Thelma & Louise: Special Edition

Sugar and spice and all things nice, that’s what little girls are made of - right? Well, if you believe Hollywood you’d be nodding your head in agreement at this point. Seemingly while the blokes can go about shooting, swearing, fighting, racing, stabbing, drinking – whatever the hell they want – with complete impunity, woe betide if somebody comes along and does nothing more than turn the gender tables. While all Thelma & Louise essentially does is take two typically male roles somewhat akin to say Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and places females in them, the tide of abusive accusations that greeted its release in 1991, such as those of male bashing, being nothing more than a filmed feminist manifesto blahblahblah, was a truly eye-opening thing, especially as 99.9% of the criticism emanated from those with dangly bits between their legs. Thankfully, however, there were enough enlightened people out there to see the film become the success it truly deserved to be.

It all starts innocently enough, with two best friends – a downtrodden Arkansas housewife in Thelma (Geena Davis) and her waitress buddy Louise (the great goddess Susan Sarandon) – planning a weekend escape staying in a cabin and doing a spot of fishing, just for a much needed injection of fun into their lives. However, things start to go seriously awry after a stop off at a boot scootin’ bar full of Marlboro men, when Thelma is almost raped by a disgusting local boor and Louise comes to her defence. When he pushes her too far she shoots him, and faced with what they see as the unlikelihood of sympathetic police treatment they set off on the lam.

"You shoot off a guy's head with his pants down? Believe me, Texas ain't the place you want to get caught."

While Arkansas detective Hal Slocumb (Harvey Keitel) tries to piece together just what happened, the two fugitives decide to make their way to what they see as the relatively safe haven of Mexico. Louise calls upon her boyfriend for financial help, Thelma has a dalliance with a seemingly sweet cowboy hitchhiker named J.D. (Brad Pitt) and they have run-ins with state troopers and sleazebag truckers. Events conspire to push their behaviour further beyond the confines of that which is licit, leading to the FBI’s involvement and ultimately the film’s desperate climax...

You can’t help but think that if Thelma & Louise was a film about two guys labouring under the same circumstances it would scarcely have raised an eyebrow from anybody, or at least not for the negative reasons it in fact did. But then it was written by a chick (Carrie Khouri), so it must be a “femmo� flick, right? As anybody who has actually viewed the film should attest to, however, accusations of portraying the male species in an extremely negative light are absolute poppycock. Sure, there’s vermin galore (some may call it reality...) – Thelma’s oppressive polyester-clad, red penis-extension driving carpet salesman husband, Harland the would-be rapist, the scuzzball trucker (who certainly gets his comeuppance in what some may say was a scene added simply to scratch director Ridley Scott’s itch for an action sequence, even though it is rather spectacular) just for starters. But in reality the whole spectrum is covered – there are just as many helpful members of the male species met along the way, and Keitel’s character actually shows a genuine concern for the story’s titular characters way beyond a simple wish to solve his case. What is this ridiculous fear that so many men have of strong female characters?

Still, in the end the press Thelma & Louise attracted, be it negative or positive, enabled a truly brilliant film, deftly and often beautifully directed by Scott and featuring two simply phenomenal lead performances, to get the exposure it well and truly deserved, and more than ten years on now it is regarded as a modern day classic. Hell, even the barometer of popular culture The Simpsons pretty much based an entire episode around its premise. Take away all that stupid gender fright from the equation and what we’re left with is not some sort of “feminist manifesto�, but rather a simple tale that is both tragic, and also at times deftly comic, of two best friends who are pushed to their limits due to circumstances both within and beyond their control, and who manage to take control of their own destinies – be it for better or worse.

The original local release of Thelma & Louise is renowned for all the wrong reasons, as the video presentation was well and truly woeful. So have things improved with this ‘Special Edition’ release?

Well, the answer is “mostly yes�. The print used this time must have been in fabulous shape, as artefacts such as specks and blobs are at a minimum, with only tiny ones showing up occasionally and fleetingly throughout the film. Black is basically as black as it can be and shadow detail is great in those scenes where it applies. The colour is a little muted, possibly by directorial intent, but never to the point of being unrealistic and it generally adds to the whole arid mood of the many desert settings. Speaking of which, this is definitely a film which laps up its 2.35:1 (anamorphically enhanced) screen space, with Ridley Scott’s keen eye for visuals an absolute treat to behold. Show this to one of those inevitable morons you know who still carry on about “those annoying black bars� and then listen to them struggle to argue the case for full frame.

So what’s wrong with it? Well, the first release was plagued with rampant aliasing and shimmering throughout, and whilst this release doesn’t fare nearly as badly there are still quite a few instances of these nasties throughout. The image does manage to deliver quite some detail otherwise, but many will find these regular nasties distracting.

With a mammoth amount of stuff crammed onto this disc, the layer change comes quite late in proceedings at around the 104 minute mark. It is rather clumsily placed, simply as although it’s put at a scene transition, it misses the mark by a split second, with the resultant jump in sound proving very jarring.

Special mention must also be given to the ridiculous plethora of copyright screens that follow the film, seemingly in most every language except Swahili. These would be fine were they skippable, however on this disc essentially every useful button bar the ‘eject’ one is disabled, forcing an interminable wait before being able to do anything useful unless you make use of said ‘eject’ button and reset the disc. We simply should NOT be forced to sit through these, and it’s about time some DVD authors realised this.

