The Hot Spot is a dusty, sweaty modern noir that updates the pulp formula of twists and turns with an intensity to match director Dennis Hopper’s earlier film roles.
Harry, a drifter (Don Johnson, Miami Vice) rolls into town and talks his way into a job at a car dealership where he becomes caught between two beautiful women, the boss’s conniving wife Dolly (Virginia Madsen, Candyman) and Gloria (Jennifer Connelly, Requiem for a Dream) a naive young accountant whose life is complicated by blackmail. When Harry plans to rob the local bank, he becomes enmeshed in a lethal web of lust, greed and extortion, whose only escape is murder.
Directed by Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider, Out of the Blue) with verve, the stellar cast are supported by William Sadler (The Shawshank Redemption), Charles Martin Smith (The Untouchables) and Jack Nance (Eraserhead) accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack featuring Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker, Taj Mahal and original music by Jack Nitzsche.
Extras
2K restoration by Kino Lorber, overseen and approved by cinematographer Ueli Steiger
Uncompressed mono 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)
Interviews with stars Virginia Madsen (2021, 7 mins) and William Sadler (2021, 7 mins)
Nick Dawson on Dennis Hopper and The Hot Spot, an interview with the editor of Dennis Hopper: Interviews (2023)
Duane Swierczynski on Charles Williams’ source novel, the crime writer and expert looks at the adaptation and provides a background of the author (2023)
Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and new artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition booklet featuring new 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
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings