The
300 Spartans (1962/Fox
Blu-ray)/Thunderbolt &
Lightfoot (1974/United
Artists/MGM/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)
Picture:
B/B+ Sound: B/B- Extras: C-/B Films: B-/B
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Thunderbolt
& Lightfoot
Blu-ray is limited to 3.000 copies, issued as a limited edition is
now only available from our friends at Twilight Time and can be
ordered from the link below.
Here
are two exceptional films that happens to also make exceptional use
of the widescreen scope format...
Rudolph
Mate's The
300 Spartans
(1962) is the precursor to the two 300
films (and counting?) Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures has had big box
office success with, but tends to be far more realistic and is up
there with the best of the original cycle of these films that include
Kubrick's Spartacus
(1960). We first reviewed the film on DVD at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1164/300+Spartans+(Fox+DVD
A
fine upgrade to the DVD, the film is a must-see for fans of those
films and current TV hit equivalents like Games
Of Thrones,
Rome
and the like. Deserving serious rediscovery, TV
Spots and a Trailer are the only extras.
Then
we have Michael Cimino's Thunderbolt
& Lightfoot
(1974), one of the remaining Clint Eastwood films not to hit Blu-ray
until now, though the catch is that it is a limited edtion Blu-ray,
so only 3,000 copies are being pressed and they are already selling
high. Cimino had co-written the underrated Douglas Trumbull sci-fi
thriller Silent
Running
(1972, reviewed elsewhere on this site) and Eastwood was enough of a
fan to give this film project to him as his directorial debut as he
was trying to court a relationship with United Artists for his
Malpaso Company. This combination of heist film, road trip film,
comedy and buddy picture that holds up very well, showed Cimino as a
major directing talent and though Eastwood (like De Palma would be on
Carrie
in 1976) was not happy with UA on how they handled the film, it was a
critical success if not the blockbuster it should have been.
Eastwood
(in one of his best-ever films) first shows up (intentionally
amusingly) as a priest preaching the word of the Lord when a hitman
ends the mass early and chases him down to kill him, but a young,
crazy & wild guy who has just stolen a flashy Trans-Am (Jeff
Bridges, rightly nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award)
saves him at the last moment. We find out he calls himself Lightfoot
(this is discussed in the make-up of his character and energy of his
sexuality, but it is often forgotten that the name also references
his connection with nature in general and hints at the idea that he
might be Native American or subversive in the respect of underlying
truths) and is out for a good time.)
Thunderbolt
(Eastwood) stole some big money with some frienemies and they want
their share and then some, but the money may not be where even he
thinks it is, but that won't stop them (George Kennedy and Geoffrey
Lewis, two of the great character actors of all time giving two of
their greatest supporting performances of all time) from going after
him. Add a sexy turn from a young Catherine Bach, amusing one from
Vic Tayback, unexpected early appearance by Gary Busey as Lightfoot's
boss in a side landscaping job and a stunning supporting cast (is
that Beth Howland as the oppressed, shocked mother?) make this a rich
film from scene one that never lets up until the final scene.
Outside
of any issues of domestic life as a trap, sexuality overspill and the
like (read more about it in Robin Wood's landmark film book Hollywood
From Vietnam To Reagan... And Beyond,
reviewed elsewhere on this site) this is just a great thriller with
amazing pacing, hints of Noir, suspense and a great capturing of
1970s Americana. If you have never seen this film, consider
Thunderbolt
& Lightfoot
a must-see. For serious film fans, it is mandatory viewing!
Extras
include another nicely illustrated booklet on the film including
informative text and another solid Julie Kirgo essay, while the
Blu-ray disc adds a great feature length audio commentary track by
Kirgo, writer Lem Dobbs and film scholar Nick Redman and an Isolated
Music Score in lossless DTS-MA 2.0 Stereo including some sound
effects, Paul Williams' theme song and the score itself by Dee Barton
(Play
Misty For Me).
Too bad Cimino (who is excellent on his commentary tracks) and/or
some of the surviving stars could not have also had a commentary
here, but this top treatment for such an underrated film is long,
long overdue.
As
noted, these are exceptional widescreen films and though both films
have prints with some color and age issues in a few parts, they are
great-looking scope films and the 1080p 2.35 X 1 AVC @ 38 MBPS
digital High Definition image transfer on Spartans
is
better than its old DVD version which my fellow writer liked more
than I did despite it looking good for the format. There may be some
age issues that need to be gone over with
the print, but it holds up very well and was a shoot that was
superior for the genre for its time and still is. Note the color and
compositions alone, plus editing is much more mature than most of the
flashy wanna-bes we see today. It even compares well to Ridley
Scott's Gladiator,
and not just because it's Blu-ray is such a disappointment.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Thunderbolt
has some grain in the credits and despite some color issues in the
beginning, like the recent James Bond Blu-rays that had some of the
same issues of not all the time, when the picture is at its best, it
is jaw-dropping, stunning, demo quality, one of my favorite Twilight
Time color Blu-rays to date, offers a true challenge to the best HDTV
& Ultra HDTVs around and shows how Cimino immediately established
a superior use of the widescreen scope frame that would become more
advanced in his follow-up films including The
Deer Hunter,
Heaven's
Gate
and Year
Of The Dragon.
This film used Panavision lenses, which are even better than the
CinemaScope of Spartans,
but both epitomize the possibilities for their respective formats.
As
for sound, the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Spartans
is a nice upgrade from its original monophonic sound and the lossy
Dolby 5.0 mix on the DVD (our writer only covered the 2.0 sound on
the DVD) and uses the music in stereo to help fill out the mix. This
was professionally recorded and 52+ years later, it shows. The same
can be said for the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless sound
on Thunderbolt,
well recorded for a film of its time, sounding better than it ever
did. The actual isolated music is in DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0
Stereo lossless sound making one wish the actual film could have been
upgraded like Spartans.
Either way, it is a sonic pleasure.
You
can order
the Thunderbolt
&
Lightfoot
limited edition Blu-ray while supplies last at this link:
www.screenarchives.com
-
Nicholas Sheffo
