Rebel Soundtrack (2011)
Synopsis
A collaborative video installation project featuring the work of various artists inspired by Nicholas Ray's classic Rebel Without a Cause (1955). In Harmony Korine's piece two female gangs fight with machetes in a Los Angeles parking lot. James Franco commissions legendary tattoo artist Mark Mahoney to carve the late actor Brad Renfro's first name into his arm with a switchblade. Filmed in real time, imagery of the carving is juxtaposed with interviews with friends of Renfro, including actors Scott Haze and Jim Parrack. The installation features two never-made scenes from Ray's original draft of "Rebel Without A Cause", one featuring a man on fire, and the second, a woman being whipped. The two performances are played side by side in one continuous 20-minute take and the overall effect is has been been described as "beautiful and harrowing."
