Over the Edge (film)

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Over the Edge
Directed by	Jonathan Kaplan
Produced by	George Litto
Written by	Charles S. Haas Tim Hunter
Starring	Matt Dillon Michael Eric Kramer Pamela Ludwig
Music by	Sol Kaplan
Cinematography	Andrew Davis
Editing by	Robert Barrere
Distributed by	Orion Pictures
Release date(s)	1979
Running time	95 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

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 [1].

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.

1 Soundtrack
2 Synopsis
3 Cast
4 External links

[edit] Soundtrack

1. Cheap Trick "Surrender"

2. The Cars "My Best Friend's Girl"

3. Van Halen "You Really Got Me"

4. Cheap Trick "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace"

5. Jimi Hendrix "Come On (Part One)"

6. The Cars "Just What I Needed"

7. Cheap Trick "Hello There"

8. The Ramones "Teenage Lobotomy"

9. Cheap Trick "Downed"

10. Little Feat "All That You Dream"

11. Valerie Carter "Ooh Child"

[edit] Synopsis

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.

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
Michael Eric Kramer	Carl Willat
Matt Dillon	Ritchie White
Pamela Ludwig	Cory
Harry Northrup	Sgt. Doberman
Vincent Spano	Mark
Tom Fergus	Claude Zachary
Andy Romano	Fred Willat
Ellen Geer	Sandra Willat