The Outsiders

A terrific tweener for kids of any era. Serious but sweet, and refreshingly free of cynicism.

Godfather Coppola has a real way with family, go figure. But here he keeps the themes and emotions simple. One of the reasons for this story's lasting power is that it was written by a teenager, and so accurately reflects kids' perspective. It would have been very tempting to try and infuse an adaptation with "layers," to comment on the action and show yourself superior, but Coppola exercises great restraint and appropriate respect for the material. He knows it isn't profound stuff, but he understands that it *feels* profound to kids who identify with it. In walking this tightrope, he creates a rare thing: a movie that's for kids but neither talks down to or indulges them.

Lowe, Dillon, Estevez, Howell, Macchio, Garrett, Swayze. Only Cruise and Lane (and Sofia!) seem bigger now than they are here. That, and the 20-some years since, makes The Outsiders all the more poignant.

A gem from Francis Ford Coppola based on S.E. Hinton's novel. Teenage gang members in a mid 60's Oklahoma town become involved in murder, leading to tragic consequences for all concerned. Filmed mostly in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a very impressive list of young actors on their way to stardom.

The cast includes Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise. Also featured are Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, C. Thomas Howell, Gailard Sartain and Ralph Macchio.

A coming of age movie that packs a punch. Very much worth your time.

First let me say that this will not be a comment where the author will be gushing about how "hot" the cast is! Like a lot of people who have commented on this film I, too, read the book first in school and then proceeded to seek out the film to see how the story translated to the screen. I thought esteemed director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) did a fairly competent job of adapting the book (there will always be somerevisions and omissions in such an enterprise). He preserved the essence of the class struggle: the eternal conflict between those who were better favored by birth and station (Socs) with those less favored (Greasers). Coppola elicited more than competent performances from the young up-and-coming cast he assembled. All in all, a very good coming of age film.

The Outsiders is my all-time favorite book and I had been waiting for months to rent the movie. When I finally saw it, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. Although the novel is a very fast-moving story, I thought that some of the scenes in the movie went by just a little too fast, and sometimes the music seemed out of place. I also really disliked the trail scene. It was not at all what I was expecting. Some of the acting was poor in some points as well, but overall, I thought the cast did a good job. I thought that Matt Dillon did an outstanding job as Dallas Winston, though.

If you loved S. E. Hinton's book, then I would definitely recommend seeing this, just don't get your hopes up too high. Even if you didn't like the book, although I'm not sure if that is even possible =), I would recommend this movie because of the cast. Even though most of the acting wasn't absolutely incredible, it's fun to see how a lot of big actors (such as Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Patrick Swazye) started off their careers.

"The Outsiders" is about two gangs, the Socs and the Greasers. It focuses on a young greaser named Ponyboy, and what living the gang life is like for him. Although it has good cinematography and a real good score, the characters speak in accents and lingo that make it a tad bit hard to understand what's happening, and it doesn't help that sometimes the pace is too quick for the film's own good. This results in a movie that may be a bit difficult for people who haven't read the book to understand, although there are probably some who never read the book but understood the movie. If you did read the book, it's a good adaptation. You also feel sympathy and emotion for all of the characters. I recommend that you watch it nonetheless. 7/10.