Out of the Blue (Blu-Ray)

Cebe (Linda Manz, Days of Heaven) is a teenage rebel obsessed with Elvis and the Sex Pistols. Her trucker father, Don (Dennis Hopper, Easy Rider) is in prison after drunkenly smashing his rig into a school bus, and her mother, Kathy (Sharon Farrell, It’s Alive) is a junkie waitress who takes refuge in the arms of other men, including Don’s best friend, Charlie (Don Gordon, Bullitt). With Don’s release, the family struggles to reconnect and the trauma of the past looms large as dark secrets slowly begin to emerge.

Initially only hired as an actor in the family-friendly drama ‘Cebe’, Hopper took over directing duties a week into production, rewriting the script and starting principal photography from scratch. The bleak punk epic that resulted – Out of the Blue – arguably represents Hopper’s strongest outing as a filmmaker and features an astonishing performance by Manz. Newly restored in 4K, this cult-classic is ripe for rediscovery and is on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.

Extras:
– Audio commentary with Dennis Hopper, producer Paul Lewis and distributor John Alan Simon (2000)
– New commentaries by Kate Rennebohm and Kat Ellinger
– Dennis Hopper interviewed by Tony Watts (1984, 97 mins)
– Screen Guardian Talk: Dennis Hopper (1990, 91 mins, audio only): the filmmaker talks to Derek Malcolm
– Subverting Normality: Linda Manz Comes from Out of the Blue (2021, 18 mins): a new video essay by Amanda Reyes and Chris O’Neill
– Remembering Out of the Blue(2021, 174 mins): nine new interviews with the cast and crew
– Me & Dennis (2021, 95 mins): four new interviews with Hopper’s friends and colleagues featuring Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater, Julian Schnabel and Philippe Mora
– Alex Cox Recalls Out of the Blue (2021, 13 mins)
– Montclair Film Festival Q&A (2020, 30 mins): John Alan Simon and Elizabeth Karr discuss the history and restoration of the film
– A selection of complementary archive shorts – Morecambe and Wise – Be Wise Don’t Drink and Drive (1963, 1 min), Drink Drive Office Party Cartoon (1964, 1min), A Girl’s Own Story (Jane Campion, 1983, 27 mins); Girl (Carol Morley, 1993, 7 mins)
– Jack Nicholson radio spot (1982, 1 min)
– Trailers
– Limited 2-disc Edition (4,000 copies) includes booklet with extensive archival writing on the film, a new essay on the film’s music by BFI’s Vic Pratt, contemporary reviews and more