Over the Edge (film)
| Over the Edge | |
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Jonathan Kaplan |
| Produced by |
Robert S. Bremson (associate producer) Joe Kapp (associate producer) George Litto (producer) |
| Written by |
Charles S. Haas Tim Hunter |
| Starring |
Michael Eric Kramer Pamela Ludwig Harry Northup Matt Dillon |
| Music by | Sol Kaplan |
| Cinematography | Andrew Davis |
| Edited by | Robert Barrere |
| Distributed by | (Through Warner Bros) |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Over the Edge is a coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Jonathan Kaplan and released in May 1979. The film, based on a newspaper article, had a limited theatrical release but has since achieved cult film status. It was Matt Dillon's film debut.
Over the Edge depicts American suburban life in the 1970s and includes themes of teenage rebellion and drug and alcohol use by junior high school students. The rock music soundtrack features Cheap Trick, the Cars, and the Ramones.
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.
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, who the filmmakers discovered in a middle school in Westchester County, New York. This was Dillion's feature film debut. Shooting took place over 20 days in 1978 in Greeley and Aurora, two cities in Colorado.
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