Rumble Fish

Play trailer

Rumble Fish

R

1983

1h 34m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

78%

Tomatometer

36 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.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Jan 4, 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

Dec 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

Dec 11, 2007

Overwrought and overthought.

Go to Full Review

Alan Jones

Radio Times

Apr 1, 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

Jan 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

Sep 26, 2024

The coolest movie Coppola ever made.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Robert P

@Superbad Sep 13, 2026

Rumble Fish = a *4* movie

See more

Todd F

@Tiddlows Aug 29, 2026

Rumble Fish is what happens when teenagers, motorcycles, and existential dread walk into the same black-and-white dream. Matt Dillon brings the angst. Mickey Rourke brings the cool. Dennis Hopper brings peak Dad energy. It’s moody, strange, beautiful, and packed with enough teenage misery to make you grateful for your boring childhood. A movie about tough guys who are, deep down, just lost kids. And those fish? Still cooler than all of us.

See more

Dwayne W

@Dwayneee Jul 19, 2026

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

Maria Q

@MariaQe Mar 14, 2026

Rumble Fish is a black-and-white fever dream of teenage rebellion, doomed romance, and existential cool. It’s moody, strange, and gloriously stylish, with characters who seem permanently caught between wanting to be legends and wondering what the hell that actually means. The dialogue has real bite, the performances simmer with intensity, and Francis Ford Coppola directs the whole thing like a rock video filmed at the end of the world. Rumble Fish doesn’t just walk on the wild side, it stares into the abyss, lights a cigarette, and asks if the abyss has a motorcycle.

See more

Isaiah Y

@zayman2 Feb 27, 2026

Underrated film by Francis Ford Coppola

See more

thiago s

@Thiagostone Sep 1, 2025

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

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Francis Ford Coppola

Director

Matt Dillon

Rusty James

Mickey Rourke

The Motorcycle Boy

Diane Lane

Patty

Dennis Hopper

Father

Diana Scarwid

Cassandra

Gardens of Stone

40%

54%

Gardens of Stone

Watchlist

Paris, Texas

95%

93%

Paris, Texas

Watchlist

St. Elmo's Fire

45%

67%

St. Elmo's Fire

Watchlist

TRAILER

for St. Elmo's Fire

Bad Boys

89%

81%

Bad Boys

Watchlist

The Border

65%

51%

The Border

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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)

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings