Blue Sunshine 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Blue Sunshine 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 4, 2022

Jeff Lieberman's "Blue Sunshine" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Camera Obscura. The supplemental features on the disc include recent programs with the director; interview with actor Richard Crystal; interview with actor Mark Goddard; audio commentary; the short film "The Ringer"; vintage promotion materials; and more. In English or German, with optional English and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

If you have a decent library with a nice variety of genre films, there is a good chance that amongst them are at least a dozen ‘messengers’ that are anti-something. However, there is just as good of a chance that at least half of these genre films are actually pretty successful at promoting what they supposedly condemn. I would like to mention a few so that you know exactly what I am referring to. In the early '70s, Henri Verneuil directed The Burglars, a wild crime thriller that did a lot to popularize illegal drag racing all across Europe. In the early ‘80s, in Germany Uli Edel’s Christiane F. became a cult film for the exact opposite reason you will see highlighted in mainstream articles that were written after its premiere. A couple of years later, in America Brian De Palma directed the ultimate fake ‘messenger’, Scarface, whose reputation amongst certain music performers for instance is now legendary.

Jeff Lieberman’s Blue Sunshine is one of the very few genre films that emerged from the ‘70s that takes on the popular subject of drug addiction, uses it to produce some pretty unique thrills, and at the same time effectively destroys its cool image. Simply put, if you view it, you will walk away from it convinced that drug addiction always leads down a familiar path at the end of which the Grim Reaper awaits. Now, there are other films from the ‘70s that target drug addiction and do a much better job of destroying its cool image, but they do it differently. One of the best is Jerry Schatzberg’s The Panic in Needle Park in which two young lovers, both junkies, lose control of their addiction and begin self-destructing. It is one of the most authentic films about drug addiction that I have seen, though I have to admit that there was a time when I was quite puzzled by it because I could not understand the decisions its characters were making while effectively killing themselves. (What changed my appreciation of the film was a friendship with a young couple that apparently went through a very similar hellish cycle, which was later on described to me in great detail).

There is quite a bit in Blue Sunshine that once again does not make perfect sense to me and almost certainly won't make a whole lot of sense to some of you as well, but the ambiguous material is of a very different kind and has a different purpose. In fact, it is what shapes up the film's genre identity.

In Los Angeles, seemingly normal people begin losing their hair and shortly after become psychotic killers. At a party, Jerry Zipkin (Zalman King) witnesses one of these odd transformations, loses a couple of friends, and begins searching for answers that can make sense of the madness. As the local authorities begin tracking him down because he is the only survivor from the party, Zipkin meets Dr. David Blume (Robert Walden), an old college pal, who accidentally points him in the right direction and he discovers that all of the psychotic killers have used a powerful drug named Blue Sunshine.

Shot with a tiny budget, Blue Sunshine is a horror project with a conscience that won’t be everyone’s cup of tea because a lot of what is chronicled in it does not hold up particularly well once it is closely scrutinized. Its other major weakness that is even easier to identify is the inconsistent acting. It is unfair to write that it disappoints, but after the party that unleashes the madness the acting quite simply does not help the drama flourish as it could have.

Somewhat ironically, what Blue Sunshine does get right is that fluid area where drug addicts and casual adventurers usually land after they become hooked up on the wrong type of drug(s). It is true that its visual reconstruction isn't as striking as the one that David Cronenberg produced in the classic mind-bender Naked Lunch, but its ambience has a very similar surreal quality. Why is it ironic that Blue Sunshine gets it right? Because the more inconsistent the acting becomes, the more authentic this fluid area begins to look.

Blue Sunshine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Camera Obscura's release of Blue Sunshine is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray offer presentations of a recent 4K restoration of the film.

Two sets of screencaptures are included with this review. Please note that the screencaptures from the 4K Blu-ray are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures: #1-22 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures: #23-45 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

In the United States, Blue Sunshine was released on Blu-ray by Distribpix in 2016. Unfortunately, I do not have this release in my library and cannot comment on how its technical presentation of the film compares to the one from this recent release.

4K BLU-RAY DISC

I viewed the entire film with HDR enabled. My overall impression is that the 4K restoration provides the film with an incredibly consistent healthy appearance of the kind that you would typically expect to see materialize with a proper makeover of a major studio project. In terms of delineation, clarity, depth, and fluidity the visuals look absolutely superb, which is why a lot of viewers will likely describe them as 'reference material'. Excluding the party footage where there are some minor density fluctuations caused by the unique lighting, there aren't any notable density fluctuations either. There are no traces of problematic digital work. Needless to say, grain exposure is excellent. The entire 4K master is very beautifully graded as well. The primaries is lush and very healthy, plus there are equally convincing ranges of healthy supporting nuances. In native 4K these colors looks particularly impressive, but even in 1080p the overall color balance was outstanding. I was very, very impressed. Image stability is excellent. The entire film is spotless as well. (Note: The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free).

BLU-RAY DISC

After I finished viewing the 4K Blu-ray disc, I tested the Blu-ray disc. I was very surprised to see how solid the visuals were in 1080p as well. In fact, I think that untrained eyes will routinely have a very difficult time finding areas of the 1080p presentation that look inferior. With HDR enabled some colors can certainly appear lusher, but I honestly believe that in 1080p the overall balance is just as impressive. Also, grain exposure and fluidity look very, very similar, though I have to give a lot of credit to the terrific encode for excellent quality of the presentation. Obviously, the film still looks spotless in 1080p as well. (Note: The Blu-ray release is Region-Free as well. There is no problematic PAL of 1080/50i content preceding the main menu).

