Over the Edge (film)

The needs of teenagers in an isolated planned community called New Granada, east of Denver, Colorado, were not considered by those who designed the community, and their approved activities are to attend school and hang out at the recreation center, which closes at six o‘clock.

The kids turn to drink, drugs, sex, vandalism and other petty crime to kill their boredom, but the adults are too concerned with their careers and business interests and focus on curbing the adolescents' seemingly senseless behavior through a 9:30pm curfew rather than understanding the root causes. After one of the kids is killed by a police officer, the youths violently rebel.

The film was inspired by events described in a 1973 San Francisco Examiner article entitled "Mousepacks: Kids on a Crime Spree" by Bruce Koon and James A. Finefrock. The article reported on young kids vandalizing property in Foster City, California. The middle class planned community had an unusually high level of juvenile crime.[1][2] Screenwriters Charles S. Haas and Tim Hunter began work shortly after the article's publication, including field research in the town itself where they interviewed some of the kids. Hunter said that the script accurately reflected the article with the exception of a more violent ending.

Orion Pictures helped finance the film; producer George Litto borrowed an additional $1 million. Director Jonathan Kaplan, who was just 30 when hired, took a documentary approach to filming, using unknown actors. Among them was Matt Dillon, then age 14, whom the filmmakers discovered in a middle school in Westchester County, New York. This was Dillon's feature film debut. Shooting took place over 20 days in 1978 in two Colorado cities, Aurora and Greeley.[1] In 2021, an entertainment website named Over the Edge the “signature film” of Denver.[3]

Alongside the film's release, a novelization of the film by Charlie Haas and Tim Hunter, was also published by Grove Press. Included in the book are 32 pages of photographs from the shooting of the film. The book is long out of print.[4]

Due to the negative publicity surrounding a wave of recent youth gang films such as The Warriors and Boulevard Nights, Over the Edge had a limited theatrical release in 1979. But the film has since gained cult film status. In late 1981, it was shown at "Film at Joseph Papp's Public Theater" as part of a program called "Word of Mouth", devoted to films that had been overlooked because of poor marketing or distribution. This screening led to it being listed on critical top-10 lists and was favorably reviewed by Vincent Canby at The New York Times. The film then re-emerged in the 1980s with showings on cable, including HBO and a videocassette release in 1989.[5] Director Richard Linklater said the film influenced his film Dazed and Confused.[1] Over the Edge was an inspiration for the music videos for the songs "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana[6] and "Evil Eye" by Fu Manchu.[7]

Director Jonathan Kaplan wanted to use "Baba O'Riley" by The Who as the ending credits song, but ultimately couldn't do so because the licensing rights to the song were too expensive.[8]

In a "lost interview" between Eddie Van Halen and journalist Steve Rosen, when the Van Halen guitarist was discussing the song "Light Up the Sky," he explained that "Warner Bros. is financing some movie, and they wanted us to write the theme song for it and we were thinking of using that song." While not mentioning the movie by name, later in the interview he describes it as "A neat movie - everyone's going to relate to that. It's high school kids up north in New Granada, some new housing development. They destroy everything, they lock it...they had a PTA meeting, because all the parents were getting together to talk about their problems they were having with all the students and kids destroying the town. And then while all the people were in there, they lock them in, they chain the doors with all the cops inside and stuff. They went out and started smashing the cars and blowing everything up - it was insane. It was supposed to be true, too. It was supposed to be a true story. So I think maybe the title of that kind of sprung from that. Because it was a real trippy movie, and it would be a good title calling it ‘Light Up the Sky.’ Because the last scene of the movie was heavy, boy - it’s just a big flash of flame type of thing." Ultimately, the band opted not to give the song to the film, because Van Halen says in the same interview, "We went and saw a screening of the flick...and it ain't gonna win no Academy Award or nothing."[9] Instead, the song was included on the album Van Halen II.

On February 19th, 2010, there was a screening of the original 16mm print of the film,[10] as well as a question and answer session with the cast and crew from the film at the Lincoln Centre for the film's 31st Anniversary.[11] The cast & crew included Michael Kramer, Pamela Ludwig, Tom Fergus, Julia Pomeroy, and Harry Northup, the producer George Litto, writers Tim Hunter and Charlie Haas, and talent scout Jane Bernstein. The event was filmed by the organizers of the event, although it has not been released. In September 2015, the 35mm print of the film was shown for one-night only at the Nitehawk Cinema, Williamsburg location, followed by a Q&A with Micheal Kramer.[12] In celebration of the films' 40th anniversary, there was a screening of the 35mm print of the film, along with a Q&A with screenwriter Tim Hunter, and actors Michael Kramer and Tom Fergus on October 9th, 2019 at Nitehawk Cinema, in Brooklyn, New York.[13]

Side one

1. "Surrender" – Cheap Trick
2. "My Best Friend's Girl" – The Cars
3. "You Really Got Me" – Van Halen
4. "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" – Cheap Trick
5. "Come On (Part 1)" – Jimi Hendrix

Side two

1. "Just What I Needed" – The Cars
2. "Hello There" – Cheap Trick
3. "Teenage Lobotomy" – Ramones
4. "Downed" – Cheap Trick
5. "All That You Dream" – Little Feat
6. "Ooh Child" – Valerie Carter

The film was released by Warner Home Video on VHS in America in 1989.[14] In September 2005, the film was released on DVD, which included an audio commentary by director Jonathan Kaplan, producer George Litto and screenwriters Charlie Haas and Tim Hunter as well as an original theatrical trailer for the film.[15] As of 2021, there has not been a Blu-ray release of the film.

The soundtrack was released on vinyl LP, Cassette tape, and 8-track tape on June 1st, 1979.[16]

Over the Edge was Orion's second release and was released May 18, 1979 in 8 cities in the United States on a test run basis with the biggest release in Charlotte, North Carolina.[17]

The film received critical acclaim. Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave the movie a positive review, stating, "It's to Mr. Kaplan's credit that he makes New Granada look just as boring and alienated to us as it does to the unfortunate children who live there."[18]

• Over the Edge at IMDb
• Over the Edge at AllMovie
• Over the Edge at Rotten Tomatoes
• Over the Edge at the American Film Institute Catalog
• An interview with co-writer Tim Hunter