No Looking Back

source: No Looking Back

No one in this film can act. Even when Manz is silent, she's terrible. It's amateur hour at the Ok Corral. Unfortunately, they all survived the filming. Thirty minutes was all I could take. I cared nothing for a single character, and it's a true bore. Spare yourself and save your time. Grotesque filmmaking in all respects: acting, directing, screenwriting, editing, sound, etc.

First of all, Linda Manz alone is a reason to see this movie. Her presence is a force. She is the epitome of non-actor vibes effectively channeled through an acting performance - her character feels immensely real because she comes from a hard place. She doesn't need to sell a role like this because she has lived it, and that comes through on the screen. Dennis Hopper puts in a tasteful directing/writing/acting triple whammy delivery here as well. Always intimidating with flashes of endearment and dark humor. He is legend for a reason. Though the characters are all living menacing lifestyles, you feel at ease with them through the majority of the film, giving the movie a sort of floaty, hangout sort of vibe - but with a dirty, stained surface. But, you can only play with fire for so long. The conclusion comes quickly, or, "out of the blue", if you will, and I've got to say, it hits HARD. Heavy subject matter, delivered in as meaningful a manner as it really could be, and in it's own singular light... This film will certainly not sit well with everyone, but for those who can appreciate reflections of realistic darkness, this film is a great accomplishment.

hopper's late work deserves the accolades, but out of the blue, from his out of control middle period, is a pretty rough artifact. his directing style borrows loosely from roger corman, john cassavetes, bob rafelson, but out of the blue comes across as shouty and self absorbed, without the critical distance necessary for a full bodied outcome. it feels like hopper was trying way too hard to be on a radical edge, but ended up making something conservative in structure, pacing, characterisation because his judgement was clouded or lacked maturity. it's all pretty flat, except for the naturalism of hopper's performance which is outstanding, perhaps because the other actors are so wooden. there are strange b-grade editing choices - why use the slow motion crash footage in which dummies are really obvious, for example? maybe hopper didn't really have directorial ideas, and needed to get over himself a bit before he was able to concentrate on becoming the great character actor of his later years.

Seeing the high score this movie got shows the flaw in a user-based rating system because clearly the people who gave this a 10 are diehard Dennis Hopper fans which I am not. One reviewer said that after watching this you will feel like you have to wash up and that is so true because the one word that sums this up to me is 'grotty'. It was filmed in British Columbia, Canada and it really has that dingy feeling the west coast has. If you don't know the west coast of Canada, just think upper Oregon in the winter. Even the locations they chose are all terrible, dank and dirty and the sound is bad, the film quality is bad, the lighting is bad and the acting is bad. The diehard fans will no doubt say this was all on purpose but nobody intentionally makes a film look like it was made by first year film students who don't know anything about anything. The whole thing is just really bad and depressing. I'd be curious to know what the budget was but I suspect the crew and actors didn't even stay in hotels. They probably just slept in old, damp cars and buildings. Blech! Honestly man, unless you had a terrible upbringing and are looking for something depressing that you can relate to, don't watch this.

one of the best of the best- i think of the whole film, from performances to story as an absolute miracle- to capture this kind of vitality is one out of a million(s).. guess Linda Manz was just too real for Hollywood and the rest, but her work for me is to be treasured. this film reminds you just how little narrative art has evolved since, better, how it has dissolved. There is not a frame in there that is not driven by purpose, and at the same time particular- it matches the best of what punk rock was/is, and perhaps its response since, shows it to be just a bit more pure (no "filthy lucre" tours for this one). now available in the $1.99 cheap bin, right next to Altered States..get it now!

Long before Larry Clark and his "Kids" came along Dennis Hopper (who made that other classic film about doomed youth - Easy rider) directed this brilliant and hard-edged drama about a rebellious young girl, CB whose father (played brilliantly by Hopper) comes out of prison after a horrific auto accident with a school bus. An angry film that perfectly captures the disillusionment of post-punk youth in modern America (even though the film was shot in Canada). CB's hopes for a normal family life are shattered though and it isn't long till things build to a shocking climax as a revelation about CB's father tears the whole family apart. A typically uncompromising film from rebel Hopper with excellent performances and gritty, realistic direction. This film is a must see for all fans of non-compromising realistic film. See it!

Out of The Blue(1980) along with Easy Rider(1969), and Colors(1987) are Dennis Hopper's best movies as a director. One of the best parts of the film is Linda Manz as CeBe who gives a performance that compares greatly with the most famous rebel of all, James Dean. In one way CeBe could be seen as a relative of Jim Stark from Rebel Without A Cause(1955). Out of The Blue begins where Easy Rider ends as it continues the search for an idealize place. It was a terrific film about the Punk Rock generation as Easy Rider was an interesting movie about the hippie generation. Out of The Blue is comparable to the 1965 Yukio Mishima novel, The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea. They are both about teens who are angered and disillusioned with the adult world. The two teens both idealize and admire the main male adult of the story. Third, CeBe and Noboru both feel betrayed by their heroes(CeBe's Dad, and the sailer) for not being the person they were expected to be. The ending of this film is one of the most bleakest and nihilistic finalles that I've ever seen.

Hopper is a true PLAYER. He knows his talent so he don't have to lick, or never have had to lick Hollywood's a**. He knows when he wants to do something, and he does it. The guy directed Easy Rider, Hot Spot, Colours and this. If you look these films together, it (his "career") almost makes some sense in a traditionally logical way. If he would have done only Easy Rider and this, he would be part of the (living) history of art and cinema. And of course now I'm talking about only his directing talent. Beautiful imagery, wonderful script/dialogue, great directing. Great scenes. Really interesting characters. Great use of music (Elvis, Neil Young,etc). Yeah it's serious alright, but not in any case too "heavy" to watch. I think everybody or at least anybody should see this movie. It's beautiful and humane. Some reviewer said that these people are "white trash". I'm sorry, but they are not. First, no people are trash, and second: If you live in a big two-story house, in a small town, that don't make you trash. And both parents in this family go to work. I don't quite understand the logic; what is the definition of "human trash"? I have understood that the people who live in trailers are often called "white trash", so is the main criteria living in a trailer? Or is it the level of yearly income? Some reviewers wrote that this is a portrayal of the "end of the punk-era". I would say, as the leading girl says in this movie, that "Punk never dies". It always transforms and represents itself in new forms: The spirit of the eternal rebellion lives forever, because it is a part of being human: It existed before the 60's/70's, and nowadays it can be found anywhere else than "punk" scene: In rap music, in art, books, movies, anywhere. You just have to feel it to know it.

Just watched this film, ironically, on the same DVD that another commenter did, paired with a mob film on a $1.00 DVD. The acting by Manz was awful, sound sucked, and the ending really did come, "out of the blue". Hopper looked to be three sheets to the wind the entire flick, which he probably was, and thats fine. I kept watching to see where it was headed, because I had no clue. I kinda missed the incest angle, unless the kissing and noodling in the truck and cars were supposed to represent something more sinister. ONe commenter was shocked that the family was referred to as white trash. Well, yeah, they were. I'm from the northwest, and would have been 18 when this film was shot....there's lots of folks that have a beer with there kid when they just got outta prison!