Product Details

• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish
• Subtitled in: Arabic, German, Danish, English, Finnish, French, Greek, Hebrew, Dutch, Icelandic, Italian, Croatian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Spanish, Czech, Turkish, Hungarian
• Running time: 109 minutes

Amazon.com
"Suspense in a void" is how critic Pauline Kael described this action-packed hit from 1983. In other words, this is one of those flashy, superbly crafted high-tech thrillers in which the star is a machine, while intelligent plotting and human characters are a lesser priority. The machine in question is Blue Thunder--a heavily armored prototype helicopter that is secretly being tested for use in a devious government conspiracy. Roy Scheider plays the police pilot who catches on to the nefarious plot and takes to the skies against an evil army colonel (Malcolm McDowell) who will defend his coconspirators at any cost. Director John Badham was a hot property in the early '80s (he directed WarGames the same year), and Blue Thunder served as the popular model for many formulaic action thrillers to follow. That doesn't make it a great movie, but with a fine cast (including Daniel Stern in a memorable supporting role) and a dazzling aerial chase among big-city skyscrapers, Blue Thunder qualifies as slick entertainment. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Still not the complete cut...
This Special Edition turned out to be not so special after all. Okay, the new transfer is better looking than the previous release. But the movie itself remains the same old version, missing a good bit of the car chase which, for some reason, was included in European copies but was never shown in the US.
The missing part - check it out on imdb - takes place when Roy Scheider's wife, rushing to the TV studio with the tape, drives into a back alley with patrol cars on her tail: there, she skids into a wall on two wheels, bangs the roof of her car, then resumes her crazy run as the patrol cars slam into each other - and this is what makes Scheider wince from his chopper above.
Apart from leaving aside a nice piece of stunt work, this cut also accounts for a continuity loophole, when we see the car drive into the TV studio parking lot with a badly battered rooftop.
Granted, this missing part is no big deal, but it certainly makes this so-called 'Special Edition' a bit of a disappointment.
Five stars for the movie, three for the DVD.

This is not an anamorphic widescreen release
Contrary to what the details reports, this dvd is full screen only and single sided. There is no anamorphic transfer (for widescreen tv's) included on this dvd even though other reviewers here have stated that one does exist. The widescreen review even stated "incorrectly" that the anamorphic transfer looked good.

If you want to purchase this for your widescreen tv, seek out alternate versions (british region 2) that include the actual widescreen (anamorphic) print.

THE ULTIMATE "KILLING MACHINE"
If you're a "Blue Thunder" fan then this DVD is the only version for you. This special edition version is presented in its 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio and remastered in high definition. The picture transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound are truly outstanding. The 5.1 surround sound breathes new life into this 1983 action classic and you get to hear "Blue Thunder" really roar.

For those who don't know it, "Blue Thunder" is a new helicopter prototype that is secretly being tested by the government on its unsuspecting citizens. The helicopter is superior to anything ever built and it comes heavily armored. In the wrong hands "Blue Thunder" would be unstoppable. The movie stars Roy Scheider as Frank Murphy, the Blue Thunder pilot, Daniel Stern as his partner Lymangood and Malcolm McDowell as the bad guy Colonel Cochrane and he's perfect in his role. The DVD contains bonus features such as commentary, theatrical trailer, storyboard galleries and making of featurettes. After comparing both DVD versions, in my opinion this one was the best. Prepare to witness an all out aerial assault over the city of Los Angeles.