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Blue Sunshine
Stars:
Zalman King, Deborah Winters, and Robert Walden
Writer:
Jeff Lieberman
Director:
Jeff Lieberman
Feature
length: 90 minutes
Extras:
Director’s Commentary, Original Short Film “The Ringer” With Optional
Audio Commentary By Director Jeff Lieberman, Still Gallery, Theatrical Trailer,
Liner Notes, Never-Before-Released Original Soundtrack CD
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Two-Disc Alpha Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 17
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1976/DVD Release: 2003
Home
Video Distributor: Synapse Films
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Several
bizarre killings where the murderer goes through sudden and complete hair loss
before turning murderously insane is traced back to a form of LSD called “Blue
Sunshine” the people who turned psychotic ingested ten years before. Can the
investigator, who has become a suspect himself, make others believe the cause of
madness is in “Blue Sunshine” before the phenomena will become
uncontrollable?
Out
of circulation on home video for over ten years, “Blue Sunshine” is back in
this new Two-Disc Limited Special Edition courtesy of Synapse Films. Well to
begin with a lot of people have made a big deal about Director Zalman King
having a lead role in this film, but the controversial man behind the “Red
Shoe Diaries” actually appeared in at least one other film along with several
other personalities who have made careers and some who already had careers in
genre films from none other than the great Roger Corman. The film I am referring
to is “Galaxy Of Terror,” but that film is not available on Region One DVD
in America at this time and this is not a review of that film. It is a review of
“Blue Sunshine: Special DVD Edition: Limited Availability,” which is perhaps
the definitive home video edition of this mid 1970s cult classic. Some genre
film fans may not have heard of Writer and Director Jeff Lieberman, but I bet
most of you all have heard of the “killer worm” classic “Squirm.” I sure
remember seeing it on the big screen no less and when I think about it in
hindsight, I cannot believe my father took me to see it since I was already the
kind of kid who was afraid that the monster I just saw on Saturday night’s
“Chiller” theater was going to get me and believe me after I saw
“Squirm” I was keeping my brother and parents awake at night out of fear
that the worms from “Squirm” were going to eat me for who knows how long.
That
which ate of the fish that ate the worm and passed away to be eaten by worms
that will be eaten by fish that will be eaten by men is more than just a
terrible attempt on my part to paraphrase dialogue from Shakespeare’s
“Hamlet,” it is the cold truth and perhaps that is what made “Squirm” as
scary as it was simply because of the reality that someday you, I, and everyone
and everything will be food for worms. This ring of truth is taken a step
further to what are perhaps borderline satirical heights with “Blue
Sunshine.” The idea of a form of acid that turns it’s users into killing
machines may seem far fetched, but from talking to people I know who dropped
acid in the 60s, they told me that some people, who might have been unstable
already and dropped acid were never the same afterwards. I mean none of them
went on killing sprees, but the reality of people suffering from borderline
emotional and perhaps nervous breakdowns that were compounded by acid should not
be news and the so called latent effect a user can experience was one of the
stories the Brothers and Priests used to inflict upon Catholic School boys and
girls to deter them from drug usage once they graduated grammar school and
entered high school. Now these
fears might seem laughable especially with the wave of designer drugs that have
entered the scene since the 1970s, but think of the effects those drugs have had
on the users, their families, and communities and extrapolate that to the
immediate danger of being literally assaulted by what might as well be an
animal, let alone a human being and you will find that “Blue Sunshine” is
perhaps a metaphor for the direct and collateral damage drugs cause on people in
general.
Now
add to that the disillusionment of the American psyche in post Vietnam and
Richard Nixon America and what you have is a film that is more than just a
cautionary tale about the horrors of drug abuse, but a backlash against the
whole drug subculture that told people to drop out and ultimately failed to
create any lasting change in America as we know it today. That is why perhaps
the punk clubs like “CBGB” in the late 1970s and early 1980s would play
clips from “Blue Sunshine” while bands performed. I mean if “Punk”
wasn’t an angry backlash against the failure of the dream of the 1960s had on
an economically depressed and ravaged England and an emotionally torn America
than I do not know what it was.
So
keep in mind that horror films like music reflect the time in which they were
created and “Blur Sunshine” is of it’s time, but still has some resonance
even in contemporary America though obviously the problems have changed their
form somewhat, but are still essentially quite similar to what they were in the
1970s. I have to admit that there are times while watching “Blue Sunshine” I
was laughing at the action more than anything else, but even a little
unintentional humor can be a good thing for a horror film, even one like “Blue
Sunshine.”
Despite
the loss of the original negatives and whatnot, “Blue Sunshine” has been
given a restoration under the supervision of the Director Jeff Lieberman and
from what the liner notes within the insert inside the DVD keep case state the
transfer materials came from the only theatrical quality print left in
existence. The results are that there are still some imperfections left over
from the source material, but the picture definitely looks clear with more
vibrant colors than it has ever looked on home video before. The restoration
demonstration (: 47) proves this and believe me seeing in this case is truly
believing. Presented in an anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) aspect ratio, the
restored “Blue Sunshine” should satisfy fans of this film and genre film
collectors alike. A newly remastered English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Soundtrack is definitely an improvement over the original English Two-Channel
Monaural Soundtrack, which is provided as well. Both soundtracks are free of
analogue background hissing and crackling as well. Writer and Director Jeff
Lieberman provides a thoughtful screen specific and retrospective feature length
audio commentary for both “Blue Sunshine” and his short film “The
Ringer” (19:42), which is also included among the extra features.
Lieberman
also participates in a videotaped interview (30:11) where he shares some
interesting anecdotes related to his films “Squirm” and “Blue Sunshine”
as well as the direction he took his career in afterwards and even some
interesting anecdotes and truthful observations regarding the difference between
having an idea and how one goes about executing it. A gallery of black and white
behind-the-scenes and production photos as well as the rare original theatrical
trailer (2:24) wraps up the extra features included on the first disc.
The second disc is actually a never-before-released soundtrack CD that is only available in this two-disc set. Overall I think that Synapse Films has done an amiable job with this limited DVD edition of “Blue Sunshine” and I definitely think the set is worth a look, especially for fans of the film and 70s horror movie collectors. “Blue Sunshine: Special DVD Edition: Limited Availability” is now on sale at retailers on and offline from Synapse Films.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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Blue Sunshine