Rating: 
Summary: My favorite movie of all time
Review: Blue Thunder is the fictional story of a high tech helicopter which the government plans to use against the population under the guise of "crowd control from the air" for the upcoming Olympic games. Some of you may remember Airwolf, or even the short lived Blue Thunder series with James Farentino and Dana Carvey, this is where it all started. Although the plot is kinda lame, this movie boasts state of the art (in 1983) aerial combat action sequences over Los Angeles (L.A. natives will recognize the Piper Tech building, where air support is headqurtered, the downtown cityscape, the L.A. river), and a cool chase scene through the LA River, which like the rest of L.A., is concrete and steel. Roy Scheider (Murphy), Daniel Stern(Lymangood), and Warren Oates (in his last picture), give great performances, however, Malcom MacDowell's character, a sinister Army Lt. Colonel, is a bit hard to believe. The real star of the show here is Blue Thunder, a modified 1972 French Gazelle, outfitted with listening devices, video and infrared cams, and an M61 20mm vulcan cannon fitted to the nose. Blue Thunder is able to see through walls, peek down dresses at 1000 feet, and destroy a city block at the touch of a button. Some will notice the similarities to the Apache AH-64, and the cockpit windows are faceted, much like the then-classified stealth fighter. Blue Thunder takes us to that "big brother is watching you" card reminicent of 1984,(which is the year the Olympics were in L.A.) what with its surveillance equipment, and there is even a reference to that in the movie, when Lymangood asks Murphy, "Big Brother, you want it on or off?" referring to the cockpit recorder which records their conversations. "I think we can lose that,"he replies. The ending battle scene is great, with an awesome finale, and a somewhat chilling epilogue, as the credits begin to roll. You get the feeling that Murphy has avenged. All in all, a pretty good movie with a bit of techno-sci-fi-thriller.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie of all time
Review: Blue Thunder is the fictional story of a high tech helicopter which the government plans to use against the population under the guise of "crowd control from the air" for the upcoming Olympic games. Some of you may remember Airwolf, or even the short lived Blue Thunder series with James Farentino and Dana Carvey, this is where it all started. Although the plot is kinda lame, this movie boasts state of the art (in 1983) aerial combat action sequences over Los Angeles (L.A. natives will recognize the Piper Tech building, where air support is headqurtered, the downtown cityscape, the L.A. river), and a cool chase scene through the LA River, which like the rest of L.A., is concrete and steel. Roy Scheider (Murphy), Daniel Stern(Lymangood), and Warren Oates (in his last picture), give great performances, however, Malcom MacDowell's character, a sinister Army Lt. Colonel, is a bit hard to believe. The real star of the show here is Blue Thunder, a modified 1972 French Gazelle, outfitted with listening devices, video and infrared cams, and an M61 20mm vulcan cannon fitted to the nose. Blue Thunder is able to see through walls, peek down dresses at 1000 feet, and destroy a city block at the touch of a button. Some will notice the similarities to the Apache AH-64, and the cockpit windows are faceted, much like the then-classified stealth fighter. Blue Thunder takes us to that "big brother is watching you" card reminicent of 1984,(which is the year the Olympics were in L.A.) what with its surveillance equipment, and there is even a reference to that in the movie, when Lymangood asks Murphy, "Big Brother, you want it on or off?" referring to the cockpit recorder which records their conversations. "I think we can lose that,"he replies. The ending battle scene is great, with an awesome finale, and a somewhat chilling epilogue, as the credits begin to roll. You get the feeling that Murphy has avenged. All in all, a pretty good movie with a bit of techno-sci-fi-thriller.
Rating:
Summary: perfect action film
Review: blue thunder remains one the best action flicks for one simple reason. the action scenes are real and not contrived special effects.
when you see the helicopters flying all over los angeles in this movie you can tell it is REAL. the L.A. river chase sequence is a classic piece of aerial orchestration. roy scheider learned how to fly a helicopter for this movie and it shows.
Rating:
Summary: This is not an anamorphic widescreen release
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: This is not an anamorphic widescreen release
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: He wore Blue Thunder
Review: Have you ever wondered what life would be like if...it was the future? All books were burned? Aliens invaded? Then you've probably turned to sci-fi to live out your dystopian (or utopian) fantasies. So in the never-ending quest for the right drug, take the blue pill. Blue Thunder, that is. Blue Thunder explores all possible options for expostion. Such a revisionist history usually attempts to redefine science fiction in film-specific terms, opting variously for epistemologically based or image-based criteria instead of the source-based or narrative-based assumptions that have so far shaped most discussions of SF film. Not so with Ol' Blue Thunder. Central to the genius of this film is the reconsideration of the question of whether cinemato graphic aspects of film production could themselves mark film as science fictional or provide in themselves phenomena worthy of consideration by the SF community--the spectacle of production technology deserving and rewarding our attention just as surely as do narratives about the impact of technology. And the SF community would have a lot better things to talk about than cinemato graphic aspects if they did the wild thing more often, instead of drooling over Captain Kirk's tush in Star Trek! The fleeting colaboration of brilliant thespian (Rob Schneider) and brilliant director (John Badham), combined with the building blocks of life known as craft service (oh yeah, and let's not forget the writers!) made one tour de force without the tour or the force, so I guess this film is just made of "de" (get it?) So what are you doing still reading this review? Go out and rent it!
