Thelma and Louise are on the lamb because they shot a man (who very much deserved it). Living life to the fullest and having a sense that some time down the road they’re going to be caught, the duo ride like hell in a ’66 Thunderbird, while raising hell along the way.
If you have never seen Thelma & Louise it’s something you should experience. At the height of Suzanne Sarandon’s beauty, as well as Geena Davis’, the unexpected duo put together a powerful performance that pretty much became the flagship film for the powerful female character.
I don’t mention the ‘beauty’ part of the actresses just to sound funny (poor attempt even if it had been an attempt), but rather they truly were really beautiful women at the time and that played a huge role in the story. You have these two very gorgeous women who are being treated like objects in their lives. When pushed too far, and horribly abused, the beauty becomes the beast and the tables are quickly turned. If Ridley Scott had not had beautiful women the transition from ‘pretty woman’ weak role would not have as dramatic when push came to shove and the ladies had to get their hands dirty. When you see the transition happen you’re going to be like, “Wow, wouldn’t want to mess with them.” That’s what Scott seemed to have been pushing for in this film, but at the same time he still wanted you to see these two individuals for what they were, women.
The film personifies the moment where women starting breaking free from their stereotypical bonds that the 80s had established. No more servants, no more ‘nice pieces of ass’. The movie pushed the idea that women were just as dangerous as men and you shouldn’t think any other way. It also pointed out that women are capable of anything and will push back when shoved. As a male watching this film I felt like this was a necessity for that particularly time period. In 1991 the world was changing. Sure it wasn’t the 70s where women were burning their bras or the 1920s where women got together for the right to vote, but there was a strong, silent presence that began to grow where women broke free of the housewife shell and did what they wanted. Thelma & Louise to an extent defined that movement and left the consequences and aftermath as something the audience had to guess. Thus, the wonderful ending.
Anyway, this is an excellent film that might seem a bit too preachy for people of this day/age that have never seen it. Think about the decade and think about the reasoning for it all and you’ll understand.
With all of this said, the moments in the film are incredibly enhanced with the transfer to Blu-ray. Does everything look good in HD? No, sometimes studios drop the ball on the transfer. Does Thelma & Louise look good? Hells to the yeah. After 20 years it doesn’t look a day older than one thanks to the carefully transferred look. Seeing this in 1080p, mostly because the film does feature some well-lit scenes and some gorgeous outdoors shooting. Anytime the sun is shining and you have some colorful reds, yellows and blues you’re in for a visual treat. Only rivaling that is the 5.1 DTS-HD transfer. Any action film, especially one that involves chases, makes it all worthwhile when listening to it in 5.1.
So are there any downers about this release? Yes, the special features. For such a powerful film it seems like they short-changed the extras. You get some great commentary from the directors and actors, plus you get a fantastic set of featurettes, but after that you only get an extended ending (you’ll have to see this one) deleted scenes and multi-angle storyboards. For a movie that is being celebrated after 20 years it just seems like there should be more. I want HD features galore, maybe some outtakes; something that makes it seem less like a re-release and more like a collector’s edition. For example, Alien Anthology was gorgeous and worth the high price asked, despite the suckage of the two final movies. It was honored properly in nearly every way. Thelma & Louise is certainly a deeper film to the movie community. I think the ending is even in the top 10 endings of all time. With that said, it should be honored a little bit more with better features. Are they bad features? No. Are they great? No. They are just somewhere in the middle.