Product Details

• Actors: Matthew Modine, Beatrice Dalle, Dennis Hopper, Claudia Schiffer, Sarah Lassez
• Directors: Abel Ferrara
• Producers: The Blackout (1997)
• Format: Import, PAL, Collector's Edition, Director's Cut
• Subtitles: Dutch
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Dutch Film Works
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001PKZBDA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #634,917 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Netherlands released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Dutch ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Biographies, Collectors Edition, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, Uncut, SYNOPSIS: Abel Ferrara's film caused a stampede when it was shown at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. That it is being released in 2001 says a lot about what the film promises, and what the film delivers. Matty (Matthew Modine) is a popular, pampered and prosperous movie star with the sort of substance abuse problems common to Mr. Ferrara's characters. The balance of the film is concerned with Matty's quest for forgiveness and redemption, a quest complicated by the fact that Matty has no clear idea of what he is atoning for. Like most of Mr. Ferrara's films, "The Blackout" takes place in a trance state - events are fuzzy, line readings even fuzzier. There are mysterious ellipses in the plotline and lots of droning electric guitar work on the soundtrack. ...The Blackout (1997)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A deep dive into human loss and desperation, January 12, 2002

By 

T K Enoksen (Oslo Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blackout (DVD)

This movie is mainly about a guy who gets trapped into drug and alcohol abuse but manages to escape it. Somehow, as in real life, the your history will never be erased and he is trapped again in tragic circumstances with his new wife, pregnancy, memory loss from his 'wild days'. This film will not give much to viewer which has not experienced heavy drinking or drug use. For those which has bad experiences or any experience at all, will have a wake-up call and hopefully watch this film in awe. The film can be watched in the same session as 'Requiem for a dream', an uncredible film about drug abuse and the society that not only sells drugs 'illegally' but also a society in which one can get heavy drugs prescribed and legally.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ferrara one of the best American makers of foreign films, March 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Blackout (DVD)

If you appreciate films by the likes of Antonioni, Lynch, Bunuel and Franju and you enjoy entering the inner worlds of characters then you'll probably find much to admire in this movie... it is unapolagetically dark, meandering, atmospheric, sometimes half baked, but ultimately haunting and utterly poignant. The DVD is bare bones with a decent transfer.

8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For masochists only, May 13, 2001

By 

Allan MacInnis (Vancouver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blackout [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a stylish but rather empty venture from Abel Ferrara. Familiar themes surface -- substance abuse, guilt, self-destruction -- but are offered in the service of a tale that simply didn't need to be told. Matthew Modine is an alcoholic debauching his way down the tunnel, surrounded by Hollywood decadence, include Dennis Hopper in a hardly-surprising role as a rather perverse corruptor. Ferrara made the point that evil can be very, erm, attractive in KING OF NEW YORK, and he did it without having to have quite as many naked women cavort about on screen (there's much of that here). Modine is talented, as are the supporting cast, but come the end of the film I had learned nothing, and the only pleasures I could identify myself as feeling were masochistic ones. Now, if you LIKE seeing movies about people's descent to the bottom, maybe you'll get off on this, but...