| | | | Rumble Fish
(1983) |
n the summer of 1983 Francis Ford Coppola set up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to film two films back-to-back for his newly founded film company Zoetrope Studios.
He amassed a group of young iconoclastic actors, who would go on to dominate big screen productions for the rest of the decade and beyond. Coppola chose to adapt two S. E. Hinton novels for the silver screen, "The Outsiders" & "Rumble Fish".
Whereas "The Outsiders" was filmed in rich Technicolor grandeur, "Rumble Fish" -the second film was, in direct contrast, filmed in black & white.
As Coppola drew on the influence from films such as, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", "The Golem", "Sunrise" and "The Last Laugh", these films coming from the German Expressionist cinema of the 1920's.
It could be interpreted that the reason Coppola chose to film in such contrasting styles, was perhaps to showcase the production skills of his new Zoetrope Studios.
Rumble Fish begins at Benny's, a pool & soda bar run by the philosophical "35 summers left!" Benny (Waits). This is where Rusty-James (Dillon) holds court, as self-appointed leader, of the neighbourhood gang. His buddy Midget (Fishburn) informs him that he has an invitation to rumble with Biff Wilcox from a rival crew at 10pm that night.
While Rusty-James and B.J. Jackson (Penn) are getting fired up about the prospect of gang violence, Steve (Spano) & Smokey (Cage) voice their anxieties about it. Due to the unknown whereabouts of The Motorcycle Boy, Rusty-James' older brother and local legend, who decreed a truce between gangs, before leaving.
Rusty-James brushes reservations aside, and sets off to see his high school sweetheart Patty (Lane). He arranges some pre-rumble TLC and then drifts off with straight-laced Steve his doting, perpetually worried best friend.
A disused rail yard is the location for the rumble. Biff Wilcox (Withrow) with his blonde spiky hair and loose fitting blazer, resembling an amphetamine crazed New Romantic, appears from the shadows with his backup.
After hurling spittle-fuelled insults, he pulls a knife on Rusty-James and they go at it. The ensuing rumble is highly charged and theatrically choreographed; drawing its style from the gang fight in Stanley Kubrick's, "A Clockwork Orange" (1971).
Just as Rusty-James has finished stomping his rival, The Motorcycle Boy (Rourke) revs up to the scene clad in iconic cool. Distracted by his brother's arrival, Rusty-James receives a superficial knife wound on his side, after Biff lunges from the floor with a splintered piece of glass. The Motorcycle Boy dishes out instant retribution by sending his speeding motorbike into the already bloodied, staggering Biff Wilcox.
Rusty-James idolises his older brother and strives to emulate him. Now that he has returned, he believes they can restore the gang to its former glory. But The Motorcycle Boy, after returning from a cathartic visit to California, has lost interest in trivial, pointless patch battles, and has no desire to be the infamous gang leader of his teen years.
Now 21, the years of warring have left him colour blind, partially deaf and he wanders round in a confused stoned haze, much like a punch-drunk boxer who's been between the ropes too long.
Following his trip to the Golden State, he tells his inquisitive brother, "California is like a beautiful, wild girl on heroin... who's high as a kite and thinking she's on top of the world... not knowing she's dying... even if you show her the marks"
Rusty-James cannot understand his brother's blurry metaphors and confused state. So he starts to question his brother's sanity.
What follows is the build up to a tragic, yet poignant confrontation at the town's pet store, where The Motorcycle Boy, followed by Rusty-James, go too free two Siamese Fighting fish... rumble fish!
 Don't forget that Rumble Fish is now available to order on Widescreen DVD using our special 80s Retro Assistant...
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Rumble fish are Siamese fighting fish which, if put together, will try to annihilate each other. Or if the fish sees it's own reflection, then it will repeatedly attack the image. The fish are therefore a metaphor for Rusty-James and his gang who are heading into self-destruction through pointless gang warfare.
The omnipresent ticking of clocks, of racing clouds, of billowing smoke, emanating from unseen locations and the use of painted shadows, creates a subtle sense of disorientation throughout. The sets are abstract in an attempt to focus on the realism and the emotions of the character, this gives the film a very strong and distinctive style.
The cast is superb... Matt Dillon's portrayal of Rusty James is definitely the pick of his early screen roles. Mickey Rourke's disorientated and abstract Motorcycle Boy is profoundly cool and Dennis Hopper is excellent as the brother's brokenhearted alcoholic father. The supporting cast is rich with the talents of Diane Lane, Nicholas Cage, Larry Fishburn, Chris Penn, Vincent Spano and Tom Waits on show. Often misunderstood as a teen movie, Rumble Fish, with its theme of the elapsing and ebbing of time & youth, and of personal enlightenment, is perhaps more pertinent to an adult audience.
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The original inspiration for the novel came from a photograph of a boy on a motorcycle which author; S. E. Hinton came across in a magazine in 1967. 
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The author, S. E. Hinton, makes a cameo as the hooker who asks Rusty-James for a date, while he is talking to The Motorcycle Boy on the strip.
As well as Rubme Fish, Diane Lane also teamed with Matt Dillon and Francis Ford Coppola on another S.E Hinton novel brought to life, "The Outsiders". -Thanks to intothesea13
Diane Lane has played Matt Dillon's girlfriend in two films; "Rumble Fish (1983) & The Big Town (1987).
