The Outsiders (film)

The Outsiders is a 1983 American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton and was released on March 25, 1983, in the United States. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the film.
The film is noted for its cast of up-and-coming stars, including C. Thomas Howell (who garnered a Young Artist Award), Rob Lowe, in his feature film debut, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, and Diane Lane. The film helped spark the Brat Pack genre of the 1980s. Dillon would also star in two more films based on Hinton novels: Tex (1982), with Estevez, and Coppola's Rumble Fish (1983), with Lane. Estevez wrote and starred in the Hinton adaptation That Was Then... This Is Now (1985).
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, most notably for its performances, and performed well at the box office, grossing $33.7 million on a $10 million budget. Over the years, the film has earned a cult following and has spawned a 1990 sequel television series and a successful 2023 stage musical.
== Plot ==
The Curtis brothers' parents are deceased, leaving eldest brother Darrel left to raise and support Sodapop and Ponyboy, his younger brothers, in 1965 Tulsa, where youth subculture is centered around two gangs — the affluent "Socs" and the poorer greasers. The "Socs" harass and assault Ponyboy until some of his fellow greasers chase them off. He and his friend Dallas catch a movie at the local drive-in, where Dallas unsuccessfully flirts with "Soc" Cherry Valance and leaves in a rage. Cherry invites Ponyboy and fellow greaser Johnny to sit with her and her friend. Their Soc boyfriends take umbrage, so the girls leave with them to avoid any escalation.
Pony and Johnny walk to an abandoned lot to help Johnny avoid his parents' bickering and domestic violence. He laments the hopelessness of his young life and considers suicide. Ponyboy falls asleep and awakens a few hours later and rushes home, where Darrel and Soda are waiting up for him. Darrel confronts Ponyboy, violently knocking him to the floor. Ponyboy runs off to a local park with Johnny, Bob and three other Socs attack them. Johnny is beaten, and when Pony is almost drowned in the park's fountain, Johnny fatally stabs Bob.
Ponyboy and Johnny find Dallas, who gives them money for food and a loaded firearm. They flee to Windrixville after hopping on a train and hide in an abandoned church, where they read Gone with the Wind aloud to pass the time. Dallas visits, taking them to get a meal at a local restaurant. He brings a note from Sodapop that urges Ponyboy to come home, as Cherry is willing to testify on their behalf. Johnny favors turning themselves in, but Dallas disagrees. 
Returning to the church, they discover that it is on fire with children trapped inside. They rescue them but are burned. Johnny breaks his back when part of the structure collapses on him. Ponyboy reunites with his brothers in the hospital and returns home. Their heroic deed makes the front page of the local paper. Soc Randy peacefully talks to Ponyboy about an upcoming rumble. Ponyboy and Two-Bit visit Johnny and Dallas in the hospital. Ponyboy asks Two-Bit to buy another copy of Gone with the Wind at the hospital gift shop. Johnny's mother comes, but he refuses her visit. She takes out her ire on Ponyboy and Two-Bit, who decries her as a bad mother.
Dallas encourages them to win the rumble for Johnny, and they do. Dallas then drives an injured Ponyboy to the hospital to see Johnny. Dallas tells him about the greasers' victory, but Johnny is dismissive and dies after telling Ponyboy to "stay gold". 
Dallas robs a store, is pursued by the police, and commits suicide by cop. The judge exonerates Ponyboy for Bob's death and places him in Darrel's custody. Cherry sees Ponyboy and ignores him. He is offered a passing grade by his English teacher if he writes a quality essay but is uninspired. He finds a letter from Johnny explaining how saving the children was worth sacrificing his life and advising Ponyboy to "never change". Johnny's letter inspires Ponyboy's essay. The story begins, "I had only two things on my mind." 
== Cast ==
== Soundtrack ==
== Reception ==
===Critical response===
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has a rating of 70% based on 50 reviews, with an average score of 6.3/10. The site's consensus reads, "The cracks continue to show in Coppola's directorial style, but The Outsiders remains a blustery, weird, and fun adaptation of the classic novel." Roger Ebert rated the film two and a half out of four stars, citing problems with Coppola's vision, "the characters wind up like pictures, framed and hanging on the screen." Metacritic assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews"..
The film's casting directors, Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins, wrote in a 2007 book that the film's realistic portrayal of poor teenagers "created a new kind of filmmaking, especially about teenagers — a more naturalistic look at how young people talk, act, and experience the world. This movie was one of the few Hollywood offerings to deal realistically with kids from the wrong side of the tracks, and to portray honestly children whose parents had abused, neglected, or otherwise failed them."
Stéphane Delorme, in his book on Coppola, wrote: "The Outsiders is a wonder. And wonder is also the subject of the film. 'Stay Gold', says the song over the title credits. (...) The artificiality of the rural setting, which is as fake as in The Night of the Hunter, places us in the distant, mythical past. It takes only dye to turn these blond heads into golden heads, and thus to go from nostalgia for one's youth in the 1960s to a general regret for a golden age."
===Accolades===
The Outsiders was nominated for four Young Artist Awards, given annually since 1978 by the Young Artist Foundation. C. Thomas Howell won "Best Young Motion Picture Actor in a Feature Film". Diane Lane was nominated for "Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture". The film was nominated for "Best Family Feature Motion Picture". Francis Ford Coppola was nominated for the Golden Prize at the 13th Moscow International Film Festival.
