The acting in Out of the Blue is galvanic, conveying extreme emotional states with raw power, and Hopper often presents scenes in long takes that preserve the intensity of the performances. Watching the film, you get absorbed in the characters’ self-destructive behavior even though you know it will come to no good.
Out of the Blue
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Canada · 1980
1h 29m
Director Dennis Hopper
Starring Linda Manz, Dennis Hopper, Sharon Farrell, Raymond Burr
Genre Drama
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Dennis Hopper is a hard-drinking truck driver who loses control of his truck under the influence and slams it into a busload of screaming children. After serving his five year jail sentence, Hopper finds his daughter, Cebe (Linda Manz), the love of his live, grown into a rebellious punk in a backwater town, having barely been looked after by her junkie mon (Sharron Farrell). Cebe's hopes of once again becoming a "normal" family painfully proves to be doomed, as she desperately tries to hold everyone together. Hopper's loose, naturalistic style and sympathetic, yet critical attitude infuses the drama with a painful power that finally erupts in a devastating and thrillling conclusion.
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
It’s a movie that can feel like several you’ve seen before, yet never distorted in quite this style, beat, or fashion. When the messy trajectory seems as though it might be on its way to the point of reflection, dissension re-ignites, and counter-cultural discord combusts through expressive punctuation, once again.
For orchestrating lurid goonishness, Hopper can't be beat.
The New York Times by Janet Maslin
The theme music, from Neil Young's "Rust Never Sleeps" album, is a haunting accompaniment to Mr. Hopper's sometimes stunning imagery. The best moments of "Out of the Blue" have both the beauty and the banality of found art.
Hopper keeps things light and off-the-cuff, allowing his performers free rein - sometimes too much, as in the case of the screechy and shrill Farrell - to explore grim territory without falling into heavy-handedness.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
A bitter, unforgettable poem about alienation.
Users who liked this film also liked
Ariel
Taisto Kasurinen’s father has just committed suicide and Taisto is framed for a crime he did not commit.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Finland • 1988
- Director Aki Kaurismäki
- Cast Turo Pajala, Susanna Haavisto, Matti Pellonpää, Eetu Hilkamo, Erkki Pajala, Matti Jaaranen
- Genre Comedy, Crime, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Ex Drummer
A manipulative new drummer threatens to destroy a rock band’s fragile future.
- ✭ ✭
- Belgium, France, Italy • 2007
- Director Koen Mortier
- Cast Dries Van Hegen, Gunter Lamoot, Norman Baert, Sam Louwyck, Dolores Bouckaert, Bernadette Damman
- Genre Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Vudu, VUDU Free, Kanopy
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
(ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:破)
In the War Between Heaven and Earth, Salvation is Machine.
- ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2009
- Director Hideaki Anno
- Cast Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yuko Miyamura, Maaya Sakamoto, Kotono Mitsuishi, Yuriko Yamaguchi
- Genre Animation, Science Fiction, Action, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Microsoft Store
The Conviction
(La condanna)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, Switzerland • 1991
- Director Marco Bellocchio
- Cast Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Claire Nebout, Andrzej Seweryn, Grażyna Szapołowska, Paolo Graziosi, Maria Schneider
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Handmaiden
(아가씨)
Her heart may not be the only thing stolen.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2016
- Director Park Chan-wook
- Cast Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Hae-sook, Moon So-ri
- Genre Drama, Romance, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, FilmBox+, Vudu
Joker
A failed stand-up comedian is driven insane, turning to a life of crime in chaos in Gotham City.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada, United States • 2019
- Director Todd Phillips
- Cast Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Shea Whigham
- Genre Crime, Thriller, Drama
- Available on TNT, TBS, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Parasite
(기생충)
A poor family lies and schemes their way into the employ of a wealthy household — successfully, but with great consequences.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2019
- Director Bong Joon-ho
- Cast Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Chang Hyae-jin
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
An Elephant Sitting Still
(大象席地而坐)
In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- China • 2018
- Director Hu Bo
- Cast Zhang Yu, Peng Yuchang, Wang Yu Wen, Congxi Li, Xiang Rong Dong
- Genre Drama
- Available on Fandor, Fandor Amazon Channel, Hoopla, OVID, AsianCrush, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Kanopy
Gunpowder Milkshake
- ✭ ✭
- France, United States, Germany • 2021
- Director Navot Papushado
- Cast Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Chloe Coleman, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett
- Genre Action, Crime, Thriller
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Poor Things
When a young woman, Bella, is reanimated by an eccentric physician, she begins her life anew, exploring the pleasures of the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ireland, United Kingdom, United States • 2023
- Director Yorgos Lanthimos
- Cast Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, Christopher Abbott
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube