Synapse Films To Release "BLUE SUNSHINE" On 4K UHD In April!

Some films defy explanation and must be experienced instead. Movies like “Liquid Sky” or even “Santa Sangre” use art-house stylings and genre tropes to create something that expands the boundaries of the medium away from purely narrative endeavors. Sometimes these films have a message, but not always, and in the case of Jeff Lieberman’s cult classic “Blue Sunshine,” the message is both overt and government-funded. Part sci-fi slasher mixed in with an anti-drug PSA, “Blue Sunshine” may be anti-LSD propaganda, but it’s also highly entertaining as well. Not as on the nose or campy as something like “Reefer Madness,” “Blue Sunshine” is less convincing as a deterrent from mind-altering substances and even makes the viewer wonder if it was used during the production of the film.

LSD or not, the fine folks at Synapse Films are brining this pivotal film to 4K UHD for the first time ever in North America on April 15, 2024! As Synapse has done in the past, this limited edition set includes a new 4K UHD transfer from the original 35mm camera negative and has been mastered in Dolby Vision (HDR 10). Check out the details below for more, and you pre-order you copy now from MVD Entertainment or Synapse Direct!

From The Press Release

On April 15th, Synapse Films will release Jeff Lieberman’s notorious LSD horror film Blue Sunshine in a limited edition 4K UHD 3-Disc set.  

At a house party in the countryside, Frannie Scott (Richard Crystal, Fun With Dick And Jane) is singing when he gets a little frisky and tries to kiss a friend’s date. When the friend pulls him off the woman, he unexpectedly yanks the hair off Frannie’s head. This leads to a psychotic outburst from Frannie that turns into fiery mayhem. Frannie chases after partygoer Jerry Zipkin (Zalman King, Red Shoes Diaries) and in a twist of fate, Jerry is suspected as the killer by the investigating police detectives and goes into hiding while he tries to clear his name. 

He soon discovers that Frannie isn’t the only person in the area who has gone bald and turned into a homicidal maniac. Wendy (Ann Cooper, Seems Like Old Times), a divorced mother of two, notices her hair falling out and attributes it to the stress of raising her rambunctious kids. Is she going to end up like the others? She gets no help from her ex-husband (Mark Goddard, Roller Boogie, Lost In Space), who is busy running for Congress.

Eventually Jerry and his friend Alicia (Deborah Winters, Tarantula: Deadly Cargo) link the murderous behavior and baldness to a Stanford University experiment in the mid-60s that involved a version of LSD called Blue Sunshine. Is the hallucinogenic drug responsible for the deadly mayhem all these years later? Who else is a ticking time bomb?   

Director Jeff Lieberman (Squirm, Satan’s Little Helper) elevates the horrors of LSD as presented in government-produced anti-drug films that declared users would suffer genetic damage and violent acid flashbacks. Blue Sunshine features appearances from Robert Walden (Audrey Rose, Lou Grant), Bill Adler (Switchblade Sisters, Van Nuys Blvd.) and Alice Ghostley (Grease, Bewitched). 

The bonus materials for Blue Sunshine include a Blu-ray (1080p), a remastered CD soundtrack, two audio commentaries featuring director Jeff Lieberman, a new introduction to the film by director Jeff Lieberman, an archival 2003 interview with director Jeff Lieberman, a Lieberman on Lieberman video interview, a Channel Z “Fantasy Film Festival” interview with Mick Garris (The Stand) and Jeff Lieberman, the Fantasia Film Festival 4K Premiere Q&A with moderator Michael Gingold and director Jeff Lieberman, anti-drug “scare films” LSD-25 (1967) and LSD Insight or Insanity? (1968), Jeff Lieberman’s first film The Ringer, theatrical trailers, a still gallery, a liner notes booklet by Jeff Lieberman, featuring a chapter on the making of Blue Sunshine from his book Day of the Living Me: Adventures of a Subversive Cult Filmmaker from the Golden Age, and a fold-out poster. 

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