And yet . . . not so much.

Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell & Rob as The Curtis Brothers

Well, you can thank Coppola's long-time disappointment with the movie's theatrical cut, the wonders of DVD technology and the hopes of eighth-graders everywhere for The Outsiders: The Complete Novel, otherwise known as the Mother of All Cinematic Do-Overs. I say that, because the The Complete Novel is, literally, a different movie from the theatrically released 1983 version, starring soon-to-be-famous Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise.

It's still about lonely orphaned 1950s greaser Ponyboy Curtis (Howell), his brothers and friends, and a fight that goes horribly wrong. We still see the greaser/rich kid class struggles, the artsy flashbacks, and the highly quotable lines ("Stay gold, Ponyboy!").

It's what's new that makes the difference. And that's 22 extra minutes of footage that fleshes out the characters and their relationship and virtually restores one character who'd been almost cut out (the sensitive middle brother, Sodapop, played by Lowe), as well the addition of several Elvis songs that replace the original score.

C. Thomas Howell & Rob as Ponyboy & Sodapop

At the risk of being embarrassingly gushy, I can safely speak for generations of devotees of the book who always felt we'd been rooked. And apparently Coppola felt that way, too.

Rob Lowe as Sodapop Curtis

Kim Aubry, who produced the new version, told me that Warner Brothers convinced the director that kids were never going to sit through more than a 90-minute movie, forcing him to cut basically the first day of the novel's action, and most of Lowe's part, among other things. But he'd always wanted to "fix The Outsiders, " Aubry says, and boy, has he! Suddenly, performances that I'd always found stilted are fleshed out. Gone are the annoying, sweeping fade-in beginning and ending titles that never fit the tone of the movie.

And, most important, the new version restores the thing that made the book more than another rumble-happy pulp story about hoods and chicks, and that's the relationship among the Curtises, struggling older brother Darrel (Swayze), dreamy Ponyboy and, especially, beautiful Soda. This is what blows my mind the most. I've spent 20 years judging Rob Lowe's performance as glossy and underwhelming because I couldn't see the best parts, that show Sodapop's gentleness and frustrations.

Rob, man? I owe you an apology. And Mr. Coppola? On behalf of all the other 13-year-olds, past and future, I owe you a big "Thank you."

The Bottom Line: Middle-schoolers everywhere, rejoice! The Outsiders is finally a good movie.

The Guardian
June 10, 2005

Francis Ford Coppola has recut The Outsiders for re-release of his 1983 Brat Pack gangland melodrama that inspired a teenage cult following. The director added 22 minutes of film and a new soundtrack in an effort to be more true to author S.E. Hinton's young-adult novel. The new rock 'n' roll soundtrack has songs from Elvis Presley, Van Morrison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, The Marketts, Sandy Nelson and others. The score retains the movie's original song, 'Stay Gold' by Carmine Coppola and Stevie Wonder.

Coppola has gathered original cast members Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, and Ralph Macchio to record audio commentaries. Warner Bros. will re-release The Outsiders: The Complete Novel in selected US cinemas beginning September 9, 2005 before being released on a two-disc DVD on September 20th. The DVD set will be available from Warner Home Video for $27.00. It runs 114 minutes and has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA. Rob & Tom Cruise as Steve Randle Author S.E. Hinton confirmed that the long-awaited version is packed with extras that include: ~~Restored Scenes ~~Actor Commentary ~~S.E. Hinton at filming spots throughout Tulsa ~~New Music Thanks to Jenn and Don for some of the photographs on these pages C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze & Rob as The Curtis Brothers More Outsiders