Classic cinema: Elia Kazan's East of Eden
Throughout his tragically brief career in Hollywood, James Dean was able to act as a major star in all but three films. Had his life not been cut short by a car accident, he would most probably have made the angst-ridden youth as the signature character for the majority of his career. Such a character would define an entire generation and make a mark on a specific period of film history. The character first made his potent impression in the family drama " East of Eden " (1955, USA), directed by Elia Kazan (who shot the film in glorious CinemaScope) and based on the second part of John Steinbeck's epic novel. Even if one is still yet to read the novel, the film's biblical overtones can't be mistaken for any other. That is to say, the Cain and Abel theme. That Old Testament story couldn't be more grim and tragic: In the biblical context, we encounter here the first-ever familial discord and the first-ever act of murder that sprang from it, all happening to th...