'Cause' to see this movie

To me, James Dean has always been as American as an apple pie drinking Coca-Cola at a baseball game. His career was devastatingly brief -- only three films -- but the image he conveyed on the silver screen has had a remarkable staying power: he's how Americans have defined "rebel" and "cool" for the last 50 years. \nIn fact, it could be argued, and I'd agree, it was Dean's premature death in a violent car accident in 1955 that made him the icon he is today. Now, with those 50 years gone by, Warner Bros. is re-releasing special editions of Dean's three movies, for preferential consumption or wrapped together in a collector's box set.\nEach of Dean's movies has a life and spirit of its own, and if you've never been exposed to a Dean film, the perfect place to start is Nicholas Ray's "Rebel Without A Cause." When we think of Dean today, we're thinking Dean as Jim Stark in "Rebel." This is the Dean who reached out to the angst and isolation of thousands of middle class postwar teenagers. Stark comes across two other misfit teens (Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo, in breakout performances as well), the three embark on a confusing world knowing they at least have each other.\n"Rebel" has been available on DVD for a couple of years, but this new two-disc special issue is worth the investment. As with most classic films, when the cast is either elderly or passed on, the DVD provides commentary by a scholar, in this case Douglas L. Rathgeb, the author of the book "The Making of 'Rebel Without a Cause.'" The second disc includes two documentaries about Dean and the film. Bonus footage includes screen and wardrobe tests and a darkly ironic television spot of Dean before his death emphasizing safe driving.\nIt's sad that "Rebel" probably doesn't mean as much today as it did when it was released. While it profoundly affected me when I saw it as a 15-year-old, the 1950's dialogue and slang seems almost a bit hokey and contrived. Dean's performance is undeservingly seen as overacting today, and the wildly stylized and well-made film is more frequently associated with the impact it left on cinematic formulas and the culture as a whole instead of being remembered as the strong film it actually is.\nI don't know if "Rebel" would be the classic it is today if Dean hadn't died, but there's no reason to ponder it. The fact is the film is a classic, and there's no more appropriate time for its revival.