| | | | The Outsiders
(1983) |
s Chandler Bing would say: "Could there BE any more famous people in this?"
The movie which launched a thousand careers …well seven actually, is an emotive and powerful drama about the lives and misadventures of a group of small town youths who find themselves growing up on the outskirts of society, trying to make the best of what they have.
These Greasers go to drive-ins, decipher poetry and engage in sporadic rumbles with the over-privileged Socs (i.e. socialites).
There's the responsible Darrel Curtis (Swayze) his kid brothers Sodapop (Lowe) and our apprehensive narrator Ponyboy (Howell), all round good bloke Dallas Winston (Dillon), tough guy Steve Randle (Cruise) Mickey Mouse fan 2-bit Matthews (Eztevez) and self effacing Johnny Cade (Macchio).
Outsiders is one of those rare films whose every moment makes some kind of impression on the viewer; for one of the first movie scenes I ever remember was C. Thomas Howell's "Stay Gold" speech, and despite the fact that it would be about 18 years until I saw this film again, that scene had always stayed with me, as had the fire rescue.
Francis Ford Coppola, he of ‘Godfather’ / ‘Apocalypse Now’ fame, directs this skilfully acted adaptation with a real sense of care and attention to detail, however it's the cast, each giving a measured, well-researched performance, who really hold your attention...
...Which is just as well; for without the inevitable bias that we call nostalgia, Outsiders is arguably a simplistic tale which attempts to deal with complicated issues about class, loyalties and friendship in a sometimes haphazard manner.
It's a very rough, dark reel, rich in depth with some beautiful cinematography and it manages to achieve a near-impossible combination of good acting, writing and direction. -There's even a touch of West Side Story here, what with Ponyboy trying to chat up Soc Cherry Valance (Lane) and the drastic consequences which follow.
One of the more subtle scenes in the movie involves Ponyboy and an enemy Soc having a sit-down, and quite simply talking their problems through, it's a surprisingly moving scene which serves as an allegory for so many things that are happening in the world today. And how if two kids; not a Greaser or a Soc, but just two people, can put their troubles aside for a second, well then as clichéd and pseudo-Lennon as it might sound --maybe one day a sense of reason will dawn upon everybody…
...Or maybe not, judging from the somewhat over-the-top battle royal finale.
 Don't forget that The Outsiders is now available to order on Widescreen DVD using our special 80s Retro Assistant...
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Watching The Outsiders is like watching a Bruce Spingsteen song come to life; it's about your hometown, about being born to run, and how chasing a runaway American dream in the face of economic deprivation can lead anyone astray.
The movie is nicely book-ended by Howell's prosaic yet insightful monologues, whilst a series of bizarre twists and some excellent method acting (particularly from Mat Dillon) sets this film apart from others of it’s genre.
The only drawbacks being, that like many good movies, you may need to consider it's merit a few hours later, and only then can you appreciate how unforgettable it actually is, other than that, this is as close to perfect filmmaking / storytelling as its' possible to get.
The Outsiders is about nothing and everything: An absolute classic, which comes highly recommended.
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Adapted from S.E Hinton's literary classic: other film adaptations of her work include "Rumble Fish" and "That Was Then…This Is Now". Hinton was just 16 when she wrote the book. Because Hinton often writes from a boy's point of view, she uses her initials S.E. instead of her name Susan Eloise. She explains, "I figured that most boys would look at the book and think, 'What can a chick know about stuff like that?'"  -Thanks to Jenna
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The reason for the actors laughing in the poster is because Leif Garrett was eating the food from the banquet and one of assistant directors yelled, "Hey, Leif. Don't dig in yet. Save that for the actors." Then Ralph Macchio chimed in, "Yeah Leif, save that for the talents." Then everyone broke out into laughter, and that was the poster.
SE Hinton, the author, has a small cameo role in the movie as one of Matt Dillon's nurses while in the hospital after the fire. -Thanks to Jessica
Matt Dillon's Great uncle is Alex Raymond: the man who created Flash Gordon.
Ralph Macchio made his Broadway debut starring in a play alongside Robert De Niro.
Tom Cruise wanted to be a priest when he was 14 and spent a year in a Franciscan monastery. He had several teeth uncapped to play Steve and auditioned for "Risky Business" in Steve's look. -Thanks to Jennifer Emard
C. Thomas Howell was a junior rodeo champion aged 12. The C stands for Christopher. Although everyone used to call him Tommy, these days he goes by CT. In his single days, CT shared a place with his friend and co-star Darren Dalton. His father, Chris Howell, is a stunt double and has worked in many of CT's films. C. Thomas Howell originally expected to follow in his father's footsteps and was even a child stunt player. At times, he still does stunt work on the side. Some may have spotted him as a waiter, toppled over, in an episode of the TV series Moonlighting. Keep your eyes open for him in the upcoming Fox series LA Confidential. -Thanks to Jenn
A very young Sofia Coppola has a cameo; as the kid who's hassling Matt Dillon
The Outsiders was shortly followed by a short-lived TV show by the same name. The show lasted only one season with 13 episodes. -Thanks to Carly
Tom Waits had a cameo appearance in the movie as the man that answers the door at the party when Ponyboy and Johnny are looking for Dallas. -Thanks to Izzie
"The Outsiders" was made back-to-back with Coppola's other S.E. Hinton adaptation, "Rumble Fish".
