James Dean: Forever Young

Of the many documentaries and retrospectives devoted to James Dean, none have offered the archival depth of James Dean: Forever Young. This is entirely due to the involvement of Michael J. Sheridan, a veteran lab worker, negative cutter, and film editor whose career began at MGM in the early 1960s. A strong advocate of film preservation, Sheridan is one of Hollywood's most respected archival experts, and is singularly responsible for rescuing and restoring much of the vintage material that is now routinely offered as extras on many DVDs. For this 90-minute documentary, Sheridan bypassed the usual inclusion of interviews (available on many other James Dean tributes), placing his entire emphasis on the prolific and promising TV performances that provided a four-year proving ground before Dean was immortalized on the big screen in Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden and Giant. Although several of Dean's noteworthy TV appearances were thought to have been lost forever, many are included here in never-before-seen excerpts. Viewers will also see how Dean was a likable but ambitious architect of his own career, developing friendships with prominent photographers whose portraits laid the foundation for Dean's posthumous status as a pop-cultural icon. Sheridan's archival treasures provide indisputable proof that Dean was already a unique and charismatic actor well before his brief feature film career (cut short by his tragic death at age 24 in 1955). The many fascinating clips here provide a vivid portrait of show business in the '50s, and include early-career appearances by Dean's admiring contemporaries and close colleagues such as Rod Steiger, Paul Newman, John Forsythe, and Martin Landau. Essential viewing for movie buffs, this is highly recommended. [Note: James Dean: Sense Memories from the PBS-aired American Masters series is also newly available.] Aud: C, P. (J. Shannon)