cinema history class: blue sunshine (1978)

The session: "Bring Your Own Movie Month"

Our annual session in which each of us in the class takes a turn sharing a movie of his choice.

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 6: Blue Sunshine (1978)
                (Christina's pick)
Directed by Jeff Lieberman

My Impressions Going In:
Never heard of it.

Plot
People are losing their hair, their minds and their lives. And one man is trying to figure out why.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

I love the way Blue Sunshine opens alternating between action and shots of the moon (the latter accompanied by credits). It was a creative way of whetting the audience's appetite -- teasing and teasing some more. And that set the tone. The camera work was particularly strong, and helps to drive a sense of anxious anticipation.

I particularly like the gritty 1970s feel. And it was fun to see Mark Goddard in a more grown-up role than his Lost in Space turn, which is what I remember him from. That said, there were some ways that this felt like a small movie, and I wanted it to be bigger. There was so much to like, and I wanted to like it even more.

The ending was somewhat disappointing in its abruptness. As the action ends, text appears to let us know how things ultimately turned out. I have seen other movies do that, sometimes to good effect. But to make that work, it has to appear at a time when the story feels truly concluded. This didn't.

Ratings

Me: 8

Bob-O: 9.8

Dave: 9.7

Ethan: 9

Joe: 10
Keith: 9.5
Rickard: 8