Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Thursday Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 16, 2021

Skip Woods' "Thursday" (1998) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new video interview with Thomas Jane; new audio commentary by critic Sally Christie; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

In the early 1990s, when the market for independent films suddenly and quite unexpectedly became very busy, a visionary producer should have signed a long-term deal with Roger Avary, and made sure that he had the financial freedom to direct at least a couple of films before the decade was over. One of those films should have come immediately after Skip Woods’ Thursday, and featured Paulina Porizkova. Think about it. Avery, who made Killing Zoe, directing a sizzling-hot and unhinged Porizkova with the full support of a serious producer with deep pockets. This fictional project would have been such an outrageous wrecking ball that not a single prestigious festival where these types of films were introduced and sold would have been able to ignore it. But it did not happen. Instead, Avery lost his way while experimenting as a producer and, sadly, never really recovered his directing mojo.

What about Woods? Thursday remains his one and only film, but he has been quite successful as a writer and producer. On the other hand, it is not at all difficult to argue that Woods’ career path has been very similar to Avery’s because it is crystal-clear now that he should have directed more. Actually, a lot more. Indeed, the other films Woods has been involved with -- Swordfish, Hitman, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The A-Team, A Good Day to Die Hard, Sabotage, and Hitman: Agent 47 -- are just your regular flashy blockbusters that make it virtually impossible to link his name to Thursday. If you spend a little bit of time deconstructing them it becomes undeniable that the best person to direct Woods’ scripts was always Woods. For example, the main reason Thursday works so well is the effective blending of the mean humor and graphic violence, which occurs because Woods controls both in a very particular manner. As a result, his film has an attitude but looks very organic as well. The films Woods scripted and produced do not. They are big-budget projects that do a wide range of things the ‘right way’, which means that they lack the unbridled energy and element of surprise that define Thursday.

While revisiting Thursday, something else occurred to me as well -- a more serious Woods behind the camera would have had a lot in common with John Dahl. Indeed, while the playing field in Thursday is very small there are plenty of misdirection plays of the type that usually make Dahl’s films exciting. For example, consider how the reformed drug dealer (Thomas Jane) turns the table on his opponents and changes the dynamic of the drama. In Dahl’s best films -- Kill Me Again, Red Rock West, and The Last Seduction -- there is always a moment precisely like it that cements their neo-noir identity. In Thursday there is a greater emphasis on the humor because there are no opportunities to build up a lasting neo-noirsh atmosphere. (There is a very simple explanation for this as well, which is that Mother Nature isn’t a factor). However, by the time Detective Kasarov (Mickey Rourke) drops his plastic bag on the drug dealer’s table, Woods has already moved his film to the same place Dahl’s films love to visit.

The actors that were selected to do the film look great. They are loose and temperamental but never leave the impression that they are aware of the rolling camera in the back. From time to time they do a bit of posturing -- which is the one and only reason some old reviews have speculated that the film fails because it attempts to imitate Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs -- but this is basically unavoidable given the type of genre thrills the film is supposed to deliver.

The soundtrack incorporates original tunes by Luna, whose music was also used in another very dark but quite funny film from the 1990s, Olivier Assayas’ Irma Vep.

Thursday Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Thursday arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. Despite a few shaky areas, this master is easy to describe as 'good', especially when compared to the many very problematic masters that have emerged from the major's vaults.

The best news is that there are no signs of previous or recent attempts to repolish the master with digital tools, which happens to be the main reason why the film has a fairly decent organic appearance. Most close-ups, for instance, boast pleasing delineation and proper clarity (see screencapture #7). When there is enough natural light, background details range from decent to good as well. However, there are exceptions. In certain areas where natural or artificial light is captured in particular ways mild halo-like effects can sneak in, and if you have a larger screen you will likely notice them (see screencapture #10). However, they do not have the harshness that is usually introduced by edge-enhancement, which means that they are not intentional. The master is simply older and because of other limitations in these areas the effect becomes a tad easier to recognize. For the exact same reason some highlights are clipped as well. There are a couple of areas with noticeable density fluctuations. However, even though they can look better on a fresh new master, they are part of the visual composition of the flashbacks (see examples in screencaptures #15, 22, and 23). The color scheme is good, but this is another area where meaningful improvements can be made, both in terms of saturation and balance. Image stability is very good. Finally, a few blemishes remain, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, stains, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region--Free player in order to access its content).

Thursday Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit) and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the 5.1 track. The dialog sounds very clear and no one should have any problems following the exchanges even the tension rises up. A few times I felt that it might have been a bit uneven, but this could very well be how it was recorded. The bits of music sound nice, but they are used strictly for strictly decorative purposes.

Thursday Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage Polygram trailer for Thursday. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 480/60i).

• Interview with Thomas Jane - in this new video interview, Thomas Jane shares some rather peculiar information about his past interactions with Marlon Brando, Terrence Malick and the shooting of The Thin Red Line, Skip Woods' directing methods and the filming of Thursday. It is a fantastic interview that could have been a timeless classic if it was an hour long. Unmissable. The interview was conducted exclusively for Kino Lorber in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (15 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, Australian film critic Sally Christie discusses the production and style of Thursday, its sense humor, its critical reception, the period in which it was conceived and some of the main industry trends at the time, etc.

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Stretch
  2. The Veil
  3. The Underneath

Thursday Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Should you see Skip Woods' Thursday and what are the chances that you will enjoy it? In my favorite mom-and-pop video store Thursday used to be in that section where all the 'strange' films were, together with Gregg Araki's Nowhere and Roger Avary's Killing Zoe. So, there's your answer. However, I personally do not find Thursday strange at all, just very, very funny, but in a special kind of way. Speaking of special, the exclusive new interview with Thomas Jane that is included on this release is unmisable. It has as many unexpected twists as Thursday does and easily could have been an hour long. It seems like an instant classic. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.