The Sounds of "Rebel Without a Cause"

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Director Nicholas Ray was lucky to have a talented composer create an original score for Rebel Without A Cause. Leonard Rosenman was born in 1924 and studied music in New York and Europe. His work as a film composer and arranger is very traditional, and has been regarded by some music critics as "insignificant." However, Rosenman received Academy Awards and Oscar nominations for his work. Along with film scores, Rosenman wrote theme music and scores for numerous television shows. The score in Rebel Without A Cause is much like another film starring James Dean, East of Eden. The sounds and music in this film are very realistic, and to the point. There is not anything abstract or out of place, and everything is very appropriate. The sound effects in the film are diegetic (sounds that the actors can hear), with the score being nondiegetic (sounds that the actors cannot hear). The film falls under the category of realism, with no stylizing or manipulation of images and sounds. The film starts out with orchestral music, and shows James Dean's character, Jim, drunk on the ground of a sidewalk. The sound of a police siren is heard and used as a transition into the next scene that takes place, understandably, in a police station. While in the police station, Jim is yelling along with the sound of the siren, and humming loudly to give the impression that he is drunk. At one point in the scene he is brought into another room with an officer, and begins to punch a desk. The sound effects are loud, and the he pauses, and music begins again when he begins to hurt. Again, a siren is played at the transition to the next scene. However, for the most part, score music is played during all transitions. The score music in this film w... ... middle of paper ... ...portant because since, like Jim and Judy, Plato has not grown up with a father figure, this leading to "Plato's scrutiny of, and contempt for, any paternal gesture" (Wood, 2). Overall, the score was beautiful and appropriate, adding suspense and mystery at all the right times. The sound effects added psychological flavor to the story without drawing too much attention to it. Works Cited Seger, L., & Whetmore, E. (1994). From script to screen . New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc. Giannetti, L. (2005). Understanding movies. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Wood, C. (2000). Finding the father: a psychoanalytic study of rebel without a cause. Retrieved Oct. 21, 2005, from Senses of Cinema Web site: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/00/5/finding.html.

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