7 of the best...
YOUTH CULTURE MOVIES
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
DIRECTOR Nicholas Ray’s tale of ‘the bad boy from a good family’ is a stunning depiction of adolescent angst. Some go so far as to argue it is the first true depiction of ‘teenagehood’ on the big screen. The movie, which also stars a young Natalie Wood, was James Dean’s second, following East of Eden, but is the role with which the tragic star is most closely associated.
AMERICAN GRAFFITTI (1973)
DIRECTED by George Lucas and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, this coming-of-age comedy set in the summer of ‘62, follows high school pals Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) and Steve (Ron Howard – billed as ‘Ronny’) and John (Paul Le Mat) as they enjoy one last night of fun together before college, jobs and real-life take over. It also stars a pre-Star Wars Harrison Ford.
GREASE
(1978)
JOHN TRAVOLTA and Olivia Newton-John, pictured, are the ones that we want in the original high school musical which introduced us to lovebirds Danny (Travolta), Sandy (Newton-John), the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies. Made for $6m, the movie has gone on to rake in more than $396m.
FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (1986)
THIS John Hughes classic sees high school senior Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) decide to play truant one last time, to spend the day tearing around the streets of Chicago with his pal Cameron and girlfriend Sloane in Cameron’s dad’s prized Ferrari.
DAZED AND CONFUSED (1994)
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY and Ben Affleck are among the soon-to-be-stars who make up the ensemble cast of this Richard Linklater comedy which follows a group of teenagers in Austin, Texas, celebrating the last day of high school in 1976 by boozing it up, getting high and, for school bully Fred O’Bannion (Affleck) beating high school freshmen with wooden paddles.
HUMAN TRAFFIC (1999)
“THE weekend has landed, all that exists now is clubs, pubs, drugs and parties,” trills John Simm’s character Jip in this exploration of Nineties rave and drug culture which takes place over one weekend of partying, from the chemical-induced highs to crashing comedowns. Set in Cardiff’s clubland, the movie also gave Danny Dyer his film debut.
THIS IS ENGLAND (2006)
SHANE MEADOWS’ critically acclaimed but harrowing portrayal of skinhead culture in England in 1983 made stars of its young and largely unheard of cast, with Stephen Graham who played the violent racist Combo, and Vicky McClure who played the damaged Lol, going on to become house-hold names. Three TV sequels followed the film: This Is England ‘86, ‘88 and ‘90.