OVER THE EDGE

Tonight Is 70's flashback night, with one of my favorite 70's film "Over The Edge"



Over the Edge is a movie completed in 1979 and released on HBO two years later because its controversial content led to a decision to forego a theatrical release. It stars Matt Dillon in his feature film debut.
Because of its depiction of teenage rebellion, marijuana and alcohol use by junior high school students, a painstakingly accurate depiction of suburban life in the late 1970s, and a rock & roll soundtrack featuring such bands as The Ramones and Cheap Trick, Over the Edge has achieved cult film status, and in turn inspired the music video for the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana.
According to the director's and writer's commentary on the DVD, Over the Edge was inspired by actual events that took place in Foster City, California in the early 1970s. Those events were published in an article titled "Mouse Packs: Kids on a Crime Spree" from the San Francisco Examiner (1974). The writer of the article, Charles S. Haas, went on to co-write the screenplay.
The film follows a group of teenagers living in a fictional planned community called New Granada, which is isolated beyond other existing suburbs, in the nearly-treeless plains east of Denver, Colorado. Their needs were not considered by those who designed the community, and so there is nothing for them to do but go to school and hang out at the local recreation center, which closes at six o‘clock. The kids turn to substance abuse and petty crime as a way to kill their boredom, but their outcry falls on deaf ears, as the adults are too concerned with pursuing wealth and stomping out the seemingly-senseless rowdy behavior to actually understand the reasons why the adolescents are acting up. After one of the kids is shot and killed by a police officer, the youths violently rebel against their parents and the authorities, an uprising that results in fiery mayhem in and around the junior high school.

STARING,

Michael Eric Kramer
Matt Dillon
Pamela Ludwig
Vincent Spano
Andy Romano
Ellen Geer
Tom Fergus
Harry Northrup

Over The Edge Pt. 1



Over The Edge Pt. 2



Over The Edge Pt. 3



Over The Edge Pt. 4



Over The Edge Pt. 5



Over The Edge Pt. 6



Over The Edge Pt. 7



Over The Edge Pt. 8



Over The Edge Pt. 9



Over The Edge Pt. 10



Valerie Carter - O-o-h Child Plus Full Credits



OVER THE EDGE FAN SITE

Trivia

Charles S. Haas based his story on true events which occurred in the planned community of Foster City, California in the early 1970s. In fact, a California headline about the incident, "Mouse Packs: Kids On A Crime Spree", was authored by Haas when he was a reporter with the San Francisco Examiner.

Originally completed in 1979, the movie was not released until two years later when it was run on HBO. At the time, the studio thought the movie was too controversial and feared that it would spark violence, which apparently occurred with the film The Warriors (1979).

Tip and Tip's mother are played by Eric Lalich and Irene Lalich, who are mother and son in real life.

Matt Dillon didn't actually want or expect to be cast in the movie. He went to the audition just so he could skip school.

Matt Dillon's first movie.

The original title of the movie was "On the Edge".

Was one of the main inspirations for Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' music video.

After the film's successful run on HBO in 1981, it was selected for a special two-week engagement at Joseph Papp's Public Theater in New York in December 1981. The response was so positive that the film was booked for regular engagements in several New York theaters the following February.

According to sources Kurt Cobain said that "(Over the Edge) pretty much defined my whole personality. It was really cool. Total anarchy."