 "classic american film" | 2008-08-23 |
| - Reviewed By harrycase2000 |
Thunder Road benefits from a strong story, and an honest appreciation of the redneck code of honor that allows a democratic vote on how the community will break the law and defy outside criminal elements no matter what the cost.
the strong family relationships among the moonshiners are revealed in authentic dialogue. The director never lets the strong and stoic characters become caricatures of themselves. They are slow spoken,and easy with long silence, like the real life people the story depicts. Anyone who has met mountsin folk sees it immediately.
The car chases are not drawn out for effect, they are nasty, brutish fights to the death and Mitchum's character shows that he knows he is not immune. He chooses to fight and die with honor rather than try and hide from the troubles he faces.
I hear a remake is in the works, spearheaded by James Mitchum. Well done it would be a fine tribute to his father's work and a way to show a new generation the ethos and values that redneck culture gives to America for good and bad. |
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| "Every second is fully-charged." | 2008-07-15 |
| - Reviewed By felele |
| This movie is as close to perfect as I've ever seen. Action! Drama! Suspense! And the coolest-cat protagonist ever. Oh, some of Mitchum's moves are so timeless and glorious-- it's the Sistine Chapel of bootlegger movies. |
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| "Excellent Movie" | 2008-05-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A28C6UWPNO5GX4 |
| Even tho this movie was made when i was only five years old, it is my favorite. It was mostly filmed in east tennessee and that happens to be where i am from. I would recommend this movie to everyone. |
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 "Spoiler's Delight, but not all that bad" | 2008-03-20 |
| - Reviewed By sanlyn@worldnet.att.net |
| Not the smoothest anti-hero flick ever produced, but sits on a ledge somewhere between film noir and B-movie standards. No sense adding a content rating to those already posted here, as this is a movie you either like or don't. While Mitchum and his crew did get into a bit of research to add a touch of authentication to this movie, a few gaffs stand out. First, it's apparent that neither Mitchum nor his writers ever spent time in Memphis in the late 1950's. The film has a car chase sequence that supposedly occurs in downtown Memphis on State Street; State Street in Memphis is in a residential area a long way from downtown and is only a block long. Keely Smith does a bit as a jazz singer in a type of club that didn't exist in Memphis in the 50's. Because of strictly enforced blue laws no one could buy a mixed drink in Memphis until 1972. In 1958 if you wanted to drink booze or wine or anything stiffer than 3.2 beer or Pepsi in a Memphis establishment, you brought your own bottle in a brown bag and a bartender kept it at the bar until you left. The outdoor shots and other elements of the movie might make you think Tennessee is "in the hills", but in fact southwest Tennessee is almost as flat as Kansas. The outdoor scenes have a conspicuous lack of pine, poplar, and magnolia that are replete in that part of the Mississippi Delta. There are many other anomolies present in the flick but this is, after all, a fantasy with a certain mystique and cult status that's difficult to put down. The real problem is that the depth of sleaze so dominant in the real-life characters this movie attempts to portray is almost entirely absent. The gals are way too clean-cut, the locals are too well-spoken and articulate, and nobody seems to have a valid Southern accent (except Keely, whose accent seems to be from Texas or western Arkansas and is probably the most "authentic" touch in the movie). So if you're eager to get some enjoyment out of this flick without spending 93 minutes scoffing and laughing, a willing suspension of disbelief is definitely required. Otherwise, I have no idea where these 5-star ratings are coming from. |
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| "Where It All Starts Out." | 2008-02-04 |
| - Reviewed By dhume |
| Ernest Hemingway said somewhere that all American literature starts with Twain's Huckleberry Finn. An equivalent observation for the American film industry would be that all car chase movies start with 1958's Thunder Road. There are alternative theories that go back as far as the wagon escape scene from burning Atlanta in Gone With the Wind or as late as Steve McQueen's Dodge Charger chase in Bullitt in the mid-60s, but for my money, Robert Mitchum's Thunder Road (the screenplay is based on a storyline he wrote) is the real point of origin in what is probably the most characteristic aspect of films in this country for the last half century. For that reason alone, this is a film that shouldn't be missed. It's a real 50s Indy b&w classic. |
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 " Love those vintage rods from the 40's & 50's." | 2007-11-19 |
| - Reviewed By jrgodfrey122550 |
| Robert Mitchum, at his low-keyed, laconic best is Lucas. He a war vet & has seen a bit so he's not to be trifled with. His dad is a moonshiner as his ancestors have been for centuries. Lucas is a driver delivering the whiskey & one of the best. His family & other moonshiners are being pressured by the feds on one hand & a criminal syndicate on the other. His real life son James, plays his younger brother, Robin who he endeavors to keep out of the family business. He keeps the rods in better than woking order as Lucas tears up the back roads of Tennessee evading both groups chasing him. You do sense pre-destination. He takes care of his urban girl friend. He keeps his little brother clean & it appears he will take take care of his sometimes rural girlfriend. Mitchum had a lot riding on this movie & he even had a hand in writing the script, directing & writing the title song. A great Mitchum come-back movie. |
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| "Thunder Road" | 2007-10-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2NEZPIG4QMGSX |
| Robert Mitchum's accurate redention of the "Moonshine Era" is a true classic. It was filmed in 1957 near Ashville, N.C. using authentic filming locations and, above all, authentic personalities chosen from the local community. Although considered by some simply as a "car chase" film it is far more than that and the film can truly be appreciated by those who lived in the Applachian South in the 1950s. |
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| "The law they swore they'd get him, but the Devil got him first..." | 2007-04-26 |
| - Reviewed By aclea |
Thunder Road is something of a disappointment, but one that's not without interest. Practically creating a whole genre and with it laying the groundwork for Burt Reynolds' career, it stars Robert Mitchum as a moonshine runner facing the wrath of both the Revenuers and a crime syndicate trying to muscle in on the Good Ole Boys trade. Both moonshiners and revenuers have codes of honour and believe, not without justification, that they're both representatives of the American way: there's no real malice between them, more a balance of nature approach that is threatened on both sides by Jacques Aubuchon's mobster. Despite the setup and the car chases along mountain roads, the film is surprisingly low-key - even the great title song gets an incredibly laid back rendition that's nowhere near as much fun as Mitchum's record version - yet at times its weaknesses almost seem strengths. Mitchum's interest in independent productions at the height of his career resulted in a few films that were distinctly rough around the edges, and at times this borders on the amateurish, filmed on real locations with poor acoustics and variable performances and feeling more like an authentic drive-in movie aimed at them thrill-crazy kids complete with Hillbilly rock soundtrack than the fatalistic noirs that made his reputation. Yet it's hard to dislike even if it doesn't quite live up to its potential.
The DVD transfer is variable - acceptable but with a few scenes that look even more rough and ready than probably intended. The only extra is the theatrical trailer, albeit without the original captions and titles. |
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| "History Flick" | 2007-04-01 |
| - Reviewed By jcbaucom |
| I bought a copy of Thunder Road to enjoy a look at early twentieth century film and the legend of Kingston Pike in Tennessee. This is a good story line with interesting characters. I couldn't help wondering how long it would take a moonshiner to get his car repaired today compared to the overnight jobs that the Mitchum character got in the film. After Dukes of Hazard, this look at moonshiners with a more serious tone made for good balance. |
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| "never thought I would find it" | 2007-03-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: AVJO6HHY6D51T |
Thunder Road starring Robert Mitchum was a movie that I had tried to find for many years without any luck. Amazon was there for me....great movie I can now enjoy at anytime.
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