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Out of the Blue
Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2021 5:39 am
by Calvin
From a Kickstarter backer update:
The prestigious British Film Institute (BFI) will be releasing OUT OF THE BLUE in all media in England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Release date set for disc is November 7th in the UK. We are planning a 2-disc Blu-ray release, crammed with extras (Still in the planning, producing stage).
We consider BFI as the ideal partner for our UK release.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:49 am
by NABOB OF NOWHERE
deleted post - thought it might have been the Carol Morley film but it isn't
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2021 9:28 pm
by swo17
French release will be from Potemkine, and in the U.S., "a very well-regarded and innovative American disc company, whose planned disc release will also be sometime in the 4th Quarter"
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:32 pm
by yoloswegmaster
swo17 wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 9:28 pm
French release will be from Potemkine, and in the U.S.,
"a very well-regarded and innovative American disc company, whose planned disc release will also be sometime in the 4th Quarter"
Kino Lorber? Vinegar Syndrome? Mill Creek? I'm having a hard time figuring this one out! :-k
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:39 pm
by Cash Flagg
I would imagine either Arrow or VS. A bit frustrating that, although I backed this project over 2 years ago, their insistence on theatrical showings before they shipped the backer BD means I’ll likely be watching/paying for the above-mentioned release before I ever receive the backer edition.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2021 11:17 pm
by dwk
Even though Arrow releases discs in the US, they are not an "American disc company." But VS, either as a partner label release or from VS themselves, is a good guess.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2021 11:22 pm
by Computer Raheem
This could be a (very big) stretch, but the phrasing of "well-regarded" and especially "innovative" points to none other than Criterion. I could definitely see this being the case - I doubt any of the other companies would care if they were announced as the company releasing it stateside, while Criterion loves to be secretive with their releases - but my only proof for this is the odd phrasing. I'd love to be wrong, however.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2021 11:55 pm
by swo17
It's a 4K restoration, so I wonder if "innovative" could refer to either Kino or Vinegar Syndrome's willingness to release a UHD
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 1:05 am
by criterionsnob
I saw this for the first time at VIFF last year, and thought immediately that it should be a Criterion release. Glad it’s finally coming from someone.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 1:14 am
by Cash Flagg
swo17 wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 11:55 pm
It's a 4K restoration, so I wonder if "innovative" could refer to either Kino or Vinegar Syndrome's willingness to release a UHD
That was my thought, at least with regard to VS. The ‘well-regarded’ part would seem to eliminate Kino.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 1:38 am
by dwk
If the people behind the restoration are also producing the special features, I am going to go out on a limb and guess the UK and US releases will be the same discs with different logos playing based on the region of the Blu-ray player.
I'm not sure a UHD is in the cards. I assume it would get a UK one too (all the BFI release would have to do is include the US disc with different disc art) and the announcement only mentions Blu-ray.
Out of the Blue
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:23 pm
by criterionsnob
BFI special features:
Newly restored in 4K
Limited edition 2-disc set
Audio commentary with writer and director Dennis Hopper and producer Paul Lewis (2000)
Montclair Film Festival Q&A with Elizabeth Karr and John Alan Simon (2020, 30 mins)
Jack Nicholson radio spot (1982)
Reconstructed original US trailer
40th Anniversary re-release trailer
More extras TBC
Release date: November 8
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 1:02 am
by yoloswegmaster
Full list of 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)
• Guardian Screen 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): nine new interviews with the crew and cast including Christine Wilson, Bob Akester, Pointed Sticks & John Anderson, Tom Lavin, John Holbrook, Patti Allen, Julia Frittaion, Doris Dyck and Sharon Farrell
• Me & Dennis (2021, 81 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)
• Jack Nicholson radio spot (1982, 1 min)
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 2:09 am
by hearthesilence
yoloswegmaster wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 1:02 am
• 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)
Interesting collection of shorts!
Campion's is great. Morecambe and Wise are comic legends in the UK but if it weren't for the Beatles, I'm not sure if I'd know any Americans familiar with them.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:56 pm
by thirtyframesasecond
Should've added the video to Kill All Hippies to the extras!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E86gWQs-ios
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:15 pm
by beamish14
Indeed.
XTRMNTR is proabaly still the defining rock album of the century for me. I tried to watch that video every time it popped up on MTV2
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2021 2:40 pm
by MichaelB
Full specs announced:
OUT OF THE BLUE
A film by Dennis Hopper
Starring Linda Manz and Dennis Hopper
Released on 2-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray, iTunes and Amazon Prime on 29 November 2021
Initially only hired as an actor in the family-friendly drama ‘Cebe’, Dennis 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, with an outstanding array of extras, this cult-classic is ripe for rediscovery and comes to Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.
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.
Special features
• 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 cast & 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, 1 min), A Girl’s Own Story (Jane Campion, 1983, 27 mins); Girl (Carol Morley, 1993, 7 mins)
• Jack Nicholson radio spot (1982, 1 min)
• Trailers
• ***First pressing only*** Illustrated booklet with essays by Sheila O’Malley and Vic Pratt; an extract from ‘Dennis Hopper: how far to the Last Movie?’, originally published in the Monthly Film Bulletin, October, 1982; two reviews from 1981 and notes on the special features.
Product details
RRP: £24.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1442 / 15
Canada / 1980 / colour / 96 mins / English language, with optional subtitles for the Deaf and partial hearing / original aspect ratio 1.85:1 // Disc 1: BD50, 1080p, 24fps, LPCM 2.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit) / Disc 2: BD50, 1080p, Dolby Digital
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 12:49 am
by diamonds
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 9:04 am
by Adam X
The Projection Booth podcast has also just posted an interview with them (
not on the blog just yet).
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 5:20 pm
by Drucker
Caught the restoration in theaters yesterday, and it was really incredible looking. I liked the film quite a bit. Hopper pulls no punches and it feels perfectly in place with
The Last Movie.
My reading of the film is effectively that Hopper is taking a bit of credit for pioneering some of the spirit that would eventually become punk rock. While their attitude resembles a lot of the hippie spirit in some respects, it also seems more destructive and provocative. Both CeBe and the punk culture are a stand in for Hopper's children, and early on Hopper put away in jail for his crime. Is his time in jail in the film similar to his real-world punishment of being left out of the directors chair for nearly a decade? A mistake he made that nevertheless he would probably make again, given the chance?
I didn't realize the title was directly lifted from Neil Young's song of the same name, and the influence of that song is all over the film. Kill your idols, but in cinematic form.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:41 am
by swo17
Aw man, Kickstarter backers were initially promised that the eventual home video release for this would come personally signed by Linda Manz, but the latest newsletter says this is no longer possible simply because Manz "died in 2020." That's Biden's America for ya
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 5:11 pm
by MichaelB
The BFI similarly stiffed purchasers of The Devils over a promised filmed intro by Ken Russell. I'm going to blame Nick Clegg for that one, because he was responsible for every other bad thing that happened in Britain in 2011/12.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 4:11 pm
by Finch
CineOutsider review
benefiting from a 4K restoration, it gets a definitive, and packed, Blu-ray release from the BFI.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2021 10:09 am
by Aunt Peg
This is one of the very best releases of the year. I'd rank it along side Fun City's release of Smile (1975) in terms of the beauty of the restoration which is visually jaw droppingly beautiful. Needless to say it is a massive improvement over my 4x3 letterbox DVD.
Aside from the beginning of the interview with Sharon Farrell I haven't yet dipped into the extras.
Re: Out of the Blue
Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2021 2:04 am
by manicsounds
Watched and listened to all 14 hours of extras on here and it’s definitely my top Blu-ray release of the year.