Coppola's daughter Sofia plays Diane Lane's cheeky younger sister.
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Find much more great trivia in the filmmaker's commentary on the Rumble Fish DVD.
Rediscover your favorites! If you like
Rumble Fish or 80's Drama / Historic classics, then be sure to
check out this list: ..... Outsiders ..... 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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S. E. Hinton co-wrote the screenplay with director Francis Ford Coppola.
The church in the background, when Rusty meets his girlfriend after she gets off the bus with her sister and friend, is Boston Avenue Church, 1301 S. Boston in Tulsa.
Nicolas Cage auditioned for the role of Smokey without even knowing it! His uncle (Francis Ford Coppola) had just told him to read with the other actors, keeping the audition part a secret because he didn't want to make Nicolas nervous and put pressure on him. -Thanks to Stephanie
The schoolgirls in uniforms were actual students at Holland Hall Preparatory School and were wearing their real uniforms. -Thanks to Audra
It has been said that Mickey Rourke sported bright red or green hair throughout the movie. I believe this was just for a laugh and it reportedly caused fellow cast members to struggle to contain their laughter during several scenes. Filming in B&W meant that this didn't cause the Production team any real problems, but I can't imagine that Coppola was too amused. -Thanks to Colin Patterson
The school that Patty comes out of is Marquette in Tulsa, OK. The school bus that Rusty-James and Patty walk past is a St. Pius X school bus St. Pius does not have buses any more.
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|  |  |  | | Rumble Fish
Locations |
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Riverside Park, located on Riverside Drive right on the waterfront of the Arkansas River was used. At the time the park did not stretch that far to the south, and only intersected with two overpasses. It was either at 31st and Riverside (a park is there now) or at 51st and Riverside. [Thanks to Drake Adams]
Bader's Supply Store at 13 Brady Street was the location of "Benny's Poolhall". It is still there and looks pretty much the same. Today it is a video production business.
Rusty-James apartment was located at 103 1/2 E. Dewey St. in Sapulpa, Oklahoma (approximately 20 minutes west of Tulsa).
The bridge sequences were filmed at the 23rd Street Bridge, which crosses Riverside and goes over the Arkansas River. At the time, there was bridge construction going on. The renovation was completed in 1985 and the name changed to the "21st Street Bridge". Still looks pretty much the same though.
"Garish Strip" - Greenwood Ave. (at Archer Street). This was the "Sin City" section visited by the boys when Rusty-James learns his brother had seen their mother in California. The area was desolate at the time. Today it has been built up with new businesses. Looks pretty much the same. *The pet store where the "rumble fish" existed was a converted building front at 1023 N. Greenwood Ave.
Patty's House (where Diane Lane's character lived) was located on the NW corner of Owasso and 14th Street.
Knife Fight Location (where Biff Wilcox and Rusty-James have there knife fight) was located beside the train tracks, beneath the overpass at Archer and Boulder - downtown. The area still looks pretty much the same, but is now gated off property owned by the Williams Company.
Rusty-James' high school was Webster High School at 1919 W. 40th Street in Tulsa.
The school Patty attended was located at 15th Street and Quincy Ave. Patty boards the school bus at the beginning of the film (when the boys are walking up) at the intersection of Quincy and 16th Street - one block south of 15th Street. Still looks the same.
Alley Scene (where Rusty-James and Steve are confronted by two thugs) was located in a downtown alley between Fifth and Sixth Streets and Main and Boston. This area has been built up quite a bit since then and original alley may no longer exist. [Thanks to Kyle J. Wood]
The drugstore scene with the magazine rack was at 201 E. Dewey in Sapulpa. That location is no longer a drugstore.
The scene where the conversation occurs on the fire escape is in the alley north of Dewey between Water and Park streets in Sapulpa. [Thanks to Mark]
My parents were paid for the use of our blue and white Ford truck. They parked the truck on the West side of the bridge of the Arkansas river, going into Bixby. It was a tiny scene, and the only thing they did with the truck was bust out the lights and use it for a prop. [Thanks to Candy Encarnacion]
Can you help? Do you know any of the Tulsa, Oklahoma (or any other) filming locations used for Rumble Fish? [Please send them in]
|  | | | | ![[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced]](16_9.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette, OutTakes |
| Our
Comments: Special Edition |
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Stewart Copeland, the rhythmatist for The Police, scored the percussion-orientated soundtrack, which features plenty of ticking clocks and industrial sound effects combined with strong drums. An excellent soundtrack. Track listing is as follows:
1. Don't Box Me In
2. Tulsa Tango
3. Our Mother Is Alive
4. Party At Someone Else's Place
5. Biff Gets Stomped By Rusty James
6. Brothers On Wheels
7. West Tulsa Story
8. Tulsa Rags
9. Father On The Stairs
10. Hostile Bridge To Benny's
11. Your Mother Is Not Crazy
12. Personal Midget/Chain's Ballroom
13. Motorboy's Fate
Stanard Rigdway, who sang and co-wrote the song "Don't box me in" with Stewart Copeland was the lead singer of the new wave band Wall of Voodoo. -Thanks to Anonymous
Stewart Copeland, formally of British band, The Police, scored the film. It was his first film score, he has now scored well over fifty films, including, "Wall Street" (1987) & See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989). He also scored the infamous theme music for the television show "The Equaliser".
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Soundtrack Available:
On CD
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