Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic was first shown to me as a scare film in 1993. For a nearly 20 year old movie, it was typical for the kind of films that my middle school would chose to show in a Health or similar style class. My 12 year old self was more impressed that I had missed a movie starring Luke Skywalker and The Exorcist girl. Plus, J.R. Ewing played Devil Girl’s dad and she gets wasted in it? When did Health class get so cool?
Linda Blair was having difficulty finding that next great landing spot after her time with Pazuzu came to pass. Shortly before tackling the Exorcist II, Blair starred in a TV film by legendary director Richard Donner. What’s crazy is that this is the film that Donner did before landing The Omen. Hell, Mark Hamill worked on this right before doing Star Wars. History can be insane and that’s why I love it when certain films work like a time capsule.
What makes the film super odd is that it’s apparent the film came and went early in 1975. Then, it got a bigger release/double dip in 1977 to capitalize on Donner and Hamill’s recent hits. But, that still didn’t change how Sarah T. focuses on kids starting AA at an early age even for the 1970s. I found the use of the little drunk boy to hammer Sarah T. into submission to be a bit much, the dead horse was perfectly fine. That’s right, kids. This TV-movie builds to a drunk girl running a horse into a car and then having the police shoot it slightly off camera.
Friendship IS magic.
How does Sarah T. look and sound?
When covering a film of this age and background, I temper my expectations. However, Universal prepped a brand new 2K scan of the film for Shout Factory. While films of this era were often shot on film for TV, how good is it expected to look? I tip my hat to Shout for bringing a film like this firmly into the HD era.
Sarah T. has some special features.
- NEW 2K Scan Of The Original Film Elements
- NEW Linda B. On Sarah T. – An Interview With Linda Blair
- NEW Richard D. And David L. – Portrait Of A TV Movie – An Interview With Director Richard Donner And Producer David Levinson
- Still Gallery
When can I buy Sarah T.?
Sarah T. hits Blu-ray on January 29th, 2019. Remember to click the links on the side of the page to purchase the reviewed material through our Amazon links. Each purchase helps raise the funds that keeps this site weird and off Patreon. Don’t make us e-beg!
Screenshots that don’t require Patreon payments
[…] Summer is the film that Mark Hamill did immediately after A New Hope. It’s no Sarah T, but what […]