== Aftermath and legacy ==
==="The Complete Novel" re-release===
On September 20, 2005, Coppola re-released the film on DVD, including 22 minutes of additional footage and new music, as a two-disc set called The Outsiders: The Complete Novel. Coppola re-inserted some deleted scenes to make the film more faithful to the book. This brought it up to a 114-minute running time. At the beginning of the film, he added scenes where Ponyboy gets stalked and jumped, the gang talks about going to the movies, Sodapop and Ponyboy talk in their room, and Dally, Pony, and Johnny bum around before going to the movies. At the end, Coppola added the scenes taking place in court, Mr. Syme talking to Ponyboy, and Sodapop, Ponyboy, and Darry in the park.
Coppola's father, Carmine Coppola, had written a soaring, romantic score for the original release, which at the time Coppola felt may have been the wrong choice, but he was not prepared to say that to him. By the time he came to recut the movie for "The Complete Novel" re-release, his father had died, which allowed Coppola the opportunity to balance Carmine Coppola's music with music popular in the 1960s as well as new music composed by Michael Seifert and Dave Pruitt.
The film was re-rated by the MPAA as PG-13 for "violence, teen drinking and smoking, and some sexual references".
Disc 2 of the DVD includes some unique features, featuring behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast and crew, readings from the novel, additional deleted scenes, the original theatrical trailer, and an NBC News Today segment from 1983 talking about how The Outsiders has inspired teenagers across the world.
The director also removed three scenes that were in the theatrical version to improve pacing. Those scenes were Ponyboy and Johnny looking at their reflections in the lake and talking about their hair, attempting to catch a rabbit, and playing poker. They can be found on the second disc as additional scenes, along with other deleted scenes that were filmed, but not put into the movie. In addition, Swayze, Macchio, Lane, and Howell gathered at Coppola's estate to watch the re-release, and their commentary is included on the DVD. Dillon and Lowe provided separate commentary.
A Blu-ray edition of The Outsiders: The Complete Novel was released in Region A on June 3, 2014.
A manufacture-on-demand Ultra HD Blu-ray containing both versions of The Outsiders including The Complete Novel, was released through Studio Distribution Services on November 9, 2021.
===Sequel TV series===
A television series based on the characters of the novel and film aired in 1990. It consists of a different cast playing the same characters. It picks up right after the events of the film's ending and lasted only one season.
===Stage musical adaptation===
A stage musical based on both the novel and film held its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in February/March 2023. The production will be directed by Danya Taymor from a libretto by Adam Rapp, with songs by Jamestown Revival and music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Justin Levine. It was announced on August 21, 2023, that the show will begin previews on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on March 16. It officially opened on April 11. It received 12 nominations at the 77th Tony Awards, winning 4 including Best Musical.
===The Outsiders House Museum and local preservations of the film locations===
The Outsiders House Museum opened in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on August 9, 2019. In 2009, hip-hop artist Danny Boy O'Connor discovered the house that was used for the Curtis Brothers's home. Moving forward, O'Connor kept the thought of buying it, which he eventually did in 2016. O'Connor said he bought it sight unseen and that when he first went inside it was falling apart. With the help of friends, the Oklahoma Film and Music Office, the City Council, local businesses, and individuals who volunteered, the restoration started. After enough funds had been raised, the house went through extensive renovations to restore it and maintain its authenticity from the film.
In 2016, a GoFundMe was set up to raise additional funds, notable donors included Jack White, who donated $30,000, and Billy Idol. That same year, supporters organized film screenings featuring actor C. Thomas Howell, and the corner street signs were changed to "The Outsiders way" and "The Curtis Brothers Lane". The museum now contains a collection of The Outsiders memorabilia. In addition to Howell, other stars of the film including Rob Lowe, Ralph Macchio, and Matt Dillon visited the site between its restoration and opening. For his efforts on preserving a cultural landmark, O'Connor received a key to the city of Tulsa.
In 2022, in Sperry, Oklahoma, the group Upward Sperry restored the now non-operational DX gas station seen in the film. The group's president, Gary Coulson, said, "It's really growing. I almost hate to say, but it's almost like a cult following. They stream through here - what that does is get people here." With O'Connor they are planning to revitalize Outsiders nostalgia in Sperry.
On April 14, 2023, as part of a 40th anniversary celebration of the release of the film, the institution installed a plaque commemorating the film which was installed at the Admiral Twin drive-In where a scene was shot.
===Set photography book The Outsiders ‘Rare and Unseen’ and The Outsiders on set===
In October 2022, O'Connor with The Outsiders House Museum published the book The Outsiders 'Rare and Unseen, which contains 148 photos by David Burnett, who was the set's photographer. O'Connor said: "We originally got the first lot of photos and then [Burnett] said there may be more. They found the rougher photos, and for me, that's where the rubber meets the road because they [the actors]'re unpolished, their guard's down, they're not posing."
On May 2024, O'Connor with The Outsiders House Museum published the book The Outsiders on set, which contains 254 pages of photos by Nancy Moran a photographer who visited The Outsiders's set while they were shooting. O'Connor explained that when he discovered that this additional slew of photos existed, he approached Moran, who he didn't know, and to his surprise she let him have the negatives so that he could develop them.
== External links ==
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*Revisiting 'The Outsiders' After The Immediacy Of Adolescence's Plights Have Passed - July 31, 2018, WBUR-FM
== References ==
Category:1983 films
Category:Warner Bros. films
Category:Coming-of-age drama films
Category:Drama films
Category:Drama
Category:1980s drama films
Category:Comedy-drama films
Category:Films starring Matt Dillon
Category:Films starring Ralph Macchio
Category:Films starring Rob Lowe
Category:Films starring Patrick Swayze
Category:Films on VHS