Blackout
(1978)
Picture: C
Sound: C-
Extras: C- Film: B-
Blackout (1978) is a serviceable little B movie made
to exploit New York City's famous 1977 blackout. Produced in Canada (Ivan Reitman was one of the executive
producers before he hit it big the following year with Meatballs), Blackout
played mostly drive-ins and grindhouses in 1978-79, the kind of now obsolete
venues where such a film would have felt right at home.
It's about what happens when a storm causes a city-wide power
failure at night, while a group of criminally insane men are being transported
from a mental institution to prison. When the power goes out, four
of the most dangerous ones escape and hole up in a nearby apartment
building. Led by soft-spoken mad bomber Robert Carradine, the
quartet of criminals steal from and terrorize the residents including Ray
Milland, Belinda J. Montgomery and June Allyson, while a dedicated cop
(Jim Mitchum, Robert's son) risks his life to save them. With all of this
excitement, hopefully Miss Allyson remembered to wear her
Depends.
While I'm grateful that even long-forgotten exploitation films
like Blackout are now becoming available on DVD, the anamorphically
enhanced 1.85 X 1 picture quality is fair at best, and there's definitely problems
with background hiss and shrill sound that cuts out completely for a
second or two three times during the movie via the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
track. The special features include a photo gallery and biographies of
the lead actors and director Eddy Matalon (for anyone wondering what ever
became of Eddy).
- Chuck O'Leary
