James Dean, photographed on the set of Rebel Without A Cause
What are the best teen movies of all time? And also, what is a teen movie? Well, a good example of a teen movie may be something like I Know What You Did Last Summer and its two sequels. This movie belongs to the teen slasher tradition, which dates back to Friday the 13th.
The slasher movie
This film was made a long time ago( like 1980 )and really got the ball rolling for movies where a nut job terrorises a group of young people, usually in a remote location. In this case it was on the shore of somewhere called Lake Crystal.
However, this type of film( or genre!)is known for producing really bad movies. Ok, they make megabucks at the box office, but they are not very good. Critics get really fed up with them, especially the sequels. However, a few of them can be pretty good. One of the best is Nightmare on Elm Street.
This was made in 1984, and famously introduced Freddy Kreuger to the world. It was directed by horror legend Wes Craven, who is one of the best guys in the business. The film is quite clever, using dreams ( or the metaphysical! ) to pretty good effect. However, despite the presence of a young Johnny Depp, this film is all about Freddy. He was the ultimate bogeyman, tapping into the audience's deepest fears and hang-ups. So, rounding up, this movie is probably one of the best teen movies ever made.
That’s gross, dude.
The next genre( or movie type )has to be the comedy. A good example of this type of movie would be American Pie, with a combination of sex scenes and just gross out gags. This film is pretty funny, but is it as good as the original teen comedies of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s? Without Porky’s and Animal House, American Pie would not exist. Animal House in particular, set on a demented University campus and starring a crazed John Belushi, is great fun. This movie has to be on our list because it’s been so influential over the years.
John Hughes
Certain film directors are very much associated with this type of film. John Hughes is one such director. In the 1980s he seemed to make back to back films that were all about teenage life. His two most famous films are probably Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Breakfast Club. The Breakfast Club is now seen as a little dated and very corny, but FBDO still rocks. The film starred Mathew Broderick in the lead role, taking an illicit day off high school. The dean of the school, who does not believe that Ferris is off ill, spends the day trying to catch him out. This movie is really cool and very funny. It has to be one of the greatest teen movies ever made. Check it out.
Coppola
The next category of teen movie is best summed up as the type made by really great directors. In the 1980s, Francis Ford Coppola made a couple of teen movies based on the books of SE Hinton. They were The Outsiders and Rumble Fish. The Outsiders is famous for its “bratpack” cast, including Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe and Matt Dillon. Both these film were set in Oklahoma, so the location was pretty unusual for this type of movie. The film was also different in that it showed a group of young Americans who were not rich. They did not seem to have parents with jobs, so they looked after each other. The film is also very good, even if it’s a little over dramatic in parts. The Outsiders has to be up there with best of them.
Rumble Fish was made after The Outsiders, and is a slightly different type of movie. It was famously filmed in black and white, and starred Mickey Rourke and Matt Dillon in the lead roles. Both actors probably produced career best performances. This movie is also associated with being beautiful to look at. The actors look great and the some of the sets are brilliant. For many people of a certain generation, this is the greatest teen movie ever made.
The classics
While the 1980s may have been a golden period for teen movies, the real touchstone is the 1950s. This decade pretty much invented the idea of the teenager and the teen movie. Stars like James Dean, Marlon Brando, Warren Beatty and Montgomery Clift were among the first to portray young people who were at odds with society( and everything else! )
James Dean only made three movies. While Giant is not a teen movie, A Rebel Without A Cause and East of Eden are. Both films were made by wonderful film directors. Nick Ray and Elia Kazan are two of the all time greats. Rebel Without A Cause was made in 1955 and for many people it’s the original teen flick. Dean’s character is the new guy in town. He does not fit in, and soon ends up racing cars and fighting. For anyone who wants to know who this James Dean guy was, check the movie out.
East of Eden was also released in 1955. It was directed by Elia Kazan, who for many people is the best film director of all time. This movie is not quite as famous as Rebel Without A Cause, but it too is a classic. It’s based on a novel by John Steinbeck, who was famous for writing about poverty in America. The movie is a classic, and has to included in our list. Again it’s a must see for anyone interested in James Dean.
The same film director made Splendor in the Grass in 1961. The film stars Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood, two of Hollywood’s greats. It is set in Kansas during the 1920’s and is about the relationship between the two lead characters. This is a really beautiful film, with great performances from some big time movie stars.
Donnie Darko
So, we now have a pretty cool set of movies. Our list spans six decades and includes a wide range of stuff, from some classic films to slasher movies and gross out comedies. However, there is still one really cool teen movie that deserves a mention. It was made in 2001, and starred Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role. Donnie Darko has now become a bit of cult movie. The majority of the people who have seen it love it, reminding them of the best movies made in the 1980s. In the movie Donnie ( played by Gyllenhaal ) becomes friends with a large rabbit, that may or may not exist ( back to the metaphysical again.) There is a lot going on this movie, but to put it simply the film has a magic quality to it, which makes you believe in what you are seeing.
What do you think? What's the best teen movie you have ever seen?
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