In the film, the projection booth at the drive-in appears to sit on top of the concession stand - it is actually a free standing building several rows in front of the concession stand. -Thanks to Tina Ervin-Platt
When Dally is calling Darry after he robs the store, behind him (on the pay phone) the engraving says "Johnny"! -Thanks to Lauren
One of the actors in the movie's drive-in scene is Trey Callaway, who wrote "I Still Know What You Did last Summer." Callaway, a native of Tulsa area community Jenks, Okla, is seen inside the concession stand wearing a letterman's jacket. He gets in a shoving match with a greaser as Cherry and Ponyboy are inside getting snacks. The two teens shove each other and then the concession stand manager yells for them to "Take it outside!" Callaway was not credited in the movie, but also appears briefly in the fight scene "rumble" at the park during the scene where it's raining hard. Callaway had long hair before the movie, but cut it into a crewcut to appear as a rich-kid type. Callaway went on to USC Film School and graduated to a career in LA. He is the son-in-law of Paramount Studio producer Mace Neufeld. -Thanks to Herman Brown
The girl who bothers Dally at the Dairy Queen is Francis Ford Coppola's daughter Sophia. She later became a director herself and made movies such as "Lost in Translation"! -Thanks to Rachel
Denise Richards married Charlie Sheen who is the brother of Emilio Estevez who was in the Outsiders with Matt Dillon who was in Wild Things with Denise Richards! -Thanks to Nicole Bernier
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Find much more great trivia in the filmmaker's commentary on the Outsiders DVD.
Rediscover your favorites! If you like
The Outsiders or 80's Drama / Historic classics, then be sure to
check out this list: ..... Elephant Man ..... Rain Man ..... Drugstore Cowboy ..... Stand By Me ..... Wall Street ..... Mask ..... Amadeus ..... Full Metal Jacket ..... Witness ..... Breakfast Club ..... Glory ..... Platoon ..... Scarface ..... Six Weeks ..... Urban Cowboy .....[More]
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How's this for some (imposed) method acting; Coppola had the actors who were playing Socs stay in luxury accommodation with leather-bound copies of the script, whilst the Greasers were put up in a basement with tattered, paperback, copies--this was done in order to create a sense of difference and tension between the two groups right from the beginning.
Ralph Macchio was 21 when he played the character of "Johnny Cade". -Thanks to Lisa Sajwani
C. Thomas Howell was 15 at the time of filming, which is older than his actual character Ponyboy Curtis, who was 14.
In the scene where Ponyboy, Johnny and Two-Bit are walking to Johnny's house, a hat flies into the scene. Two-Bit picks it up and says "look! I have a new hat!" and walks away. The hat belonged to one of the camera men. Frances Ford Coppola had said to the cast earlier that he did not want to stop rolling, no matter what, so the hat is still in the movie. -Thanks to Valentine B. Casali
The employees in the concession stand scene at the drive-in were actually employees of General Cinema Theaters, then owners of the Admiral Twin Drive-In, including Damon Fell, Cindy Fell and Tom Essley. -Thanks to Tina Ervin-Platt
Nicholas Cage auditioned for the role of Dallas (later played by Matt Dillon) & did some method acting for the part by locking himself in a room for two weeks, drinking beer & staring at a photograph of Charles Bronson, hoping that the physical & mental attitude of playing a thug would rub off on him. His uncle turned him down & told him to audition for the part of Two-Bit (later played by Emilio Estevez) but Cage was so fed up at this point from all his hard work being in vain that he walked away from the project.
In a moment of anger, Cage called Matt Dillon an airhead & later regretted the statement, saying Matt was a very talented actor. -Thanks to Stephanie
Tom Cruise and Patrick Swayze did their own gymnastics stunts in the scene leading up to the rumble. -Thanks to Alice
Heather Langenkamp (Nightmare on Elm street) had a cameo in this movie, she played a girl in the drive-in movie scene, but her scenes were deleted. -Thanks to Ashleigh
During the rumble scene, Tom Cruise was accidentally socked in the jaw and needed dental work the following day. The Tulsa dentist has a picture of himself and the then-young actor together in his office. -Thanks to Shawn
Three Matt Dillion movies of the 80's were filmed entirely on location in Tulsa, Oklahoma: "Tex," "Rumblefish," and "The Outsiders." I remember as a kid watching the fight scene for "Rumblefish" and grew up a few blocks from the "bloody" fountain in "The Outsiders." The park used in that scene contained a jungle gym but no fountain--so the movie crew had to build one. -Thanks to Shawn
When Dallas fell off his chair at the drive-in, it was real! That's why Ponyboy looks straight at the camera when he's laughing. -Thanks to Katie
The first punch in the rumble scene was actually real! You can actually see Ponyboy spit out blood as he falls to the ground, thats why C. Thomas Howell's suprised expression is so realistic! -Thanks to Katie
According to the Warner Brothers press release..The idea for The Outsiders began with a letter to Francis Ford Coppola from a school librarian in Fresno, California, stating that the faculty and students had nominated the director to make a movie of their favorite novel; the letter was personally signed by 110 students. -Thanks to James
S.E. Hinton, the author of the Outsiders book started the book when she was just 15, from a real-life experience. She later finished the book when she was 16.
