Read my review of THELMA & LOUISE
MGM's 20th anniversary release of THELMA & LOUISE is simply gorgeous looking. Part of what makes Ridley Scott's outlaw classic so good is the rustic painterly cinematography. The deep color palette is captured wonderfully. I so clearly remember watching the film back in the day on VHS and thinking, "this film is too dark and murky looking." Even compared to the DVD, the picture quality is a big step up. Now we get to see in our homes what the filmmakers intended. The picture is rich with texture, balance and detail, while retaining its film quality. I'm not a die-hard "film" purist, but if all films shot on film where like this one I'd say digital has a long way to go. When it comes to digital compression problems, you have to be looking for them.
The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track represents the film well. This is a dialogue-focused film and the lines are clear throughout. The more bombastic moments, such as the tanker truck explosion and the final chase, are spread across the soundscape well. The back speakers are predominantly used for the classic score from Hans Zimmer, but for crowd scenes, they create an immersive quality that puts the viewer in the room.
While the special features are nice, there isn't anything that wasn't on DVD before. Scott provides an audio commentary where he mentions his upcoming film G.I. JANE. His commentary goes into his process as a filmmaker and how he approaches casting and the look of the film. He does go off on tangents where one wonders if they're listening to the BLADE RUNNER commentary, but otherwise it's a solid feature. The commentary from stars Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and writer Callie Khouri is more laidback and antidotal. The actresses can even find things to laugh about in the most harrowing moments.
The hour-long "Thelma & Louise: The Last Journey" is a comprehensive look at how the project came to be through its completion. It talks with all the major players in the film. It's fun and informative for fans, because it gives good insight into what went into the most memorable scenes and how some of the great moments came from serendipity. The original theatrical featurette is a joke in comparison. The disc even gives viewers an option to watch the under six-minute making of doc with or without the cheesy canned voice over.
As for deleted or alternative scenes, this disc is packed with them. Forty minutes worth. Mainly they're made up of alternative takes or a fuller version where pieces of dialogue were cut out. One full sequence that was great to see was a scene involving Harvey Keitel's Hal and his wife discussing whether they could shoot someone. It's surprising to see which future Oscar-nominated actress was cut from the film. Separately, the disc has an extended version of the final scene with the option of hearing Scott run down the difference and why the changes were made. The changes aren't huge, but they really do make a huge impact.
Additionally, there are multi-angle storyboards of the final chase, a music video for Glenn Frey's "Part of You, Part of Me," trailers and TV spots.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
