‘Rolling Thunder’ Sinks a New Hook into Home Video [4K Review]
The early scripts of Paul Schrader are notable for their focus on rugged loners and violence, often finding a flawed protagonist seeking some form of retribution. The psychology of these characters is deeply explored, revealing troubled histories that have molded the men into what they resemble in the present day. In Rolling Thunder (1977) Schrader wrote one of the first features examining men coming home from the Vietnam War, attempting to resume a life no longer familiar. Schrader has said his original screenplay was more complex than what was shown on screens, after it had filtered through another writer, Heywood Gould, and various producers. What Rolling Thunder became is a no-frills, no-fat, straight-ahead, violent odyssey wherein one man, who lost everything once and had it taken from him again, wages his own war against a battery of low-level scum.
Major Charles Rane (William Devane) returns back to San Antonio, Texas after spending seven years as a POW in Vietnam. Coming home with him is Sgt. John Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones), another former captive. The men are quiet and reserved, especially Vohden, but there is a clear camaraderie from their shared experience. San Antonio welcomes Maj. Rane with a huge rally, awarding him a new Cadillac as well as a case of silver dollar coins, one for each day he spent in captivity. The total amounts to just over $2500.
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Although these gifts and his freedom are cause to celebrate, at home Rane finds his wife has been seeing a new man, and his son, who was 18 months old when he left, is a stranger to his own father. Rane remains collected and cool though it is clear his time in the Hanoi prison had a profound effect. One day a group of men break into his home and demand the silver coins. Rane refuses and in return they mutilate his hand and attack his family, leaving them all for dead. Only Rane isn’t dead, far from it. Armed with a hook for a new hand and his military training he sets out to take revenge.
Director John Flynn doesn’t waste a minute of screen time, introducing us to Maj. Rane during his homecoming but peppering in flashes of his torture at the hands of the Vietnamese. The flashbacks are purposefully brief, showing how Rane endured daily torment and how it hardened him into a changed man. Devane plays Maj. Rane as a man whose emotions have been compartmentalized by his trauma. He’s steely and cool, barely speaking a word. The hell he has been through was such that when his wife says she intends to marry Cliff (Lawrason Driscoll), the local cop she’s been seeing, his only response is that it’s understandable. His detachment from reality combined with the horrors of war make him a formidable foe his enemies vastly underestimate.
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While Devane is the star and he more than capably carries the picture I have always been incredibly impressed by Tommy Lee Jones’ portrayal of Sgt. Vohden. Here is a man who comes home to a world that appears alien to him; the brief glimpses of his life we see are those of a man going through the motions but not being there. He is lost in the fog of war. Vohden was trained to kill and the desire to assume his duty lurks beneath the surface. My favorite moment in the film comes near the climax, when Rane visits Vohden at his family home and tells him he’s found the men who attacked his family. Vohden quietly replies, “I’ll just get my gear”, packs his bag of weapons, and then says, “Let’s go clean ‘em up”. These homegrown yokels hardly understand they’ve provoked men designed to obliterate.
A couple of interesting tidbits for horror fans: at one point George A. Romero was in talks to direct the film before it went to Flynn. Also, keep an eye out for Paul Partain, the wheelchair-bound Franklin in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1973), in a small role as one of Vohden’s family members.
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Rolling Thunder was previously issued on Blu-ray by Scream Factory in 2013, using a transfer that reportedly came from an older U.K. release. For this 4K edition, Scream Factory has created a new 4K image scanned from the 35mm original camera negative. The 1.85:1 2160p Dolby Vision-enabled picture is a healthy step up from the prior release. Colors are vibrant and have a bright pop, along with tight definition and strong detailing in daylight scenes while retaining that beautiful ‘70s veneer. Interiors are a tad rougher, with details getting slightly muddy and softer. Thankfully much of the film is shot in direct or good lighting and the image remains impressive.
An English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual mono track is the sole audio option. Barry De Vorzon’s score is discordant and eerie, utilizing some of the same keyboard sounds he would employ a couple of years later on The Warriors (1979). In the extras, De Vorzon mentions how he purposely kept the scoring to a minimum and in doing so increased its effectiveness. Dialogue comes through clean and balanced. Sound effects have a bit of audible weight to them. The final shootout is a frenzy of gunfire, offering a sonic jolt to the track before the credits begin.
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On the 4K disc, viewers can find a pair of brand-new audio commentary tracks. The first is with screenwriter/novelist Heywood Gould & author/film historian C. Courtney Joyner; the second features filmmakers Jackson Stewart & Francis Galluppi.
Those commentary tracks are also on the included Blu-ray along with a series of new and returning supplements.
“Lean and Mean: The Early Films of John Flynn” (HD, 20:12) is a great piece covering the director’s career, with C. Courtney Joyner sitting down to provide all of the details.
“Coming Home: Scoring Rolling Thunder” (HD, 18:51) is what looks like a Zoom-type interview with composer Barry De Vorzon, who discusses his approach to Flynn’s material.
“The Making of Rolling Thunder” (SD, 21:51) is a legacy piece, featuring then-new interviews with Devane, Jones, Schrader, and Gould about their respective work on the script and film.
“Trailers from Hell: Eli Roth on Rolling Thunder” (SD, 2:31) has the filmmaker commentating on the movie while its trailer plays.
A theatrical trailer (HD, 2:22), TV spot (HD, 0:32), four radio spots (3:11), and a photo gallery (HD, 2:07, 25 images) are also included.
Special Features:
DISC ONE – 4K BLU-RAY
- NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- NEW Audio Commentary With Screenwriter/Novelist Heywood Gould And Author/Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner
- NEW Audio Commentary With Filmmakers Jackson Stewart And Francis Galluppi
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
- Optional English subtitles for the main feature
DISC TWO – BLU-RAY
- NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
- NEW Audio Commentary With Screenwriter/Novelist Heywood Gould And Author/Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner
- NEW Audio Commentary With Filmmakers Jackson Stewart And Francis Galluppi
- NEW “Lean And Mean: The Early Films Of John Flynn” – An Interview With Author/Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner
- NEW “Coming Home To War: Scoring Rolling Thunder” – An Interview With Composer Barry De Vorzon
- “The Making Of Rolling Thunder” – Featuring Interviews With Actors William Devane And Tommy Lee Jones And Writers Paul Schrader And Heywood Gould
- Trailers From Hell – Filmmaker Eli Roth On Rolling Thunder
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spot
- Radio Spots
- Still Gallery
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
- Optional English subtitles for the main feature
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Rolling Thunder
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Special Features
Summary
One of the best lean & mean revenge thrillers ever made Rolling Thunder’s 4K debut is a solid package, with great a/v quality and some fantastic new bonus features to make upgrading for existing owners worth it.
