What filmmaking techniques does The Outsiders use?

CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in The Outsiders (1983): Sentimental Realism, Practical Destruction, Earned Catharsis and Romantic Orchestral Score.

Who directed The Outsiders?

Francis Ford Coppola directed The Outsiders, released in 1983. CineCode also covers The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Conversation (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979), Rumble Fish (1983), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).

What films are similar to The Outsiders?

Films that share techniques with The Outsiders include Braveheart (1995), 3 Idiots (2009), The Color Purple (1985), Hacksaw Ridge (2016).

Drama · Crime

The Outsiders

Francis Ford Coppola, 1983

In 1965 Tulsa, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs are at war. When teenager Ponyboy and his friend Johnny get caught up in a killing, they run and hide. Coppola made it after a school librarian and her students wrote to him, and he treats these teenagers like tragic heroes.

2 Narrative 1 Cinematography 1 Sound

At a glance

The Outsiders is a 1983 drama and crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 narrative, 1 cinematography and 1 sound), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Braveheart uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Sentimental Realism

Showing real social hardship and personal failure honestly while still letting love, grief and community matter. The film is openly emotional without pretending things are easy.

How this film uses it

The film shows real hardship, like brothers raising each other after their parents die in a car crash, and it never apologizes for being emotional. Gang fights and money troubles sit next to tenderness between friends. You are allowed to feel it.

Where to see it

The Curtis house. Darry raises his younger brothers, Sodapop and Ponyboy, after their parents die.

Cinematography

Practical Destruction

Staging large-scale destruction for real with actual structures, explosions and extras, and using no digital simulation. The chaos on screen has real weight and scale.

How this film uses it

The church fire was a real fire on set. Coppola pushed for more flames, and the blaze grew out of control until a downpour put it out. The heat and danger you see were real, which gives the rescue scene weight.

Where to see it

The church fire. Ponyboy and Johnny rescue trapped children from the burning church, and Johnny's back is broken when it collapses.

Narrative

Earned Catharsis

Building up to a big emotional release slowly, by investing in the characters and giving small bits of hope. When the release comes, it feels deserved after all the suffering.

How this film uses it

The film builds toward Johnny's death slowly, through quiet scenes of the boys hiding together and small moments of hope. When Johnny dies after the rumble, the loss feels deserved by everything before it. His letter then inspires Ponyboy to write his story.

Where to see it

The aftermath of the rumble. Johnny dies, Dally dies and Ponyboy is exonerated, and Johnny's letter inspires Ponyboy's essay.

Sound

Romantic Orchestral Score

Scoring everyday teenage lives with a sweeping, romantic orchestra. The big music makes small events feel mythic and gives the characters a dignity they rarely get.

How this film uses it

Carmine Coppola composed a romantic score for the original release, and Stevie Wonder's 'Stay Gold' also appears. The score treats poor teenagers like figures from an old epic. It tells you they matter before anyone says it.

Where to see it

The score over the Tulsa scenes. The orchestra lifts the quiet moments between the Greasers into something close to legend.

Questions

The Outsiders: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does The Outsiders use?: CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in The Outsiders (1983): Sentimental Realism, Practical Destruction, Earned Catharsis and Romantic Orchestral Score.
Who directed The Outsiders?: Francis Ford Coppola directed The Outsiders, released in 1983. CineCode also covers The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Conversation (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979), Rumble Fish (1983), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).
What films are similar to The Outsiders?: Films that share techniques with The Outsiders include Braveheart (1995), 3 Idiots (2009), The Color Purple (1985), Hacksaw Ridge (2016).

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