The Outsiders (1983) Review

“The book is always better.” That’s what they always say. More than often, the saying holds true. This proves to be one of those times. In the 8^th grade, we had to read the novel, then, we spent a few days watching the film adaption of S.E. Hinton’s 1967 novel, The Outsiders. The 1983 film adaptation is a now packed cast, but then, no one knew them. The novel is a fourth shelf selection while the film adaptation is on the second shelf. Some books just don’t translate well on film. It’s no one’s fault. I actually considered quitting it early on, but I’m kind of glad I didn’t. Still, I wasn’t really into it.

The legendary Francis Ford Coppola sat in the director’s chair. Gray Frederickson and Fred Roos produced. Kathleen Rowell wrote the screenplay, which stays true to Hinton’s original novel. Zoetrope Studios served as the production company for this film, distributed by Warner Bros. The Outsiders hit theaters a few weeks before my birth on March 25, 1983. Christ. This cast. After searching the IMDb credits, many of these cast members appeared in 1984’s Red Dawn. First, we’ll start with the family. I’ve never heard of C. Thomas Howell. He’s Ponyboy Curtis, and the lone gang member not a household name. Patrick Swayze is older brother Darry Curtis. Rob Lowe is middle brother, Soda Pop. Ralph Macchio is Johnny, and he’s horrible. Tom Cruise is Steve and has such a small part and little screen time. Dianne Lane is in the lone main female role. Blink and you’ll miss Tom Waits. Same with Leif Garrett. As far as “scene stealers,” we have two and both have big parts. Matt Dillion as Dally, and Emilio Estevez as Two-Bit. Dillion showing dramatic chops, with Estevez shinning as comic relief.

The “theatrical release” runs 91 minutes. I watched “The Complete Novel” run of 114 minutes. It’s not a complete mirror image, but there is a mirror, and there’s just a little condensation. The film follows the book really close. Maybe a small piece here and there along the way change, but not even by a lot. Stevie Wonder wrote the lyrics and sang the title song, “Stay Gold.” I didn’t care for it, but the rest of the soundtrack isn’t bad. The audio editing’s horrible as the songs are way louder than the dialogue during them. The Outsiders is just a slow drama, a better read than watch. Stay gold.