All Critics (33)
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Top Critics (5)
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Fresh (31)
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Rotten (4)
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DVD (17)
John Steinbeck's painful biblical allegory -- Genesis replayed in Monterey, California, circa 1917 -- is more palatable on the screen, thanks to the down-to-earth performances of James Dean as Cal/Cain and Richard Davalos as Aron/Abel.
Not only one of Kazan's richest films and Dean's first significant role, it is also arguably the actor's best performance.
In short, there is energy and intensity but little clarity and emotion in this film. It is like a great, green iceberg: mammoth and imposing but very cold.
a reaction to our plutocracy's values and a further case for Dean as the sainted figure of rebellion that would fuel the generational schism of the '60s.
East of Eden is set in 1917 but [James] Dean feels completely modern and contemporary, a boy not quite comfortable in his body.
Fine James Dean vehicle, one of few that put him into immortality.
Kazan had the bad sense to leave out the best parts from the lengthy book.
James Dean's finest performance
It's a film of great performances, atmospheric photography, and a sure sense of period and place.
What could be a better way to spend two hours?
Kazan's Biblical allegory has not held up well, but Dean's performance, for which he was Oscar-nominated posthumously, proves why he became a star after his very first film
... can be seen as one of the earliest examples of the enshrinement of the unregenerate, semi-nihilistic "attitude" that informed and in part created "rock 'n' roll."
the real reason that this film has any legs at all (and the ONLY reason that Warner Brothers has released the DVD) rests with James Dean
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