Review of Blue Thunder

Introduction

Can it really be 17 years since Blue Thunder came out at the cinema? EEK!

This movie featuring Roy Scheider and Malcolm McDowell soaring above the skies of LA in a highly modified helicopter spawned games and a TV series. In a time when helicopters became trendy, an imitator, Airwolf, was born and the Blue Thunder series could not compete with Hawk, Santini and that theme tune...(note to Universal - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE release Airwolf on DVD!)

Video

The video is anamorphic widescreen at 2.35:1 - and in general is crisp throughout although the film does show its age in places. There are no apparent compression problems despite a large portion of the film being shot at night.

Visually, the film features a fantastic chase sequence though the streets (yes streets) of LA, comprising various helicopters and 2 F16 fighers. This chase is still impressive and entertaining today - mainly as it`s not something seen in films very often!

Other scenes of note include the naked woman doing her yoga and the initial demonstration of the helicopter`s firepower.

Audio

Although promoted as Dolby Digital 5.1, this sounded very much like Dolby Pro-Logic to me as I was unable to distinguish any difference between the right and left rear channel. The LFE channel was fairly active but given that the film was made in 1982 - before serious use was made of surround sound - demo scenes are unlikely.

This effectively leads to action mainly centered on the front stereo pair, with the rears kicking into life for the occasional flypast (particularly of F16s). There`s none of the fantastic helicopter sounds from Enemy of the State here and very little in the way of incidental effects. There are also some irritaing moments when a helicopter flys over you but there is no rear-channel effect.

With a serious remix, the chase sequence could be easily be a Dolby Digital demo scene - it has all the required elements - helicopters, missiles, jets, machine guns, flying under bridges plus a car chase on the ground going on at the same time.

Having said the above, the dialogue is clear throughout and the sound is more of a missed opportunity rather than a problem.

Features

"Extras" here only consist of a trailer, scene selection and talent files.

Once again, an opportunity is lost for some interesting extras - a documentary on the helicopters in use by the police today for example or a documentary on the making of the helicopter itself which started life as a bog-standard machine and was custom built and flight certified for the film.

Conclusion

Overall, I`ve seen Blue Thunder a number of times, most recently when a friend got it on laserdisc about three years ago. I must admit to enjoying it when watching it again this evening, but it is beginning to look dated in places.

Whilst obviously deliberately annoying, Malcom McDowell`s character is now irrating me so much having seen the film a few times, that I nearly but my boot through the television when watching this film tonight. If anyone ever says "catch you later" to me whilst making a gun shape with their hand...

The first part of the film is fairly mundane and sets the scene well but is surpassed by the second half which basically comprises a helicopter/F16 chase. Unlike Godzilla`s CGI helicopter chase through a city, this is the real thing (well, the helicopters are and the F16s are not) and looks so much better because of it - this sequence stands up well to age because it is real. It`s a shame the sound here couldn`t have been re-done as it really could have been someting special.

Given the good video quality, average sound and poor extras, this release would probably be better value at a budget price point - as much as I enjoyed watching it - I`m not sure if I would pay full price for it. Anybody who already owns a copy of Blue Thunder on laserdisc or VHS has little to entice them to buy the DVD.