Rolling Thunder [Double Play - Blu-ray + DVD]

Rolling Thunder is directed by John Flynn and written by Paul Schrader and Heywood Gould. It stars William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes, James Best, Dabney Coleman and Luke Askew. Music is scored by Barry de Vorzon and cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth.

When Major Charles Rane (Devane) returns from being a POW in Vietnam, he finds the world is a different place. His wife has been unfaithful and wants a divorce, his son doesn't know him and not everybody appreciates his service in the war effort. When some sympathetic town citizens hold a ceremony and give him 2,555 silver dollars, it signals the start of violence that takes Rane into a new war......

I'm just gonna sit here.

When Quentin Tarantino proclaimed Rolling Thunder as one of his favourite movies of all time, it was both a blessing and a curse. It's great that this undervalued and under seen gem hit the press notices, even getting a new Blu-ray release in the process, but with Quentin's name comes the millstone of exploitation and cheap flea-pit cinemas showing grubby movies. Nothing wrong with that, many film fans, myself included, enjoy 70s exploitation films and spent time in the afore mentioned sticky carpeted and tobacco perfumed theatres. But Rolling Thunder deserves better than being part of this filmic cultured arc, to have interested new parties seek it out purely with expectation of a revenge driven bloodbath movie.

You learn to love the pain.

John Flynn's movie is one of the finest of all the revenge driven movies out there. It has rich characterisation, thoughtful insight into the pain and tragedy of post war adjustment. The performances of Devane (brilliantly understated) and Jones (haunted) really add a bite to the narrative, turning in sensitive portrayals of men who left their souls in the bowels of some Hanoi hell. Thus when the violence is unleashed in a whirl of shotgun blasts and hook handed carnage, it isn't for gratification, it's an extension of a tortured or guilty psyche. There's genuine realism in the characters during the build up, with director Flynn taking his time to let the plot unfold. From the Rane and Vohden family homes, to Linda Haynes' love interest, reactions ring true without histrionics.

It's your time, boy.

The violence is well orchestrated, especially for the finale played out suitably in a grubby brothel. Rest assured bloodhounds, you are well and truly catered for here as well. It's the perfect blend of exploitation and intelligence, with a good sense of time and place too. There's flaws for sure as some credibility is invariably stretched, there's a whiff of misogyny in the air (though I don't think it is intentional, just ignorance by the writers) and some may find the stereotypes afforded the Mexicans as being unappetising. But flaws be damned, this is a cracker-jack movie, a modern day Western just waiting to be discovered by a new generation of film fans. 8.5/10

Blu-ray print is good, though some scenes come out as being underlit. Extras are sparse unless you only really dig commentaries.

A perfect combination of Taxi Driver & Death Wish. I can't recommend it highly enough.

It's also one of Tarantino's favorite films. A fan of Paul Schrader won't be disappointed.

Blue Collar is another perfect Seventies film to seek out.

For many years, this lost cult classic hasn't even had a dvd release (until now), and all I can say is- FINALLY!

I don't see what people are complaining about, for the price (£8), this is a magnificent release. Ok so it's a little light on extras, but it's hardly Taxi Driver (Paul Schrader abandoned his name from the the screenplay, as he wasn't happy that it didn't live up to Taxi Driver standards, but then again, it's a tough thing for ANY film to live up to Taxi Driver's standards).

Instead what we get is a great little exploitation classic, that builds like a pressure cooker until the big finale.

But there is substance too. Devanes Character as a post Vietnam vet shows how cold and emotionally detached he is by his surroundings. His wife marries his best friend, he doesn't care. A beautiful young blonde has the hots for him, he doesn't care. He gets tortured, doesn't care. Charles Rane seems to be some kind of distant cousin to Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle, except with Travis, he seemed to think about his surroundings too much but was still shook up by the Vietnam war and those negative thoughts lead to a path of psychosis, with Rane, he simply feels completely numb, barely seems to think or care about anything expect a way to express his underlying thoughts of violence, yet both of them have one thing on their mind only- violence and vengeance at the expense of self destruction.

The extras comprise of an interview with Linda Haynes, a poster gallery, a trailer, and a trailer with a commentary by Eli Roth who is a huge fan of the film (including his new boyfriend Tarantino).

For a long lost exploitation classic that has the best sound and transfer you could probably get from the original print that includes a DVD edition (meaning that if you don't own a blu-ray player, you can still watch it on dvd). So if your a fan of this film, and for only £8 on amazon, we should be more than happy with the price and the fact that it's finally arrived.