussion afterwards—no cellphone. LOL! 🎬🎭🎬
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