MGM | 1991 | 130 mins. | R
As a frequent moviegoer, I was thrilled when Thelma & Louise showed up at my local multiplex in 1991. After years of waiting, there was finally an honest-to-goodness female buddy picture that worked. With a solid script by first-timer Callie Khouri, fine star performances from Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, and director Ridley Scott in top form, the film created all sorts of controversy while impressing at the box office and various award shows.
Neither waitress Louise (Sarandon) nor goofy housewife Thelma (Davis) is particularly happy with life. Louise is saddled with a difficult boyfriend, Jimmy (Michael Madsen), and Thelma is married to a first class jerk, Darryl (Christopher McDonald). At Louise’ urging, the two decide to spend the weekend at a friend’s mountain cabin. Along the way, they stop at a country bar, where Thelma lets a goonish fellow named Harland Puckett (Timothy Carhart) get her drunk. When he tries to rape her in the parking lot, Louise intervenes with a pistol and then kills him. Suddenly, their little weekend getaway has taken a very dark turn.
Frightened, the two ladies run away. Louise resolves to head to Mexico until the situation cools off. She contacts Jimmy and asks him to send her some money in Oklahoma. Believing their relationship might be in trouble, Jimmy turns up in Oklahoma, but Louise doesn’t want to get him involved in their legal troubles. Meanwhile, Thelma spends the night with a sexy, young hitchhiker (Brad Pitt), who ends up stealing Louise’s money.
In an effort to make things right, Thelma decides to rob a store. From there, the two women are considered armed and dangerous. With their chances of things ‘blowing over’ a distant memory, the chase is officially on. Thelma and Louise are fugitives, Arkansas detective Hal Slocumb (Harvey Keitel) and the FBI are hot on their trail. The once goofy Thelma has been replaced a surprisingly strong one, and we begin to learn some dark secrets from Louise’s past.
What makes Thelma & Louise such a great film is the ability to watch the evolution of the characters. We witness them transform from small town girls to dangerous women who embrace an uninhibited, dangerous lifestyle. Even with ten cop cars in pursuit and the Grand Canyon looming, Thelma and Louise feel more alive than they’ve ever been. However, it’s not hard to see why—for the first time in their lives—they get to determine their own fate. Both Davis and Sarandon gave one of the best performances of their careers here, and the two have undeniable chemistry. Along the way, solid performances from the supporting cast–Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Brad Pitt, and Timothy Carhart—only adds to the impressiveness of the film.
The transfer print utilized is clean and clear. Color accuracy here is solid, with both saturated hues and skin tones coming through excellently, with no smearing or noise. Detail quality is excellent, with sharpness abounding in every sequence. There are a few examples of crush in a handful of darker sequences, and grain handling isn’t quite as consistent as one might like, but it looks good.
The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix presents the film as cleanly and impressively as it ever has for the home. Dynamic range is fine, but it’s nothing to write home about. The score is nicely spread out with some bleeds to the surrounds, but it often drowns out dialogue in rowdier sequences. The rears don’t come alive much, except for some loud gunshot and crash echoes, which can be distracting. It’s a solid preservation of a simple, effective mix.
A French DTS 5.1 mix is included, as is a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 track and English, French and Spanish subtitles.
We get the following special features:
Two screen-specific audio commentaries, both excellent. Owners of the previous DVD will recognize the Ridley Scott track. From his first recollections of the script to various on set ad libs to the controversial ending, Scott delivers the goods. And while the other commentary by screenwriter Callie Khouri and stars Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon is a bit meandering in spots – the trio frequently veers off into dull and vague production goofs – this track really gets exciting in the second half. The intense controversy surrounding the film surprised everyone, and when we get into some heavy discussion on the film’s intended themes things really get interesting. Hardcore fans may be surprised, even angered by Khouri’s take on what her goal with the script was.
Also familiar from the film’s last DVD release is its alternate ending. Ridley Scott offers optional commentary. Also included are no fewer than sixteen scene extensions. There are no actual full scenes that were cut; rather, these are an assemblage of bits of dialogue that were snipped, here presented as full scenes with footage that also appeared in the final cut.
Then we get a documentary, Thelma & Louise: The Last Journey, broken into three parts: “Conception & Casting,” “Production & Performance,” and “Reaction & Resonance.” Very nicely shot and well-edited with plenty of stills and production footage, producer Charlie de Lauzirikia got all the principals to return and give new interviews: Scott, Khouri, producer Mimi Polk Gitlin, composer Hans Zimmer, Davis and Sarandon, and actors Brad Pitt, Michael Madsen, Jason Beghe, and Stephen Tobolowsky.
Also included for completists is the film’s original 1991 theatrical press kit, which runs six minutes and is fluffy as always. Scott, Davis and Sarandon contribute vintage interviews (which are interesting, as they reveal a more tempered view of the film’s themes than seem apparent on the commentaries), and in a nice touch, you can turn the cheesy narration on or off.
Also included is a nearly 5 minute multi-angle storyboard comparison of the “Final Chase” sequence. Choose between full screen storyboards by Sherman Labby or a storyboard-to-screen comparison. Hans Zimmer’s score is isolated as accompaniment. Rounding out this impressive package is the music video for “Part of Me, Part of You” by Glenn Frey, plus the film’s theatrical trailer, and three TV spots.
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