7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A young girl whose father is an ex-convict biker and whose mother is a junkie has a difficult time coping with her parents' problems. It centers on Cebe, a rebellious young girl, interested only in Elvis Presley and punk rock music — as well as her ex-convict father Don Barnes, and her high-strung mother Kathy. The title is taken from the Neil Young song "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)".
Starring: Dennis Hopper, Linda Manz, Sharon Farrell, Don Gordon, Raymond BurrDrama | 100% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Few would probably argue with the fact that Dennis Hopper could be on the self indulgent side in his show business career, both in front of and behind the camera. There's probably no better example in that latter category than The Last Movie, Hopper's ostensible auteur follow up to Easy Rider which is the very definition of a "sophomore slump". In fact The Last Movie was such a disaster on several fronts that it took Hopper almost another decade before he stepped into the director's chair again, and then only under rather fraught circumstances. Now Out of the Blue may in its own way be another self indulgent effort on the part of Hopper, but the "self" in this particular instance may not be Hopper himself, but star Linda Manz, and that is actually a very good thing, and arguably the best thing about this very difficult and discomfiting viewing experience. As several supplements included on this release get into, Manz is weirdly underappreciated considering how visceral her performances could be, and in that regard some might want to quibble with one of the titles of a featurette about her offered as a bonus item herein which alleges she's "gone but not forgotten", since the fact is many younger fans in particular have quite likely never even heard of her, let alone forgotten her, while other, older, moviegoers may well have let memories of this once celebrated actress fade for one reason or another. Manz is on hand as extremely troubled teenager Cebe (a nickname standing for Cindy Barnes), who is the only child of parents who are beyond dysfunctional. As is quickly disclosed in a horrifying vignette early in the film, Cebe's father Don Barnes (Dennis Hopper) is in prison after having killed a bus full of school kids in a drunk driving accident, and Cebe's mother Kathy (Sharon Farrell) has taken to quasi-prostitution to bring in some cash, while also nursing a pretty significant drug addiction.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc.
Out of the Blue is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Severin Films with a 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. While this is advertised as "newly scanned
in 4K from the original negative", a bunch of material in the supplements suggests this is sourced off of the 4K restoration done in 2019 co-produced by
frequent host of many of the supplements listed below John Alan Simon, though the "marquee" names associated with the restoration are undoubtedly
Chloë Sevigny and Natasha Lyonne. This 4K UHD version boasts some undeniable upticks in both detail levels and especially some impressive new
shadow detail, while also offering an overall look courtesy of HDR and/or Dolby Vision that struck me as being just slightly cooler looking at times than
the 1080 version. Hopper likes close-ups, and those show some noticeable improvements in fine detail on things like the "scars" on Cebe's face or even
more mundane things like flyaway hair or facial pores. The palette looked just bit more skewed toward blue to my eyes in this 4K UHD version, and
perhaps due to the increased dynamic range of this iteration, there are a few brief but curious looking moments, as in some nearly blown out whites in
the jail scene. Grain looks great for the most part, but can occasionally look even more clumped than in the 1080 version (look, for example, in the
background of the first diner scene with Cebe and her mom for one example). In terms of blue tinged moments, one of the best examples of improved
shadow detail is the scene in the movie theater, where you can actually see much better into the theater than in the 1080 version.
Both the 4K UHD and 1080 presentations included in this package sport a nicely robust sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Hopper rather smartly fashioned the film around some ideas percolating maybe just beneath the surface of Neil Young's "My, My, Hey, Hey (Out of the Blue)", and that track recurs, with some rather interesting subtext added each time. Cebe's love of punk music and Elvis also plays into things, and one memorable scene has her performing live with a punk band. These more raucous moments are balanced by large swaths of the film that can pass by with relatively little or actually no dialogue. A number of sound effects including the calamitous collision at the head of the film and an explosive finale, resonate with appealing force. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Severin has included some but nowhere near all of the supplements from the two 1080 discs in this package on the 4K UHD disc.
4K UHD Disc
- Editor Doris Dyck (HD; 16:05)
- Actress Sharon Farrell (HD; 13:31)
- Post-production assistant and publicist Julia Frittaion (HD; 29:00)
- Camera operator John Holbrook (HD; 19:17)
- Composer Tom Lavin (HD; 22:36)
- Script supervisor Christine Wilson (HD; 18:48)
- Writer and producer Leonard Yakir (HD; 42:45)
There are a number of pull quotes on the cover of this release which suggest some people feel this is an undervalued masterpiece. I'm not sure I'd go quite that far, if for no other reason that while Manz's performance is absolutely incredible and unabashedly deserving of attention and even celebration, the way Hopper surrounds it with almost comically overheated depictions and characterizations may strike some as, well, self indulgent. This is a release where the film may not be everyone's cup of tea (to say the least), but where technical merits are secure and the supplementary material is astoundingly well done. Recommended.
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