Blue Sky

PG-13

Released Sep 16, 1994

1h 41m

Drama

Romance

List

80%

25 Reviews

Tomatometer

58%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In the late 1950s, the U.S. Army assigns nuclear engineer Hank Marshall (Tommy Lee Jones) to an isolated weapons testing facility in Alabama. Hank causes waves with his superior officers due to his stance against the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. Marshall's wife, Carly (Jessica Lange), further aggravates the situation because of her emotional instability and flirtatious nature. The move to Alabama sends her into the arms of base commander Vince Johnson (Powers Boothe).

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Mar 20

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Rent Blue Sky on Fandango at Home, or buy it on Fandango at Home.

Jerod S

Lange is a freak of nature playing this bipolar military wife. But the film itself can't decide if the conflict is Lange herself or nuclear testing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/13/24

Full Review

J M

Lange's Best Actress win for this movie has not aged well for many of the movie reviewers and Oscar pundits I read and listen to regularly. It doesn't help that 1994 is arguably one of the worst years for actresses in recent history. That being said, I honestly find Lange pretty mesmerizing and hypnotically watchable here - she IS the movie. No one plays borderline mentally unstable and carnally sexual characters better than Lange, and if nothing else, this film touches on all her strengths as an actress. The film surrounding her is very good if not great, but it frankly dives whenever Lange is offscreen. Jones is always a reliable actor, but he feels a little on automatic pilot here. There are some nice supporting turns, including Carrie Snodgress as Boothe's wife, but Hurricane Jessica pretty much blows through this movie leaving no stone unturned. And I personally have no problem with her Best Actress victory. Interestingly, this film was made around four years before its release but remained on the shelf indefinitely due to financial problems with its studio. So, in many ways, it's a miracle that this film saw the light of day let alone became an Oscar winner. - Jeff Marshall, Movie Blogger (Facebook)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/24

Full Review

Alec B

I suppose Lange and Jones are good buy the movie itself leaves a lot to be desired. Between all the melodrama and the lukewarm nuclear testing B-plot there's very little here that's remotely interesting.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/14/23

Full Review

Russ G

Just incredible, in the actual sense of "not able to be believed." Lange's married for almost two decades to a career military officer and has no clue about the effect of her behavior on his career? His teen daughter has, again, NO CLUE about the consequences of pulling the pin on a HAND GRENADE? There are also several simple movie-making mistakes here such as ambiguity of the time frame; presumably there's a nuclear above-ground TEST BAN in effect but all the vehicles are late to mid 1950's models when the test ban wasn't signed until the Kennedy Administration in the early 1960's. That's just sloppy since if you can find a 1956 Chevy station wagon, you can find a 1961 Ford somewhere, too. This movie just doesn't know if it wants to be a soft core porno or a serious commentary on "Nukes Bad and Military is Corrupt." We have the contrived "I Screwed My Husband Over But At Least I'm Going to Save Humanity!" ending.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/20/22

Full Review

brian m

Loved this movie! Jessica Lange is at her best playing a complicated and challenging military housewife! I can see why she won the Avademy Award for best actress.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Corey B

Remember Jessica Lange in King Kong? Where she played that irritating ditzy blonde? She's playing the same role here, but now she has a family to irritate instead of an audience.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/13/22

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Tony Richardson

Director

Jessica Lange

Carly Marshall

Tommy Lee Jones

Hank Marshall

Powers Boothe

Vince Johnson

Carrie Snodgress

Vera Johnson

Amy Locane

Alex Marshall

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

74%

77%

William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet

TRAILER

for William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet

58%

76%

Untamed Heart

32%

45%

At First Sight

72%

90%

Dirty Dancing

TRAILER

for Dirty Dancing

63%

69%

Crazy/Beautiful

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

David Ansen

Newsweek

The melodrama can be forgiven. What lingers in the mind is Richardson's hard-won, grown-up humanism.

Feb 22, 2018

Full Review

Ryan Gilbey

Independent on Sunday

Watching Lange and Jones together is like being caught in sheet lightning.

Dec 13, 2017

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Mal Vincent

The Virginian-Pilot

When it sticks to the family and to Lange's showy and fierce performance, it is something to watch.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 2, 2022

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Indeed, it is Lange's performance that still holds this film together... Presented as a ferocious feline, Lange excels here at the small tics hinting at the madness always lurking below the surface.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 27, 2020

Full Review

Malcolm Johnson

Hartford Courant

Blue Sky amounts to a potent audition for [Lange] role as Tennessee Williams' mad, delicate Southern gentlewoman.

May 23, 2018

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

In the late 1950s, the U.S. Army assigns nuclear engineer Hank Marshall (Tommy Lee Jones) to an isolated weapons testing facility in Alabama. Hank causes waves with his superior officers due to his stance against the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. Marshall's wife, Carly (Jessica Lange), further aggravates the situation because of her emotional instability and flirtatious nature. The move to Alabama sends her into the arms of base commander Vince Johnson (Powers Boothe).

Director: Tony Richardson
Screenwriter: Rama Laurie Stagner, Arlene Sarner, Jerry Leichtling
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Production Co: Orion Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 16, 1994, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.5M
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

Most Popular at Home Now