For those who don’t believe that art mimics history (or is that vice versa?), here’s a brief history lesson.
For twenty years, the Central Intelligence Agency engaged in a program dubbed MK Ultra that sought to experiment with various drugs in order to determine which of them might be used to ‘soften up’ the minds of subjects under intense scrutiny and/or questioning. Chiefly, the Agency was interested in figuring out which substances altered the mental capacities of the test subjects. While techniques other than chemicals were studied closely, what made the drug trials so controversial is that they were administered covertly, meaning that the recipients had little to no idea that they were being given significant doses of psychoactive compounds like LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide).
Now, of course, there’s more to this story. In fact, there’s a lot more where that came from, as is typically the case when one’s dealing with the clandestine activities of organizations dedicated to espionage. The point in bringing MK Ultra up is only to underscore that there’s a predicate to where a film like Jeff Lieberman’s Blue Sunshine (1977) also starts and stops: plucking on the threads of history and building a compelling conspiracy-laden flick around it is about as good a place to begin as any, and I only offer up the above to demonstrate that artists have been and likely always will be inspired by truth when composing fiction for audiences to ingest. The only difference here is that – unlike the CIA – Lieberman let you know in advance what was waiting in store. That alone is admirable enough.
Lieberman both wrote and directed the film. It stars Zalman King, Deborah Winters, Mark Goddard, Robert Walden, Charles Siebert, Ann Cooper, Ray Young, and others. It’s the story of a man distraught over the shocking secret he uncovers – one that may or may not link directly back to his college days – and the aftereffects reverberating through society ten years later. Inspired by facts, it’s a loose cautionary tale exposing science gone awry and the trail of victims left behind in its wake.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A bizarre series of murders begins in Los Angeles, where people start going bald and then become homicidal maniacs. But could the blame rest on a particularly dangerous form of LSD called Blue Sunshine the murderers took ten years before?”
For twenty years, the Central Intelligence Agency engaged in a program dubbed MK Ultra that sought to experiment with various drugs in order to determine which of them might be used to ‘soften up’ the minds of subjects under intense scrutiny and/or questioning. Chiefly, the Agency was interested in figuring out which substances altered the mental capacities of the test subjects. While techniques other than chemicals were studied closely, what made the drug trials so controversial is that they were administered covertly, meaning that the recipients had little to no idea that they were being given significant doses of psychoactive compounds like LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide).
Now, of course, there’s more to this story. In fact, there’s a lot more where that came from, as is typically the case when one’s dealing with the clandestine activities of organizations dedicated to espionage. The point in bringing MK Ultra up is only to underscore that there’s a predicate to where a film like Jeff Lieberman’s Blue Sunshine (1977) also starts and stops: plucking on the threads of history and building a compelling conspiracy-laden flick around it is about as good a place to begin as any, and I only offer up the above to demonstrate that artists have been and likely always will be inspired by truth when composing fiction for audiences to ingest. The only difference here is that – unlike the CIA – Lieberman let you know in advance what was waiting in store. That alone is admirable enough.
Lieberman both wrote and directed the film. It stars Zalman King, Deborah Winters, Mark Goddard, Robert Walden, Charles Siebert, Ann Cooper, Ray Young, and others. It’s the story of a man distraught over the shocking secret he uncovers – one that may or may not link directly back to his college days – and the aftereffects reverberating through society ten years later. Inspired by facts, it’s a loose cautionary tale exposing science gone awry and the trail of victims left behind in its wake.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A bizarre series of murders begins in Los Angeles, where people start going bald and then become homicidal maniacs. But could the blame rest on a particularly dangerous form of LSD called Blue Sunshine the murderers took ten years before?”
Without trying to split hairs for readers, I’m gonna divulge right up front that there really isn’t all that much in Blue Sunshine that makes it a traditional Horror film in any way whatsoever. (Yes, yes, yes: I know what you’re thinking, but dial it back while I try to explain.) I’ll agree that it definitely borrows shamelessly from Horror in that it rather cleverly assigns a few of its creative players with what I’d call ‘thrill-killer status,’ but the truth here is that those activities really only happen in order to fuel the film’s central conspiracy – that they were all victims of a particularly egregious batch of LSD called ‘Blue Sunshine’ – and I thought we were raised to never ‘blame the perpetrator’ when they weren’t entirely in control of their actions, no? Again, no insult intended, and I offer up that simply caveat as a critical observation. Make of it what you will.
