Which isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t hold up but rather that I don’t remember having ever watched it, or reading the book, which surprises even me. I mean, I was 13 when the movie came out in 1983, so I would have thought its story—entirely focused on young boys growing up and dealing with various struggles—would have resonated with me. But, no.

Which is to say that I was able to watch The Outsiders with a clear mind, unimpeded by any rose-colored lenses of what it meant to me nearly 40 years ago. And this was the perfect time to see the film for the first since as it has just received a new 4K transfer.

You might notice that this release’s full title is The Outsiders: The Complete Novel. In 2005, director Francis Ford Coppola re-released the film on DVD with a longer cut with some deleted scenes reinserted, along with a new opening and finale, adding 22 minutes of restored footage (bringing the runtime to 114 minutes, still down from Coppola’s initial 133-minute cut Warner Bros. felt was too long), along with new music. 

This cut is said to be more faithful to the book, and thus the re-branded title. Again, as this was my first viewing, I can’t comment on the impact of this “new” version, whether the added scenes do indeed flesh out the story, or if the music choices are improvements. But this is now Coppola’s cut of the film, and the one that is available in 4K HDR both from Kaleidescape and HBO Max. (My wife, who had watched the film before—and whose memories did “stay gold”—wasn’t familiar enough with the original cut to make any comments on this version either.)

If you know nothing else about The Outsiders, you’re probably at least aware that it was responsible for helping launch the careers of multiple young actors who would go on to be massive stars. And the film’s cast list is literally a who’s-who that includes C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Diane Lane, Leif Garrett, and Tom Waits. 

The film takes places in 1965 in Oklahoma and primarily follows Ponyboy Curtis (Howell), who is the youngest of three brothers including middle brother Sodapop (Lowe) and oldest brother, Darrel (Swayze), who is forced into a caretaker role after the boys are orphaned after their parents die in an accident. Ponyboy’s best friend is Johnny (Macchio), and they all belong to a gang of boys from the north side of town called The Greasers. The Greasers all come from working-class, mostly broken families and frequently wear leather and denim. At the opposite end of the socio-economic and geographic spectrum is The Socs (pronounced “Sosh,” like the beginning of “socialite”), who come from the south side of town and are wealthy, with a sense of entitlement and superiority.

The Greasers and The Socs have near constant run-ins, as the two gangs regularly scuffle over establishing turf and proving their place in the town, and Ponyboy and Johnny are accosted while walking home near the beginning. When Pony, Johnny, and just-out-of-jail bad boy Dallas (Dillon) flirt with pretty Soc Cherry (Lane) at a drive-in movie, this rubs her boyfriend Bob (Garrett) the wrong way, and he and a gang of Socs track down Pony and Johnny and . . . well, things escalate.

The film slowly builds to a big rumble between the two gangs to settle things, though it’s clear several on both sides understand that nothing will really be settled or accomplished regardless of who wins the fight. It also features more teen smoking than you’ll likely ever see in a film. 

Originally filmed in 35mm, I couldn’t locate any information about the new 4K transfer, but it’s apparent a lot of cleanup has been done, as the film looks pristine. Images are clean, focus is sharp, and edges are well-defined. There is a bit of grain in some of the outdoor shots of the denim-blue skies, but it’s never objectionable. It isn’t like the images have been scrubbed of noise and detail, as they just look very natural. Overall, the film has a clarity and depth that belies its age. 

You get an early glimpse into the quality and color just from the opening credits. Often titles in older films can be a mess, but here the text is clean and sharp, overlayed on stills of golden-tinted backgrounds. You can see some of the fine detail in the rocks lining the sides of the train tracks as Pony walks home or in the fabric detail of closeups of jeans or the plaid in shirts. There is plenty of detail in the actors’ faces, certainly enough to show how smooth everyone’s young skin is. 

While most of the movie looks incredibly freshened, there are two scenes that really don’t match the look of the film—one is a dream of a car being smashed by a train and the other is a church collapsing in a fire. These elements looked dropped in and really stand out, to the point that I would call them visually jarring. (Though, maybe that was Coppola’s intent.)  

While black levels aren’t pitch black, they are dark and free of noise. The HDR grade gives some nice pop to bright lights like room lamps, star points in the sky, car headlights, glinting highlights off chrome, or some roaring fires, but the transfer’s goal is to deliver natural, lifelike images, and that’s where it succeeds. Whether it is outdoor shots in bright sun, low-lit interiors, or dark night shots, there’s always plenty of shadow detail. Where we see colors really pop is in the rich, golden-red sunrise Pony and Johnny watch. 

This transfer features a 5.1-channel DTS-HD Master Audio track that has a surprising amount of ambience and surround activity. From the sounds of crickets, to birds chirping, dogs barking, the crackling of fires, or voices talking around you at the drive-in, there is a lot going on to flesh out what’s happening on screen. Watched through a modern upmixer, there are even moments when sounds are lifted up overhead, such as whistling wind or the scratches of a raccoon. 

Coppola redid the music for the 2005 DVD release, and that is actually one of my biggest complaints here. The songs he selected—most of them sung by Elvis Presley—are often so on the nose as to be distracting, such as playing “Mystery Train” as the pair boards a train out of town, and “We’re Gonna Move” when they are moving into an abandoned church. It’s all a bit like playing Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House” while you’re watching a house burning down. Also, the music levels are really loud, to the point where it was difficult to understand dialogue at some points, such as right before the big rumble. The upmixer does give the music a lot of presence, though, allowing it to really spread across the front channels and up into the ceiling for a more immersive sound. 

What makes the film so interesting is watching these soon-to-be stars finding their way, and delivering real performances. Dillon, Lane, and Swayze definitely show their charisma, Lowe and Howell their ability to emote and display sensitivity, Estevez already has his signature delivery and mannerisms, and Macchio’s Johnny is definitely the pre-cursor to Daniel-san in The Karate Kid. Interestingly, the star who really doesn’t shine as brightly is Cruise, whose Steve Randle is not much more than a whiny, big-toothed loudmouth.  

If you grew up loving the movie, or had somehow managed to avoid seeing it, this is certainly the best The Outsiders has ever looked, and certainly gives a chance to see an incredible ensemble of actors learning their craft. Further, the Kaleidescape download is loaded with features that giver a deeper dive into the making of the film, including table readings by most of the stars, featurettes on the casting, and “Staying Gold,” which offers a look back on the movie’s impact.