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Rolling Thunder stars William Devane as Major Charles Rane, who comes home from Vietnam after spending seven years in a prisoner of war camp and greets his young son who barely remembers him from before he left.
After his son goes to bed, his wife reveals she’s been with another man, because she didn’t know if he’d ever return. He tells her that he understands because of the situation, she adds that the guy asked her to marry him and he says he doesn’t want to hear any more for that evening.
Things even get so bad that he has to tell his physician, Dr Maxwell (Dabney Coleman), that he can’t sleep since he’s returned home.
At a ceremony to celebrate his release, he’s given a case of silver dollars – one for every day he was in captivity, plus one for good luck, a total of $2,556. Alas, some time after the event some bad guys turn up at his house, injure him, ruin his life and steal the money.
This is the first time I’ve seen Rolling Thunder and it really doesn’t stand the test of time. When bad guys get shot, they don’t just collapse, they throw themselves downstairs or off balconies. Yes, it really shows its age. And, my god, it was dull. I can’t even see why it got an 18-rating. Yes, there were a fair few violent moments but there was nothing on display that was overly gross or 18-worthy.
William Devane is suitably moody in this film, Linda Haynes doesn’t particularly push the boat out, while Tommy Lee Jones is very underused in this film, generally appearing mostly in latter scenes as Charles’ best friend, Johnny Vohden.
Presented in the original 1.85:1 theatrical ratio and in 1080p high definition, the picture starts with a very scratchy print and doesn’t really get much better. It didn’t really warrant a Blu-ray release if this is the best they could come up with.
Audio-wise, the film is presented in Mono DTS-HD Master Audio, or just basically mono. I don’t really know what different DTS mono makes as it doesn’t make a jot to these ears. Dialogue is okay, but gunshots are muffled. Not a demo disc by any means.
The extras are as follows:
- Interview with Linda Haynes (10:28): Bear in mind that almost 35 years have passed since the film was made and time doesn’t always treat us kindly. She talks about her very brief career including filming this movie.
- Audio Commentary: with Co-screenwriter Heywood Gould and Roy Frumkes.
- Original TV Spot (0:34): aka, a TV trailer.
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:06): Presented in 16:9 and looking terrible.
- Original Theatrical Trailer with commentary from Eli Roth (2:21): Part of a ‘Trailers from Hell’ series, with the director Eli Roth talking about why he enjoys the film.
The menus brief black & white clips from the film with some atmospheric music from the film. Chaptering is the usual Optimum embarrassment with just 12 across the 100-minute film, and there’s no subtitles, either.
Rolling Thunder is released tomorrow on Blu-ray/DVD double play.
|
FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
3 4 6 2 |
| OVERALL | 4 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 100 minutes
Year: 1977
Date of release: January 30th 2012
Distributor: Studiocanal
Chapters: 12
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: Mono DTS-HD Master Audio
Languages: English
Subtitles: None
Widescreen: 1.85:1
Disc Format: BD50
Director: John Flynn
Producers: Norman T. Herman
Screenplay: Paul Schrader and Heywood Gould
Music: Barry De Vorzon
Cast:
Major Charles Rane: William Devane
Johnny Vohden: Tommy Lee Jones
Linda Forchet: Linda Haynes
Texan: James Best
Maxwell: Dabney Coleman
Janet: Lisa Blake Richards
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.