Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83353 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-07-27
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 93 minutes

Amazon.com
Dennis Hopper knows how to grab the attention of an audience. In the opening minutes of Out of the Blue, Hopper's hard-drinking truck driver jokes with his daughter before losing control and slamming his truck into a busload of screaming children. With the camera recording the excruciating impact from inside the cab, putting the audience helplessly in the driver's seat, the cinematic whiplash jerks the audience out of any preconceived notions of how this drama will play out. Five years later, daughter Cebe (a brilliant, brooding, angry performance by Linda Manz of Days of Heaven) has grown into a rebellious punk in a backwater town barely looked after by her flighty mom (Sharon Farrell), a well-meaning but childish junkie. When Dad is sprung from jail, Cebe's hopes of a whole, healing family poignantly and painfully prove to be doomed when a spontaneous picnic collapses into bickering and blame. Cebe desperately tries to hold everyone together as the suddenly dutiful child, singing the Elvis tune "Teddy Bear" as if her love and passion will infect her hopelessly self-absorbed parents. The film occasionally lapses into pop psychology observations, but Hopper's loose, naturalistic style and sympathetic yet critical attitude inflects the drama with a painful power that finally erupts in a devastating conclusion. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Shattering Look At One Family's Rapid Destruction
Originally destined to be a rather innocuous melodrama starring Raymond Burr, this became something far different when Dennis Hopper took the directorreins.

Hopper turned the focus off of psychologist Burr and onto destructive teen Linda Manz, and in the process created one of the only truly punk films. Manz is exceptional as CeBe Barnes, a girl who quickly finds that the return of her father (Hopper) from prison will not spell the familial bliss she had hoped for, and more likely lead to much worse.

In addition to Manz' stunning portrayal, Hopper and Sharon Farrell are superb as the girl's burnt-out and unreliable parents in this disturbingly dead-on look at a family on the brink.

DVD transfer is gorgeous, a welcome replacement for the criminally atrocious EP tapes that have been floating around for awhile. Features a neat trailer and radio spot from Jack Nicholson. Commentary from Hopper, producer Paul Lewis, and the distributor is fascinating, though far too sporadic.

After this movie, the only thing left unanswered is why we haven't seen the wonderfully talented Linda Manz onscreen more often.

Dennis Hooper is a Hard Drinking Truck Driver who loses...
When I went to the theatre to see this 20 plus years ago (!!!) I did not know what to expect and at first it did not fit the description, but Dennis Hopper's directing and acting is a perfect back drop for Linda Manz's incredibe star performance. Way more "Punk" then most Punk films. And probably Dennis Hopper's most important film, and perhaps his least regarded.

Out Of The Blue Finally Given Its Due
It's great to finally see a gorgeous transfer of this film. Anchor Bay has done a splendid job and should be commended for it. This is an incredibly strong return to directing for Hopper. You can feel his need to make films in every shot. The disc comes with a powerful trailer, a radio spot, and a running commentary by Hopper and the film's producers. Much like Hopper's commentary for Easy Rider, Out Of The Blue is no treat. Hopper seems to get lost watching his films. He has to constantly be prodded to talk. I am under the impression that he feels that both films speak for themselves and to elaborate further somehow demeans his work. Instead of giving us background information he gives a play by play of what we are watching. Aside from that this DVD is a very welcome part of my collection. By all means avoid the Gemstone release of this film. It is the worst edition of Out Of The Blue I have ever seen.