The film was originally made in Dolby Digital stereo; however it has been remixed into DD5.1 for this release. Such remixes can often be hit and miss affairs, and at times this soundtrack does hint at its humbler origins. Surround usage is at times fabulous, notably in those scenes with big bangs or similar, and the rears are used for some ambience in other places, however then there will be expanses of extreme silence from them which can be a little off-putting. The subwoofwoof has very little to do, but is occasionally called upon to add a little bit of oomph to things when appropriate. Dialogue levels are nicely balanced, never proving difficult to understand, and all is synched perfectly.

Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack is a wonderfully apt affair. Whilst twang-styled stuff isn’t this reviewer’s cup of tea at all, it cannot be denied that his work here adds considerably to the mood and effect of the film. It is accompanied by a diverse selection of songs from the likes of Martha Reeves, The Temptations, Toni ‘I’ve Got to Go Now’ (and it appears she did) Childs, Glenn Frey, Michael McDonald, Marianne Faithfull (with her incredibly moving The Ballad of Lucy Jordan) and even Mr Beat’s So Lonely himself, Charlie Sexton.

MGM have certainly gone to town in the extras department for this release, all commencing with some incredibly stylish animated menus, accompanied by snippets of Hans Zimmer’s score. Probably the only whinge attributable to it all is to do with the absolutely miniscule ticks and underlines which you move around to opt for different features, as they can very easily get lost leaving you wondering where on earth you’re at. Still, it’s worth the struggle for...

Audio commentary – director Ridley Scott: As created for the laserdisc, and as featured on the original DVD release (and as such it’s a little dated), Mr Scott delivers a fascinating insight into his creation. He has no problem dissecting his own work in something that is anything but a fluff commentary, and manages to maintain quite a frenetic pace for somebody who is quite laidback throughout the entire length of the film.

Audio commentary – actors Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, writer Callie Khouri: While Ridley’s commentary will appeal to the more serious film buffs; this one is a delight for those after something a bit more fun. The three bounce off each other well, with Sarandon and Davis taking up the bulk of mike-time with remembrances and anecdotes from the making of the film, and Khouri chiming in every so often with her own tales of her history and the story.

Documentary - Thelma & Louise: The Last Journey: Forget your standard EPK rubbish; this feature is a goldmine of interesting information on the production from many involved with it. Ridley Scott, writer Callie Khouri, other producers and most of the cast appear in this tenth anniversary (2001) creation, which is divided into sections covering conception, casting, production, performance, reaction and resonance. In all this is absolutely essential viewing for any fan of the film.

Featurette - Original Promo EPK: Around five and a half minutes of full frame fluff, spending most of its time concentrating on the tanker scene.

Featurette – Home Video Preview: Worth a quick peek simply for giggle value, this is what was sent out to video stores in the US to promote the VHS and laserdisc release of the film for rental. Running for about six and a half minutes, it’s quite the manic hype-fest – and I want a Thelma & Louise duffel bag! Also, sticky-taped to the end is the TV spot for the video release.

Deleted Scenes: Eight deletions are included, adding up to a total time of around 17 minutes. Some are simply excerpts from the road trip which wouldn’t have added much, although elsewhere there’s an extension of the scene with Thelma and J.D. in the motel, and an interesting one featuring Detective Hal at home pondering the murder. They’re all in un-enhanced 2.35:1, and quality is not exactly the most applicable word – however naturally this is forgivable as they never made the final cut.

Alternate Ending: More an elongated one, this is in un-enhanced 2.35:1 and is in pretty shoddy shape. Rather than the freeze frame where the released film ends, the footage continues on, and lends a somewhat more depressing air to proceedings. It also has an optional commentary by Ridley Scott.

Multi-angle storyboard: Two options are given here, to have a split screen showing sketches up top and the appropriate part of the film below, or just the sketches. Alternatively you can use your ‘angle’ button to flip between them at whim. The scene in question is the film’s ending.

Music video - Part of Me, Part of You – Glenn Frey: Well, fans of The Eagles will most likely enjoy this atypical Frey track, complete with a pretty standard clip combining shots from the film with footage of the singer wandering about with his guitar. It’s all in faux-widescreen with Dolby Digital stereo sound.

TV Spots: Two 30 second spots and a one minute one, all full screen, all in reasonable shape, and all trying to make out that Thelma & Louise is some sort of comedy.

Theatrical Trailer: In non-enhanced 1.85:1, this just under two-minute trailer is also in pretty good shape, and does a reasonable job of advertising a film that’s hard to sum up in such short a time.

Photo Gallery: 50 shots in all, including behind the scenes, movie stills, promotional shots and poster art, all of which are plopped in the middle of the screen and are rather small.

This ‘Special Edition’ certainly earns its tag as such, with an engrossing selection of extra features, and a marked improvement in visual presentation over its previous local incarnation. If you’re a fan of the film then rest assured that it simply won’t get much better than this.

Thelma & Louise is one of those movies that simply everybody should experience at least once in their lives, and is as good an example as any of one of the most vital lessons of all we need to learn in life – that beyond all the crap we endure from left, right and centre, in the end that which we have that should most be treasured is the one person who will be there for us through thick and thin, our best friend.