7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
Cop test pilot who is chosen to test run Blue Thunder, a high-tech experimental attack helicopter learns the sinister plans for the new vehicle.
Starring: Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern, Paul RoeblingThriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
John Badham's "Blue Thunder" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian label Via Vision Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival featurettes; and audio commentary by director John Badham, editor Frank Morriss, and motion control supervisor Hoyt Yeatman. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
The helicopter
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Badham's Blue Thunder arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian label Via Vision Entertainment.
Blue Thunder was released on Blu-ray by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2009 and this Australian release is sourced from the same master that was used for the North American release. I like it a lot and think that it is one of the best masters that Sony used early into the high-definition format's life cycle.
Depth remains enormously pleasing throughout the entire film. Despite the fact that portions of the film are shot with restricted lighting and could be quite dark, clarity is also terrific. I did not see any issues with shadow definition collapsing and creating distracting anomalies, though I sense that a few spots could look better. The color scheme is lovely -- the primaries are stable and there are nice and healthy nuances. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Overall image stability is excellent. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, torn frames, or other age-related imperfections to report. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. However, you have to use your remote control to access them as they do not appear on the main menu. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.
The lossless track handles the film's elaborate action sequences incredibly well. Depth and clarity are outstanding while separation is about as good as one can expect it to be for a film of this age and caliber. Also, I would like to specifically mention that there are some surround effects that really make quite a difference during the shootouts. The dialog is always stable, clean, and easy to follow.
John Badham's Blue Thunder is one of the best and most authentic action thrillers from the early '80s. Its story is rather predictable, but the action footage more than makes up for any flaws that the film might have. I've lost count of how many times I purchased the film on various formats, but predictably the Blu-ray offers the best technical presentation. This Australian release of Blue Thunder is sourced from Sony's excellent master and has all of the supplemental features that are included on the North American release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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