During filming, Rob Lowe asked the original author of ‘The Outsiders’ what had happened to Sodapop Curtis, the author responded that Sodapop dies in Vietnam.
The picture in the newspaper under the article saying Ponyboy, Johnny and Dallas are heroes, has Ponyboy and Johnny with their new haircuts that they gave each other when they were in the church. This couldn't possibly be a picture after the fire because Johnny would have burns on his face/neck and Ponyboy would have ash on his. -Thanks to Katie
During the drive-in scene, when Dallas (Dillon) falls out of his chair, Ponyboy (Howell) looks directly into the camera, waiting for Coppola to yell "CUT", but Coppola doesn't and keeps the slip up in the final movie.
When Ponyboy is laying in the church the first night he is lying on his right side. But, when he gets up to get water in the morning, there is dust on his left arm. Even if he were to rolled over there would be dust on BOTH sleeves, not just one.
When Ponyboy, Johnny and Dally are walking to the movies, when you see them walking in front of the store, the boom mike (and its operator) are reflected in the windows. -Thanks to russ73174
When the camera does a close up of Bob's body, look really close. You can see him breathing and you can also see his hand moving.
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|  |  |  | | The Outsiders
Locations |
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 Featured Movie Location: The Drive-In
Wanna see the real life filming location used for The Drive-In in the movie? These scenes were actually shot at Admiral Twin Drive-in, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. [New! Show Google Map]
[Thanks to Aaron Empsall for the featured location info]
The opening scene where Darry, Ponyboy and Johnny meet up - it's a mexican resturant now. The place looks exactly the same from the outside.
The scene where Daly was scaring the kids who were playing cards was The Pines Restaurant. It was located at Apache and Pine close to the Apache Drive Inn. [Thanks to Mary Johnson]
Later the 3 of them are walking down the street. Darry looks in a window. That store is a printer/office supply shop - it's been painted red now.
The scene where Twobit checks Ponyboys fever, waiting on the bus is a church in downtown Tulsa. [Thanks to James Ryan]
The scene where pony boy gets the pistol was shot in Owasso, Oklahoma. A short distance outside of Tulsa. The restrauant was I believe a "Tasty Freeze" and was torn down in the late 1990's. Although it does not look like it in the movie, this area was quite built up when the movie was filmed. The stadium in the background is still standing. [Thanks to Daniel Wright]
Crutchfield park is the scene where the socs tried my ponyboy and where jhoony killed bob. Ponyboys house is down the street from the park, the address is 731 st.louis st. [Thanks to ashli]
The hospital scenes were filmed at Tulsa Regional Medical Center, Downtown Tulsa. The hospital is still in operation at 744 w 9th. This hospital is now a part of Hillcrest Healthcare Systems and is an Osteopathic Hopital [Thanks to slyohn]
In Tulsa Oklahoma, right off Interstate 44 at 161st Street there used to be a large old two story white house that were used in the filming of the Outsiders. It is no longer there, torn down a few years later and now there is a 'Microtel' built on its exact location. The house stood empty for a while before it was used for filming. [Thanks to bruce]
The Rexall Store (drugstore) in Sperry, north of Tulsa, as well as a couple of railroad scenes, alleyway, and old service station. Some of the scenes were later cut, but I own the drugstore and service station, and have seen stills using these structures. [Thanks to Larry Briggs]
In the scene where the guy is making fun of the other guy's pants, the fast food place in the background was a tasty freeze icecream shop that is not there anymore in a town called Owasso in Oklahoma [Thanks to Tim Koontz]
Featured Link: Pictures of the Admiral Drive-in
Can you help? Do you know any of the Tulsa, Oklahoma (or any other) filming locations used for The Outsiders? [Please send them in]
|  | | | | ![[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced]](16_9.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette, OutTakes |
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Comments: The Outsiders: The Complete Novel - Special Edition. 2-disc set includes a new longer version of the film featuring footage newly-restored by director Francis Ford Coppola himself. Some 22 minutes of footage has been added, including a new beginning and ending "more true to the book." |
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The soundtrack was only ever produced on CD by a German label called "Ideal Vertrieb" and licensed by "Dischi Ricordi S.P.A. of Milan/Italy". It is "copyright 1982 & 1989 by Ponyboy Inc." It has all the original orchestra/recordings - matching the movie exactly. Perfect sound quality.
It has 12 tracks - including the main theme (vocal and instrumental) "Stay Gold," is sung by a very skilled vocalist named Bill Hughes (backed by Carmine Coppola's orchestration. [Thanks to Joshua]
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Soundtrack Available:
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