Thelma & Louise, 20th Anniversary, Blu-ray (1991/2011)
Starring Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Brad Pitt, Harvey Keitel
Director: Ridley Scott
Studio: MGM/Fox [2/8/11]
Video: 2.35:1 anamorphic/enhanced 1080p HD color
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1, French DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Extras: Audio commentary by director; Audio commentary by Sarandon, Davis, and writer Cellie Khouri; “Thelma & Louise: The Last Journey” – featurette; Original theatrical featurette; Extended ending; Deleted & extended scenes; Multi-angle storyboards on The Final Chase; “Part of You, Part of Music” – music video by Glenn Frey
Length: 129 minutes
Rating: *****
The often heartbreaking chick flick road movie sees its first Blu-ray appearance here two decades after the adventurous twosome first hit the big screens. The screenplay won an Oscar for Khouri. I had forgotten what a controversy it stirred up with the general public, but the featurette/documentary in the extras goes into that. The director expresses surprise at how many women found the film exhilarating, empowering and really loved it even though the twosome have everything against them and die in the end.
The two friends are just trying to get away for a couple days to use a free vacation home owned by a co-worker, and to have some time away from their respective boyfriend and husband. However, they become accidental outlaws after a tragic happening in the parking lot of a bar where they stop. They become involved in a string of crimes as they try to abscond to Mexico. A holdup of a grocery is precipitated by the two losing all the money Louise had taken out of the bank. It is stolen by the hot young stud played by Brad Pitt in his first movie role. Harvey Keitel is a kind detective who pieces together what has happened and wants to help the two women as the law closes in on them, but is out-gunned by the FBI who come into the case in force when the two cross state lines.
“The Last Journey” documentary is well worth watching, perhaps before viewing the film again if you’ve seen it before. But it is strangely cropped off on the right side to 4:3 aspect ratio. The southwestern landscapes are beautifully filmed by Scott and his cinematographer and perfect for the super-widescreen color treatment. The scenes at the end were shot at Moab, Utah, which had not been used for a movie location since Howard Hawk’s films with John Wayne. The transfer to Blu-ray is gorgeous in the both the image and sound areas. The colors are vivid and the grain of the original film is not annoying in any way. The soundtrack music is not what one usually gets from German filmscore creator Hans Zimmer – bluesy, out-in-the-sticks-sounding electric guitar and some country tunes. Sound quality is definitely superior – cleaner and more detailed – than that on the DVD version.
— John Sunier
