The Film
Blue Thunder's plot isn't so memorable as the final act, which sees good cop Roy Scheider face off against bad guy Malcolm McDowell over the City of Angels. In fact, the original concept of the film had a rogue cop terrorizing the city with a state-of-the-art helicopter, but fearing that audiences would sympathize with the main character the script was drastically rewritten. Instead Scheider plays the usual officer who does things any way but by the book, and who along with a naïve rookie partner stumble across a terrifying conspiracy involving the "Blue Thunder" helicopter that the two cops are in the process of testing. Said cop, who of course might just be two steps from going over the edge, must turn the tables and save the day - which somehow entitles hime to an aerial battle against F-15s and another combat helicopter over Los Angeles.
The Picture
The 2.40:1 1080p presentation should open the skies for this one. And while many viewers probably first saw it on a small 4:3 TV back in the 80s, this one deserves a big screen to appreciate the intense action sequences. The Blu-ray version puts you in the cockpit for final approach, but besides a nice big picture, everything else is really soft. The colors are a little muted, and the black levels - notably in the night sequences - are somewhat washed out. This is more a problem with the original source material than the transfer, and overall this does look better than the decade old DVD version. OVerall, while a clear improvement, at the end it still has too much of that "vintage" or "retro" look to be a "go to" Blu-ray Disc.
The Sound
The 5.1 Dolby TrueHD sound does a reasonable job of recreating the sounds of the aircraft, and there is good sound separation with the special effects, but even in the heat of battle the results are way too random. As a result, this one hardly comes close to being a reference title for sound either. The sound is decent, and the dialog is clear from the effects, but there isn't anything that could be described as bombastic. As with the video, this is really a problem with the source material. The filmmakers probably never imagined the possibilities, so the result is a film with big open spaces and lots of opportunities for equally big sound, but in the end it is more of a crash and burn.
The Extras
The bonus materials shed some new light onto the making of the fun, and a newly made (which was completed before Scheider passed away) making-of provides some interesting insight. There is also a commentary track with Badham, along with the film's editor and motion control supervisor telling how the sequences were completed. This is interesting, just for the sake that many directors would have a hard time recalling details from a film from last year, let alone from one more than 25 years ago! The rest of the extras are more run of the mill, but it is interesting to compare the 1983 promotional featurette with the newly made one.
Final Thoughts
Back in 1983 this escapist film was something to be seen, simply because it required real aircraft and very realistic miniatures to pull it off. Today, with CGI special effects, this would hardly be worthy of an episode of a new version of "Air Wolf" (let's just hope they never remake that one). Otherwise, it is a dated film, with barely any semblance of a plot and with so many clichéd characters that it is hard to keep them straight. But at least the air combat is still worth a peek.
Where to Buy
Product Details
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