Blue Sunshine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard audio tracks on the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases: English: Mono LPCM 2.0, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German: LPCM 2.0 (Theatrical Mix), and German: LPCM 2.0 (Home Video Mix). Optional English and German subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I chose to view the entire film with the English LPCM Mono 2.0 track. I did not perform any direct comparisons with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.

The film has a quite moody soundtrack that helps quite a bit its intended atmosphere, but I don't think that it produces any memorable dynamic contrasts. It is because the music has a chamber quality' that adds more color, rather than the type of dynamic contrasts that can make quite an impression on a big and powerful system. The dialog is exceptionally clear, stable, and very easy to follow. There are no technical anomalies to report.

Blue Sunshine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary features director Jeff Lieberman and critic Elijah Drenner and has appeared on other home video releases of Blue Sunshine, including most recently the U.S. Blu-ray release of Blue Sunshine. Mr. Lieberman discusses in great detail the genesis of Blue Sunshine, some real truths and semi-truths about drugs that may or may not have been manufactured by the government, the film's atmosphere and sense of realism, etc. It is a pretty interesting commentary that even has good information about Squirm.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary features director Jeff Lieberman and critic Elijah Drenner and has appeared on other home video releases of Blue Sunshine, including most recently the U.S. Blu-ray release of Blue Sunshine. Mr. Lieberman discusses in great detail the genesis of Blue Sunshine, some real truths and semi-truths about drugs that may or may not have been manufactured by the government, the film's atmosphere and sense of realism, etc. It is a pretty interesting commentary that even has good information about Squirm.

• Tuning In or Tuning Out - in this recent program, Jeff Lieberman discusses his past experience with LSD and anti-conformist views, and how they are represented in Blue Sunshine. The program was produced in 2016. In English, with optional German subtitles. (7 min).

• Paging Dr. Blume - in this recent program, actor Robert Walden recalls how he became involved with Blue Sunshine and what it was like to work with Jeff Lieberman. In English, with optional German subtitles. (10 min).

• The Lunar Crooner - in this recent program, actor Richard Crystal discusses his background and recalls how he was approached with an offer to play one of the psychotic killers in Blue Sunshine. There are some interesting comments about Jeff Lieberman's original concept for the film as well. In English, with optional German subtitles. (7 min).

• Supervising Sunshine - in this recent program, script supervisor Sandy King discusses the type of work she did during the production of Blue Sunshine. In English, with optional German subtitles. (10 min).

• Select Scene Commentary - actor Mark Goddard, who plays the character of Edward Flemming, a shady politician, discusses his background and comments on a few scenes from Blue Sunshine. In English, with optional German subtitles. (9 min).

• Archival Interview with Jeff Lieberman - in this archival video interview, Jeff Lieberman discusses the conception and themes of Blue Sunshine. The interview was conducted for The "Z" Channel. In English, with optional German subtitles. (13 min).

• The Locations of Blue Sunshine - in this recent program, Jeff Lieberman discusses his past, and specifically living in Los Angeles, while visiting the key locations where Blue Sunshine was shot. In English, with optional German subtitles. (9 min).

• Q@A at The Jumpcut Cafe - presented here is a Q@A session with Jeff Lieberman filmed at The Jumpcut Cafe in Los Angeles. The bulk of the information addresses the production of Blue Sunshine, its themes, and the era in which the film emerged from. In English, with optional German subtitles. (16 min).

• Vintage Classroom LSD Scare Films - presented here are a couple of archival segments addressing LSD and its effects on the human body. In English, with optional German subtitles. (21 min).

• The Ringer (1972) - presented here is Jeff Liebrman's first short, The Ringer, which can be seen with an optional audio commentary by Jeff Lieberman. In English, with optional German subtitles. (20 min).

• Trailers - two trailers for Blue Sunshine.
  
  1. Vintage trailer. (3 min).
  2. Vintage trailer (3 min).

• Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for Blue Sunshine. With music.

• Booklet - 16-page illustrated booklet featuring Dr. Marcus Stiglegger's essay "Lucy in the Sky with the Damned". In German.

Blue Sunshine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The original material that inspired Blue Sunshine comes from the exact same place the original material for Naked Lunch came from -- it is the mind of a man who has been experimenting with some pretty powerful drugs. There is a recent program with director Jeff Lieberman on this release in which he highlights precisely what part of this experiment he tried to replicate in Blue Sunshine, and why, which I found very intriguing because I suspected that this was his intent prior to hearing his revelation. I think that Blue Sunshine accomplishes its goal, but some of the acting in it is quite inconsistent. This is unfortunate because Lieberman was clearly in the right state of mind when he began working on it, and with a better crew of actors and a bigger budget could have produced a pretty special genre film. As it is, Blue Sunshine certainly looks and feels unique, but its weaknesses easily show as well. Camera Obscura's first 4K Blu-ray release is quite the stunner, so I hope that it is the first of many to be added to its outstanding catalog. It comes with a Region-Free Blu-ray copy of Blue Sunshine that is packed with bonus features as well. RECOMMENDED to fans of the film.