Rating:
Summary: Silly at times, but Thunder-ously fun
Review: Havin' been a big fan of the short-lived show this was based on, as well as Airwolf, it was a given that I'd eventually check this booger out. And I gotta admit that, for a mid-80s bit of super-chopper-action-conspiracy-busting fluff, this ain't all that bad. It's fun enough to watch that I can overlook the usual moments of silliness and plausibility-stretching that I've come to expect from such fare. You've got the exploding barbecue chicken factory incident, and primary villain Malcolm McDowell's (surprise!) troubles doing other expressions besides that glaring scowl he maintains for half the movie. The sabotaged chopper crashing into the contractor's shed at a construction site with our hero (Roy Scheider) and his ill-fated sidekick (Daniel Stern well before his 'Home Alone' glory days) somehow surviving was also good for a laugh. Then there's the nude yoga scene, which was filmed in such a way that if the camera caught anything just a smidge above or below what it eventually shot, a mere 'R' rating would've been right outta the question. Finally there's the end, where we see the way-too-easy disintegration of-- well, I think I'll let'cha see it for yourself. Throw in our hero's weird quirk involving his stopwatch, demonstrations of the super-chopper's high-tech tchochkes, and the sidekick trying to find out what J.A.F.O. stands for, and you've got... well, you've got somethin' to watch if you've nothin' better to do with yer time... Also thrown in for fun is the obligatory theatrical trailer, and the option of viewing the flick in Pan-'N'-Scan or Widescreen-- the 'option' being flipping the disc over to the side that has the format ya wanna watch... 'Late
Rating:
Summary: One of the best high flying action films ever, A must see
Review: I saw this movie four years after it came out and it continues to be one of my favorites. Not only do you have great action, but what a cast; Roy Scheider from Jaws as the hero who trys to outrun his watch,Malcom Mcdowell from Clockwork Orange as evil as ever, and you can't forget Daniel Stern as JAFO. One of the best climaxes i have ever seen where Scheider hijacks Blue Thunder fighting police choppers, fighter jets and Mcdowell in an awesome looking camouflage chopper. The best aerial action movies definitely came out the 1980's.... this is one of the best.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasing Actioner Despite Plot Flaws
Review: One hates to get caught agreeing with such insufferably elitist movie critics like Pauline Kael and Leonard Maltin, but their misgivings about the movie Blue Thunder are fairly accurate. Kael goes too far in calling the film "Suspense In A Void," for its implied argument that the film skimps over characters and plot is unfair. The film establishes good audience involvement with the characters, helped by the fine performances of Roy Scheider, Daniel Stern, and Malcolm McDowell. The main draw, of course, is the helicopter, a French-built gunship, reminscent of the AH-64 Apaches featured in Firebirds, but sporting a Gatling cannon with a fire-rate of 4,000 rounds per minute, and high-tech surveillance cameras and microphones. The ship's lethality is demonstrated in a terrific test run by the Army for LAPD brass; the ship blasts away at cardboard dummies representing terrorists and civilians within a mockup of a city block. The film pointedly highlights civilian dummies getting blasted; the audience thus forgets that, given the hopeless interminging of terrorists amid civilians, the gunship's ability to pick out the right targets comes through as well as can be honestly expected. It all closes out with a delightfully explosive strafing run of a bus manned by terrorists. Frank Murphy (Scheider) is assigned to test Blue Thunder over LA, this over the trepidation of old Army foe Colonel F.E. Cochrane (McDowell). Murphy and his copilot Richard Lymangood (Stern) test the ship's surveillance capability in hilarious fashion when they stare down the cleavage of a waitress and then listen in on a CHP cop (nicknamed Double Dork by Murphy) in bed with another man's wife. But then they get wind of the real reason for the chopper's existence when they follow Cochrane to the city's federal building and record a conversation between Cochrane, other members of the Blue Thunder project, and several government types; they've been instigating rioting in LA's barrios to justify bringing out Blue Thunder in a program called Project THOR. It is a plot that lacks even a minor level of believability or plausibility. The action scenes and cast are good, but the absurdity of the plot ultimately hurts the film. Nonetheless, the visuals are worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies of all time!
Review: Simply put, this a great movie! Roy Scheider and Daniel Stern give wonderful performances, and the helicopter chase scenes are unbeleivable! This was one of the first DVDs I bought, and I only wish there were more extras on the disc.
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