Rolling Thunder (1977)

This is a motion picture that deals with the effects that war has on a person, here specifically it is focusing on the Vietnam War. William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones star as Vietnam vets that return home to Texas and have things happen to them that require doling out some personal vengeance. It was written by Taxi Driver writer Paul Schrader from an original story, and “this film is more explicit in its post-Vietnam malaise than” his earlier script [1]. There is some very serious subject matter covered here; including the alienation of war vets, PTSD, a violent America, violent revenge, and brotherhood and loyalty.

Devane and Jones are both excellent in their roles, with Devane most likely having the best performance of his career. His character goes through so much and he makes it all so believable. This was one of Jones first major film performances and he delivers, showing subtle pain at moments and making us believe how he feels for his friend played by Devane. The movie was directed by John Flynn, who was a somewhat underrated filmmaker who also directed Defiance, The Outfit, Best Seller, and Lock Up.

It is both powerful and disturbing and features many strong scenes, with some extremely violent moments. The overall final sequence is very intense and one to remember, bearing similarities to a western shoot out. The whole film feels like a modern western tale, it helps that it takes place in dusty Texas.

The shoot took place over 31 days in San Antonio, Texas. The producer told them to go all with certain scenes of violence. When they submitted it to be rated, they expected it to get cut. But instead, the MPAA gave it an R rating and “passed uncut one of the most violent movies in film history” [2]. The picture was owned by Fox and they “wanted to cut out all [of] the violence out, so they got American International Pictures to purchase it and they released it virtually untouched [2].

It didn’t do quite well at the box office because of the dark and violent nature of the story, but it got some positive reviews and became a cult favorite. Quentin Tarantino is a fan of the film, naming his distribution company after it and listing it in his top twenty five films [1]. It has been released on Blu-ray by Shout! Factory in the U.S.

This is a must see for fans of revenge dramas, modern western style tales, or fans of the cast and crew.

 

Works Cited

[1]	M. P. Nochimson, A Companion to Wong Kar-wai, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
[2]	"wayback machine," wayback machine, 14 4 2016. [Online]. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20150216145445/http://www.focorevistadecinema.com.br/FOCO2/chartrand-johneng.htm. [Accessed 4 4 2016].