James Dean, Rebel Generation

A tv programme

Created by

Written by

Directed by

Produced by

Leading French distributor

ARTE France

Production year2025

Programme formatOne-off

GenresDocumentary

Runtime 60 min

Synopsis

The antithesis of the virile heroes of his era, James Dean shook up the codes of masculinity in the space of three films. Seventy years after his death at the age of 24, this portrait brings him back to life by interweaving his words and those of his entourage with fascinating archival footage.

On September 30, 1955, James Dean, speeding to Salinas to take part in a car race, was cut down in his prime in a car accident. Before the tragedy that sealed his legend, the actor nevertheless gave flesh, with burning intensity, to the doubts, rebellions, and aspirations of a disoriented youth. First on the small screen, in television series such as A Long Time Till Dawn, then in the cinema, through three films shot in less than two years: East of Eden by Elia Kazan, Rebel Without a Cause by Nicholas Ray, and Giant by George Stevens. Alternately playing a misunderstood son, a rebellious teenager, and a cowboy turned oil tycoon, the graduate of the Actors Studio injected each of his roles with his own childhood wounds. At the age of nine, “Jimmy” was deprived of his mother’s protective love when she died of cancer. Raised by his aunt on a farm in Indiana, he constantly sought the recognition of his father, for whom acting was not “a man’s job.”