Jerry Zipkin (played by the late Zalman King) gets together with a few of his ol’ college mates for a casual reunion. Only a few drinks into the reasonably raucous affair, Frannie Scott (Richard Crystal) croons out a song by request of the ol’ gang and then moves in to give one of his female admirers a big kiss. When the lady’s true paramour tries to pull the singer away, he inadvertently yanks off Frannie’s wig, causing the young man to run out of their shared cabin in embarrassment only to return a few seconds later with homicide now on his mind. As all of the men went out looking for him only moments earlier, Frannie rather easily turns three young women into fireplace kindling in no time, the benefits of raging about with somewhat superhuman strength.
Shortly, Jerry returns and discovers the bodies being consumed by flames; and then he races out after Frannie with hopes of calming his former classmate down. Eventually, the two make it to the nearby freeway where a life-and-death struggle ensues. Nearly overpowered and at the risk of suffering a dire fate, Jerry has no choice but to push his adversary into path of an oncoming semi-truck. Struck down, Frannie is presumed dead; and now the angry truckers take off on foot in pursuit of Jerry, whom they believe is a murderer. It’s this curious set-up that serves to cast Zipkin as our film’s protagonist: wrongly accused, he’s on-the-run from police while also trying to uncover just what set Frannie into a murderous frenzy, a development that will have surprising roots in their shared past.
Jerry Zipkin (played by the late Zalman King) gets together with a few of his ol’ college mates for a casual reunion. Only a few drinks into the reasonably raucous affair, Frannie Scott (Richard Crystal) croons out a song by request of the ol’ gang and then moves in to give one of his female admirers a big kiss. When the lady’s true paramour tries to pull the singer away, he inadvertently yanks off Frannie’s wig, causing the young man to run out of their shared cabin in embarrassment only to return a few seconds later with homicide now on his mind. As all of the men went out looking for him only moments earlier, Frannie rather easily turns three young women into fireplace kindling in no time, the benefits of raging about with somewhat superhuman strength.
Shortly, Jerry returns and discovers the bodies being consumed by flames; and then he races out after Frannie with hopes of calming his former classmate down. Eventually, the two make it to the nearby freeway where a life-and-death struggle ensues. Nearly overpowered and at the risk of suffering a dire fate, Jerry has no choice but to push his adversary into path of an oncoming semi-truck. Struck down, Frannie is presumed dead; and now the angry truckers take off on foot in pursuit of Jerry, whom they believe is a murderer. It’s this curious set-up that serves to cast Zipkin as our film’s protagonist: wrongly accused, he’s on-the-run from police while also trying to uncover just what set Frannie into a murderous frenzy, a development that will have surprising roots in their shared past.
Sadly, Blue Sunshine never quite overcomes the screenwriting convention of having all of these seemingly disparate events tied together because they need to be for the plot as devised. Jerry never has to travel that far – thankfully, everyone suffering the ill effects of a bad drug trip ten years later happens to be in the same big city (at least, those that we know of) – and this gives the flick the flimsiest construction necessary to detail its increasingly dark particulars. Again, this isn’t a complaint: it’s just a statement of reality. The tale works only because every character necessary just happens to handily be around: swallow that big grain of salt, and you’ll be fine with the rest of the action.
Because he’s kept in touch with those of his alma mater, Jerry has a few allies around which to explore both the developing facts as well as ‘lie low’ when the authorities are close on his heels. Doctor and surgeon David Blume (Robert Walden) is able to provide a bit of medical attention as well as provide some explanation of the science needed to make the premise work as a thriller; and the script loosely dangles the whole ‘will he lose his mind or won’t he’ in just the right measure to make him arguably one of the more interesting additions. Alicia Sweeney (Deborah Winters) gets to fill the shoes of both a potential love interest as well as a ‘Gal Friday’ who works with Jerry in peeling back the growing scheme, accidentally putting her life at risk in the process. Local politico Edward Flemming (Mark Goddard) and his campaign manager (and heavy) Wayne Mulligan (Ray Young) round out the stable of potentially at-risk addicts because – hey – who among us would suspect a pair of dubious policymakers of ever trying to cover up a background involving illicit drug use, am I right?
