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Rumble Fish

Play trailer Poster for Rumble Fish R 1983 1h 34m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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77% Tomatometer 39 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Disaffected and restless, Rusty James (Matt Dillon) is spoiling for a fight. Abandoned by his mother and living with his alcoholic father (Dennis Hopper), he hangs out with his girlfriend, Patty (Diane Lane), and his similarly aimless friends Midget (Larry Fishburne), Smokey (Nicolas Cage) and B.J. Jackson (Christopher Penn). When his brother, the Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), returns to town, Rusty hopes to gain guidance and wisdom from someone most people think is crazy.
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Rumble Fish

Rumble Fish

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Critics Consensus

Rumble Fish frustrates even as it intrigues, but director Francis Ford Coppola's strong visual style helps compensate for a certain narrative stasis.

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Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 01/04/2021
A myth-infused coming-of-age story that's directed with a grandly imaginative visual repertoire to match. Go to Full Review Richard Corliss TIME Magazine 12/11/2007
If Rumble Fish fails as a traditional movie about real people, it is beguiling as an exercise in hallucinatory style. Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety 12/11/2007
Overwrought and overthought. Go to Full Review Alan Jones Radio Times 04/01/2025
4/5
The drama is extremely mannered and the symbolism a mite overdone, but it's a visually startling knockout, brilliantly filmed in moody black and white with some dashes of colour. Go to Full Review Megan Fisher Loud and Clear Reviews 01/11/2025
It’s a movie that is both mythical and intimate, grounded and stylized, external and interior. Every piece of Rumble Fish is consumed by the emotions of the characters, by the tragedy of their lives and the time that is passing. Go to Full Review Sean Burns Crooked Marquee 09/26/2024
The coolest movie Coppola ever made. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Dwayne W @Dwayneee Jul 19 Rumble Fish is a street poem wearing the clothes of a crime movie. It’s a story about legends, loneliness, and the strange burden of being someone everyone else thinks you should be. Beneath the shadows, smoke, and restless energy is a tender meditation on brothers trying to escape the myths built around them. Beautifully strange and quietly powerful, the film knows that the toughest person in the room might be the one who understands that fighting isn’t the same as winning. See more Isaiah Y @zayman2 Feb 27 Underrated film by Francis Ford Coppola See more thiago s @Thiagostone Sep 1 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Emily H. @Hollis.26 07/04/2025 This movie didn’t catch my attention. It was kind of boring but did love the black and white vibe. I also loved Matt Dillon and Diane lane being together. Any movie they’re in together is automatically better. See more Kaleigh M @RT22849124 06/02/2025 Thought this was gonna be better than it was, I was disappointed in it as it wasn't really like it was in the book. I love you matt dillon but this movie SUCKED HARD DICK. Half of the time I don't even know what was going on. The shots weren't bad nor the black and white wasn't a bad idea. See more Stephen C @bob25009 05/27/2025 1 hour and 34 minutes of drama, based on the novel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Read all reviews
Rumble Fish

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Cast & Crew

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Francis Ford Coppola

Director

Matt Dillon

Rusty James

Mickey Rourke

The Motorcycle Boy

Diane Lane

Patty

Dennis Hopper

Father

Diana Scarwid

Cassandra

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Rumble Fish

Rumble Fish (1983) Rumble Fish (1983) Rumble Fish (1983) Rumble Fish (1983) Rumble Fish (1983) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Disaffected and restless, Rusty James (Matt Dillon) is spoiling for a fight. Abandoned by his mother and living with his alcoholic father (Dennis Hopper), he hangs out with his girlfriend, Patty (Diane Lane), and his similarly aimless friends Midget (Larry Fishburne), Smokey (Nicolas Cage) and B.J. Jackson (Christopher Penn). When his brother, the Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), returns to town, Rusty hopes to gain guidance and wisdom from someone most people think is crazy.
Director
Francis Ford Coppola
Producer
Fred Roos, Doug Claybourne
Screenwriter
S.E. Hinton, Francis Ford Coppola
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Zoetrope Studios
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 21, 1983, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 11, 2015
Runtime
1h 34m
Sound Mix
Surround
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)