Jeanskynebu
the audience applauded
Vashirdfel
Simply A Masterpiece
Fatma Suarez
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
sol-
Living in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, the bored and disaffected teenagers of a poorly resourced planned community are eventually driven to revolt against the oppressive adult population in this searing drama written by Tim Hunter, who also helmed the similarly themed 'River's Edge' a few years later. The film tackles a very real issue that, with urban sprawl all around the world, still exists today: families lured into cheap housing in new communities that are improperly resourced to handle energetic adolescents. Indeed, while the parents of the film come under scrutiny for not understanding their kids and how boxed up they feel, the poor planning of the town is really the villain of the piece. It takes a long time for the film to make its point though, and with the revolt only occurring in the final third of the movie, there are a lot of repetitive scenes of the teens trying to score drugs, pick up girls and evade the sadistic police to firstly endure. The antagonism between the police and teenagers is a little undercooked too; while all the teens believe that the cops are hell-bent on power and tend to overreact, it is hard to blame the police for being like that if the teenagers do actually constantly vandalise their cars and create public nuisances for no good reason. Unless, of course, boredom is a reason, and say what one may about the film, the movie deftly shows the power of boredom to lead to mischief. Topped off with a mood-setting, eerie score by Sol Kaplan (of 'Niagara' fame), it is a haunting experience that lingers in the mind too.
viewsonfilm.com
Over the Edge is an intense teen drama that marks the acting debut of Matt Dillon (he had no formal training before the cameras rolled). For me, this stands as one of the best films of the 1970's (released in the U.S. in 1981) and a clear bonified snapshot of that era. This is a well acted, angst driven vehicle with many unknowns (it marked the first screen appearances for a majority of the cast members). It tells the story of some troubled Colorado kids who cause havoc (gunfire, vandalism, drug dealing, etc...) in their neighborhood at the expense of their mostly misunderstood parents.Director Jonathan Kaplan (admittedly) filmed a lot of scenes with wide shots that let things play out naturally. It's a cinematic technique that was prevalent in that decade. I found the method very effective and in turn hail this flick as a minor classic. There is a time capsule type feeling to what's on screen. It's intoxicating and "Edge" concludes with what I believe to be an ironically powerful ending. Watch for the image of Dillon (Richie White) standing on top of a police car. It's iconic!
barroter
I can't offer any new observations on this movie, except like many of you it was a timewarp back my own junior high school years of the late 70's. The depiction of what those kids did then was pretty on spot. I also think the parents shown ,in the movie, was accurate as well.Like New Granada, we were bored and pretty much left to our own devices to find entertainment. We managed to con our parents and adults long enough to get away with most of what we did.For the longest time I thought it was just my particular generation and our area that was screwed up in the head...that was until I saw this movie. I swear there was lot of anger in us and it took itself out in guerrilla style rebellion against anything the adults held Holy.Then as now, I can point out supposed stable adults who were alcoholics, gamblers, kid/wife beaters, druggies and general losers as people.Then as now, kids spot hypocrisy fairly fast.
josh203
The thing I find extraordinary about this movie is that it captures so well the way we looked and behaved in the 70's. These aren't Hollywood teens, they're real teens. The kids in this movie are almost like a marijuana-hazy tidal pool, self-contained, separate from, and ignored or misunderstood by, adults on the other side of the "generation gap." Which is exactly what it was like.Someone criticized the acting, but that's precisely the point -- these kids aren't acting, they're real. Other Hollywood productions of the era were made by older people who were puzzled by and didn't understand the changes that occurred in the 60's. We used to laugh at their efforts, because they were so clueless. This movie gets us as we really were, and it takes me back in a way that no other movies do. I wish there were an equivalent for the oh-so-wonderful 60's, an era which is very well remembered but the spirit of which has not been preserved.That being said, I find the filmmakers' social attitudes somewhat dated. Arguably, the anything goes attitude of the parents of our generation was a disaster, leading to rampant drug use, teen pregnancy, an epidemic of crime. In particular, (SPOILER) I find the PC notion that a cop is wrong to shoot a kid who pulls a gun on him is more than a little ridiculous. What do the filmmakers expect him to do? Wait to see if a bullet leaves the muzzle, then deflect it if necessary with his Wonder Woman bracelets? You don't have to be an adult to know that drawing a gun, loaded or not, on a police officer is Darwin Awards territory.The few sympathetic adults in this movie actually seem to like the kids, rather than treating them as unfathomable enemies or ignoring them. And because they like and know them, they understand them. But a bit of firmness is necessary as well. For all the guns, cigarettes, pot, booze, and sexuality, these are still kids, working to become adults and needing guidance to do so. In this movie, the firmness comes in the wrong form, delivered by police officers and school officials who have no affinity with or understanding of the kids in their charge. But license isn't the key: events showed that.