Surprisingly, Blue Sunshine still manages to transcend its storytelling deficiencies in a few ways. Lieberman’s camera work is particular astute, especially in the film’s set-up sequences which almost have a light Hitchcockian way of delivering a few seemingly unrelated vignettes that set the stage for a good deal of what eventually follows. Despite the fact that – as I’ve tried to make clear – too much of what transpires relies on convenience, the tale goes forward chapter-by-chapter at a good pace, never taking too long or spending too little time in any of its scenery to get one lost in the weeds. While there is one segment involving Jerry’s possibly descending into madness or demonstrating some astute skills at crime scene reconstruction that could’ve used a bit more foundation, the ambiguity of it all helps raise the stakes – is he finally losing his mind and his hair? – in a positive way. When strengths matter, there are enough here to make the effort both watchable and (occasionally) compelling, so there is something to be said for the collective craftsmanship.
Sadly, Sunshine ends with a bit of an overcast sky. Jerry never quite gets the definitive answers an authentic protagonist deserves, and there’s never any explanation for whether or not he was suffering from or would endure what ailed his classmates. There’s even a somewhat hackneyed title card played over a closing scene or two that tries to suggest a measure of closure; but the fact that our hero and a few others were somehow magically spared never quite gets the attention or reflection it deserves. I understand and appreciate that, perhaps, all of that can be chalked up to the inevitable randomness of life; and yet that seems curiously insufficient given how manic Jerry behaved in just the right way to suggest he, too, was on that path to doom and gloom, even if in some small way.
Because he’s kept in touch with those of his alma mater, Jerry has a few allies around which to explore both the developing facts as well as ‘lie low’ when the authorities are close on his heels. Doctor and surgeon David Blume (Robert Walden) is able to provide a bit of medical attention as well as provide some explanation of the science needed to make the premise work as a thriller; and the script loosely dangles the whole ‘will he lose his mind or won’t he’ in just the right measure to make him arguably one of the more interesting additions. Alicia Sweeney (Deborah Winters) gets to fill the shoes of both a potential love interest as well as a ‘Gal Friday’ who works with Jerry in peeling back the growing scheme, accidentally putting her life at risk in the process. Local politico Edward Flemming (Mark Goddard) and his campaign manager (and heavy) Wayne Mulligan (Ray Young) round out the stable of potentially at-risk addicts because – hey – who among us would suspect a pair of dubious policymakers of ever trying to cover up a background involving illicit drug use, am I right?
Surprisingly, Blue Sunshine still manages to transcend its storytelling deficiencies in a few ways. Lieberman’s camera work is particular astute, especially in the film’s set-up sequences which almost have a light Hitchcockian way of delivering a few seemingly unrelated vignettes that set the stage for a good deal of what eventually follows. Despite the fact that – as I’ve tried to make clear – too much of what transpires relies on convenience, the tale goes forward chapter-by-chapter at a good pace, never taking too long or spending too little time in any of its scenery to get one lost in the weeds. While there is one segment involving Jerry’s possibly descending into madness or demonstrating some astute skills at crime scene reconstruction that could’ve used a bit more foundation, the ambiguity of it all helps raise the stakes – is he finally losing his mind and his hair? – in a positive way. When strengths matter, there are enough here to make the effort both watchable and (occasionally) compelling, so there is something to be said for the collective craftsmanship.
Sadly, Sunshine ends with a bit of an overcast sky. Jerry never quite gets the definitive answers an authentic protagonist deserves, and there’s never any explanation for whether or not he was suffering from or would endure what ailed his classmates. There’s even a somewhat hackneyed title card played over a closing scene or two that tries to suggest a measure of closure; but the fact that our hero and a few others were somehow magically spared never quite gets the attention or reflection it deserves. I understand and appreciate that, perhaps, all of that can be chalked up to the inevitable randomness of life; and yet that seems curiously insufficient given how manic Jerry behaved in just the right way to suggest he, too, was on that path to doom and gloom, even if in some small way.
