Verdict
Summary
Overlong at 130 minutes, but as pulpy and sexy as any neo noir film ever made, The Hot Spot has a distinct Texas fried seasoning, thanks to Dennis Hopper’s playful direction. It’s based on a book called “Hell Hath No Fury,” written in 1955 by hardboiled author Charles Williams. It’s got a high amount of sleaze, and Johnson and especially Madsen who chews the film up with her femme fatale role, seem to be having fun in the picture. Though previously released by Shout Factory and Kino Lorber in standard Blu-ray formats, Radiance has gone the extra step with their premium 4K Ultra HD disc release that outshines them all. The new 4K restoration is up to the typically very high standards for Radiance, and limited to 10,000 copies, this one comes with bonus features that help make the double (or triple) dip worthwhile.
Plot:
A drifter sees an opportunity for scoring some cash in a small town where two beautiful women get mixed up in his plans.
Review:
Harry Madox (Don Johnson, in his early 40’s, playing mid-30’s) drifts into a nothing little Texas town during the heat of summer and promptly secures for himself a gig as a used car salesman when he sells a car to a guy in a car lot he just ambles into. With a job and his eye on Gloria, the gorgeous girl (Jennifer Connelly) working in the finance office of the dealership, Madox quietly observes that the entire town flocks to witness firefighters put out a blaze in town … even the sleazy bank manager (Jack Nance), who abandons his post, leaving the bank completely unattended. Madox has options: There’s Gloria, who’s unattached, but comes with complications with a blackmailer (William Sadler, totally scuzzy) who has dirty pictures of her, there’s Dolly (Virginia Madsen), who’s his boss’s horny wife who likes to play mind games and doesn’t hide the fact that she wants to unzip his fly, and there’s that bank just sitting there, plum for the picking if he can stage another big fire. There’s a hot spot in town, and it’s just waiting to be ignited.
Overlong at 130 minutes, but as pulpy and sexy as any neo noir film ever made, The Hot Spot has a distinct Texas fried seasoning, thanks to Dennis Hopper’s playful direction. It’s based on a book called “Hell Hath No Fury,” written in 1955 by hardboiled author Charles Williams. It’s got a high amount of sleaze, and Johnson and especially Madsen who chews the film up with her femme fatale role, seem to be having fun in the picture. The film is also notable for featuring Connelly in her first (very impressive) nude scene, and Madsen has some nude scenes as well for those keeping track. Hopper also did Backtrack (a.k.a. Catchfire), another erotic thriller, the same year.
Though previously released by Shout Factory and Kino Lorber in standard Blu-ray formats, Radiance has gone the extra step with their premium 4K Ultra HD disc release that outshines them all. The new 4K restoration is up to the typically very high standards for Radiance, and limited to 10,000 copies, this one comes with bonus features that help make the double (or triple) dip worthwhile.
Bonus Materials
- 4K restoration from the original negative, presented in HDR / Dolby Vision, overseen and approved by cinematographer Ueli Steiger
- 4K UHD and Blu-ray presentation of the feature
- Uncompressed stereo PCM audio
- Archival interview with Dennis Hopper, who discusses The Hot Spot and features footage of John Lee Hooker and images from the set (1991, 4 mins)
- Interviews with stars Virginia Madsen (2021, 7 mins) and William Sadler (2021, 6 mins)
- Nick Dawson on Dennis Hopper and The Hot Spot, an interview with the editor of Dennis Hopper: Interviews (2023, 20 mins)
- Duane Swierczynski on Charles Williams’ source novel, the crime writer and expert looks at the adaptation and provides a background of the author (2023, 25 mins)
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and new artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring writing by critics Elena Lazic on the film, Leslie Byron Pitt on the erotic thriller genre and the film’s place within it, and an archival piece on the film featuring an interview with Hopper by RJ Smith
