Review of Thelma & Louise (Special Edition)

Introduction

It started as just a weekend away in a cabin for two, Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon). Things take a turn for the worse when they take a pitstop at a bar and get tangled with one of the locals. The local ends up getting shot by Louise in self defence and now they`re on the run. They`re victims of circumstance and things don`t go their way. Before you know it, the cops and the FBI are on their trail and won`t give up. Neither it seems will Thelma and Louise as they journey to Mexico. Brad Pitt makes one of his earliest film appearances here as "J.D.", and connives his way into Thelma`s heart while making off with their money. The girls are now getting more desperate and end up doing whatever they can to stay ahead of the police.

Harvey Keital plays one of the negotiating cops and tries to talk them into giving themselves up right up to the climactic scene.

Video

Presented with a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer, Thelma & Louise does look good. Some of the earlier scenes however could have been improved upon, but it does then settle down. The photography is simply breathtaking, the locations and the feeling it instills just adds something different to the film that makes it standout. A load better than the SE laserdisc with not a boring frame in sight.

Audio

This features a remixed 5.1 DD soundtrack which doesn`t sound too bad at all. There`s quite a bit of music here in the film and it all sounds punchy and dynamic with crystal clear dialogue. The surrounds do get to do some work though not a lot.

Features

There are a good selection of extras on this disc, and thankfully it`s all on the one DVD. First up are the two audio commentaries which I think are superb to listen to. If you like this film, you`re going to enjoy the commentaries too. The first with Scott seems to have been recorded quite a while ago as he talks about G.I. Jane as being his recent movie. Apart from this though it`s good, and so is the track with Sarandon, Davis and Khouri. Very entertaining and full of anecdotes.

There`s an hour long documentary called, `The Last Journey`, which is a very well produced piece. A decent extra for a change which has interviews with more of the cast with some very amusing stories. Next up are the eight deleted scenes which are interesting to watch the first time around but these don`t have any commentary so you`re left to ponder on it yourself. It adds a different dimension to the story so it`s worth seeing at least once.

The last few extras aren`t of particular interest being the standard EPK fodder. These cover the original EPK (read fluff), trailers and TV spots and a photo gallery.

Conclusion

Let`s get one thing straight. This film ain`t no `chick flick` (how I detest that term!). It features Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in two strong female leads as Thelma and Louise. This film is more about the self discovery of the two women as they journey together getting out of town and escaping their ordinary and seemingly dull lives, than a story of feminism. And because of this, this is why I think it does appeal to both genders. I know I`ve enjoyed watching this film many times. The lead and support performances capture the spirit so well with well written dialogue too.

This film is seminal Ridley Scott with not a dull frame anywhere in its 2 hour runtime. He directs the film adding great humour to the story, which otherwise would have been quite different had its writer, Callie Khourie, directed it herself. The film editing is just right with fine pacing throughout. It`s a well balanced story and very entertaining.

Hans Zimmer`s wonderful and powerful sounding opening score tracing over the desert in addition to the the soundtrack lends itself well to a visually rich film. I liked a lot of the music in the film and it seemed well suited.

I loved watching my laserdisc all those years ago and welcomed the move to DVD where this film simply shines with the addition of the extras. The commentaries are a boon as is the The Last Journey documentary. I don`t have anything negative to say about this package, MGM have put together another fine DVD with good extras. This is just a good solid film all the way through with top notch performances extracting the most from Callie Khouri`s well observed script.

Heartily recommended.