Blue Sunshine (1977) was produced by Ellanby Films. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Synapse Films. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert … wow. This release looks really solid from start-to-finish. I thought the audio was a bit muddled in a few spots, but I’m inclined to think that this likely stems from flaws in the original source. Yes, there are a few sequences with noticeable grain, but it distracts in no way from the picture itself. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? In order to be precise, I’m doing the admirable copy-and-paste from Synapse Films’ press release as there is seriously (SERIOUSLY) a lot of material here:
Special Features
Special Features
- 4K restoration of the original 35mm camera negative mastered in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Lossless English DTS-HD Master Audio original theatrical mono and a 5.1 surround sound mix supervised by director Jeff Lieberman
- Two audio commentaries featuring director Jeff Lieberman
- New introduction to the film by director Jeff Lieberman
- Archival 2003 interview with director Jeff Lieberman
“Lieberman on Lieberman” video interview - Channel Z “Fantasy Film Festival” interview with Mick Garris and Jeff Lieberman
- Fantasia Film Festival 4K Premiere Q&A with moderator Michael Gingold and director Jeff Lieberman
- Anti-drug “scare films”: LSD-25 (1967) and LSD: Insight or Insanity? (1968), courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive
- Jeff Lieberman’s first film The Ringer, included here in two versions: the original uncut version (from a projection print source) and the final release version (remastered in 4K by Synapse Films from the original camera negative) with optional audio commentary on the uncut version by Jeff Lieberman and moderator Howard S. Berger Theatrical trailers
- Still gallery
- Liner notes booklet by Jeff Lieberman, featuring a chapter on the making of Blue Sunshine from his book Day of the Living Me: Adventures of a Subversive Cult Filmmaker from the Golden Age
- Limited edition fold-out poster
- Limited edition remastered CD soundtrack (13 tracks)
Again, Synapse seriously does not disappoint with this massive collection of extras; and I’m just starting to make my way through all of them. I can say that after listening to about half of both commentaries from Lieberman that there isn’t a great deal of material in either – something interesting reflections, which is probably owed to the passage of time and the loss of memories more than anything else – and, yet, there’s still something of interest in each. I’m not as familiar with the storyteller’s catalogue as are others; listening to him speak does make me interested in checking out a title or two of his, so that has to count for something.
Recommended.
At best, Blue Sunshine is a cult diversion. It establishes its facts loosely and then goes about the business of highlighting the unintended aftermath of harmful drug use at the expense of any real character development (which could’ve been helpful here and there). Well assembled and (probably) well-intentioned, it still lacks a tighter narrative and better-defined faces (with clearly stated motivations) to be anything greater than a theatrical oddity exploring the right place at the right time. Far too many events happen conveniently within Lieberman’s timeframe and that had me questioning how easy a puzzle it was for Jerry Zipkin to piece it all together. Rather than end with substance, it just ends, leaving the audience with more questions than answers, and that’s rarely a good thing.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Synapse Films provided me with a complimentary 4K UltraHD Blu-ray of Blue Sunshine (1977) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Recommended.
At best, Blue Sunshine is a cult diversion. It establishes its facts loosely and then goes about the business of highlighting the unintended aftermath of harmful drug use at the expense of any real character development (which could’ve been helpful here and there). Well assembled and (probably) well-intentioned, it still lacks a tighter narrative and better-defined faces (with clearly stated motivations) to be anything greater than a theatrical oddity exploring the right place at the right time. Far too many events happen conveniently within Lieberman’s timeframe and that had me questioning how easy a puzzle it was for Jerry Zipkin to piece it all together. Rather than end with substance, it just ends, leaving the audience with more questions than answers, and that’s rarely a good thing.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Synapse Films provided me with a complimentary 4K UltraHD Blu-ray of Blue Sunshine (1977) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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