Out (1982)

A self-styled "urban guerrilla" in Greenwich Village is sent on various assignments across the country by a mysterious "commander."

Director:

Eli Hollander

Writers:

Ronald Sukenick (novel), Ronald Sukenick (screenplay),

Stars:

Peter Coyote, O-Lan Jones, Jim Haynie

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Coyote	...	Rex
O-Lan Jones	...	Nixie / Dinah (as O-Lan Shepard)
Jim Haynie	...	Carl / Tommy / Optometrist
Grandfather Semu Haute	...	Empty Fox
Scott Beach	...	Sailor
Danny Glover	...	Jojo / Roland
Max Grodénchik	...	Arnold / Boy (as Michael Grodenchik)
Gail Dartez	...	Trixie / Girl

Storyline

In this largely avant-garde feature film, Rex is the member of a group of underground revolutionaries with an unknown agenda who receive their orders from picking letters out of a bowl of alphabet soup. Rex and his companion Nixie travel across the country and change their names with each stage of the story (the stages are separated by a countdown of numbers from 10 to 0). They begin in New York City and strive to make it to Los Angeles. Their adventures, misadventures and often bizarre happenstances form the bulk of the narrative.

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | soup | revolutionary | alphabet soup | manhattan new york city | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deadly Drifter

Filming Locations:

San Gregorio General Store - State Highway 84 & Stage Road, San Gregorio, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eli Hollander, Osprey Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eli Hollander had a particularly difficult time casting the role of Empty Fox. He attended powwows in search of the right person to hire for the role. Two names kept on coming up: Rolling Thunder (a star of Little Big Man (1970)) and Grandfather Semu Haute. Hollander set about calling Grandfather, who actually owned an early model mobile phone that he never answered. When Hollander finally contacted him about the script, the Native American non-actor said, "Interesting script, but I have two problems. One is the name Empty Fox, and two is the part where I pull out the whiskey." Hollander defended the name Empty Fox and offered to change the whiskey to Perrier. When Haute arrived on the set, he told Hollander that he could use the whiskey. Hollander liked the Perrier substitute better. The two argued and argued and ultimately it is the Perrier that Empty Fox pulls out and offers to Peter Coyote's character. Hollander also recalls how Granfather Semu Haute could not remember his lines and how he had to be constantly prompted throughout each of his scenes.

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Quotes

[repeated lines]
Rex: Everything comes together... everything falls apart.
Nixie: Don't fall.

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Crazy Credits

The title appears on the screen in a long division problem. A "0" is the divisor and a "1" is the dividend. The quotient is the title "OUT". After the title appears onscreen, a character throws a stick of dynamite and people are seen running from left to right against a brick wall on which is written a number countdown from 10 to 0.

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Connections

References Wonderwall (1968)

User Reviews

Here's a whole lotta words - but I don't know about what

If you've got more time than you know what to do with, and you're attracted to that which you just can't believe, then try to endure this faux pas in its entirety and kindly post your theories as to what the hell this is all about. I COULD watch it again, but I know that it'd STILL leave me shrugging my shoulders and scratching my head. At first, I thought that it was about a young couple who wanted to become part of an elite strike-force. Then, I thought that maybe it was a series of disconnected vignettes featuring the cast in different roles. (The "disconnected" part stays.) Finally, I realized that I had no idea about what was going on, but, if I hung in there long enough, perhaps it'd all come together. Well...it never did. And THAT was an Indian, several more vignettes, and a strike-force-reunion later. Except, instead of a strike-force, they were now an Independent Communal Unit, in tune with each others' thoughts. (But I doubt that anybody else is on their wavelength.) Sometimes I can overlook the obvious signs of a "cheapie", especially that low-budget audio and bottom-of-the-barrel acting, because there's a followable, ongoing message which is not dollar-conscious. Don't get me wrong, though... there's plenty of that inexpensive stuff here; but I almost missed it trying to latch on to ANY message. However, I don't think that there IS one. This is so ambiguous that I wouldn't even know what genre to put it in: drama? comedy? fantasy? (Horror, for sure; but not in the usual sense.) And it's based on a novel? Must be a bookful of blank pages. I shouldn't say that, though, because I found some of the dialogue quite interesting. (I'm not sure how it pertained to what was happening on screen, but, interesting nonetheless.) To say anything else positive about this movie, however, would, I think, without contradiction, be an impossibility.