Blue Thunder - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Blue Thunder



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Once more I’m having to admit to not having seen a movie that I’ve owned for like 15 years. I remember buying Sony’s Blu-ray of Blue Thunder back in 2009 when it came out simply because it was part of one of those “BOGO’s” from the format war era, and I needed something that looked cool. Plus it was from the 80s and we all know that I’m a bit of a sucker for the 80s entertainment as a whole. 15 years later I’ve never actually opened the disc and played it, but rather left it collecting dust on my shelf for another day. Well, with the release of Arrow’s 4K UHD release it looks like the decision was made for me, and once again, I feel a bit sheepish for not having taken it for a spin.

To make matters even worse, I didn’t realize the film was directed by John Badham, who is most famous for Short Circuit and Wargames. Both 80s classics that defined my childhood. Upon realizing this ridiculous oversight I was a bit eager for Blue Thunder, but also a bit hesitant due to the trailer. I’m all for 80s cheese, but there felt something distinctly 1970s about the trailer, and the 70s were one of my least favorite classic decades for films. But who cares, it has Roy Scheider wearing aviator sunglasses and looking cool!

LAPD helicopter pilots Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider) and rookie Richard Lymangood (Daniel Stern, or Home Alone fame) witness the brutal murder of a city council woman in the confines of her own back yard, and realize something is afoot. Nobody will confirm it, but their attempts to look into the murder as anymore more than an attempted assault from randos get shut down from the upper levels. Trying to dig into the growing tensions and murmurings of violence in the local barrio’s, Frank comes closer and closer to the truth, only to realize that he’s actually sitting on it.

While he’s trying to sleuth around and keep the brass off his back due to PTSD from the Vietnam war, Frank is roped into test piloting a state of the art attack helicopter nick named “Blue Thunder”. Unlike your average police helicopter, this thing is armored and armed to the teeth with state of the art futuristic weaponry that make it a force to be reckoned with. Frank isn’t exactly satisfied with the answer that it’s ONLY use is in case of armed insurrection or nation wide rebellion. It just seems a bit “too” neat and tidy. Plus the original pilot for the copter is an old war time rival, Colonel FE Cochrane (Malcolm McDowell, who looks unrecognizable. I had to actually hear his voice to pinpoint who he was), who isn’t exactly thrilled to see Frank.

During the exercises Frank realizes the unimaginable. This state of the art war bird isn’t just a prototype for armed insurrection, but is part of a governmental conspiracy wherein a covert group of government military officials are stirring up all the trouble in the Barrio in order to justify the use of the tactical war bird, leaving Frank only one course of action. Take the helo and keep one step of the government assassins on his tale long enough to blow this story wide open to the public.

Blue Thunder is not an 80s classic that everyone will know till the end of time, but it makes for a great cult action film from the early 80s. Roy Scheider hams it up as the PTSD stricken “tough cop” with Malcolm McDowell doing the same with his sociopathic nemesis. The film plays out almost like a late 70s cop movie for the first half, with the second half getting to the actual action. And in a way, it weirdly reminds me of Marky Mark’s 2007 Shooter insomuch that we have this covert government shadow operation working behind the scenes. Maybe not as over the top actiony, but still in the same vein with the conspiratorial nature of the film.

While this is an 80s film, I must once again remind myself of it because it feels REALLY similar to 70s thrillers and action films. The low budget, the cheap looking cars, and the tons of brown and blues used throughout the film’s visual aesthetics. And while I don’t find the film as endearing as others in John Badman’s repertoire of films, it certainly is a fun film. One made even more humorous by a VERY young Daniel Stern before he was really allowed to stretch his comedic wings as Marv in Home Alone 7 years later.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

According to the information from Arrow, Blue Thunder was restored by Sony with a 4K and digital restoration from the 35mm OCN via Prasad Corporation. Color grading and additional restoration was completed by Roundabout with David Bernstein (the original colorist) overseeing it.

I had to pop in the old Sony Blu-ray to compare against, and that disc still is quite good considering the age of the disc. It’s not up to snuff for modern transfers, but most of Sony’s transfers in that 2009-2010 era were quite good, and this is no exception. But the 4K UHD disc blows it straight out of the water. This just looks so much nicer, with cleaner details levels, more precise color grading, and better grain structure. And those blacks. WOW. The blacks are probably the best part of this new master. Silky black levels at night that don’t hide details, down the near inky black of the Blue Thunder copter itself, while still showing off ever line and log on the bird. Costumes are well defined and cleanly shown, while faces sometimes show a bit of a smoothness. Not a ton, but I notice some facial up close shots look very very detailed, while others have a bit of a problem with looking a tad soft and smooth.









Audio:

Carrying a 5.1 DTS-HD MA and 2.0 LPCM track, the Arrow’s audio mixes are both quite nice. The 2.0 mix is a bit brighter and feels “wider” in the front sound stage, but the 5.1 mix is the one I really liked. It adds a more dynamic feel to the movie with those strong surrounds and moderate LFE usage. The copious helicopter scenes really make good use of the mains and surrounds, while the thudding of the blades add some punch on the low end. To be fair, this isn’t the most massive low end on the planet, but it’s still got some oompth to it for sure. And the dialog is strong and cleanly replicated up front. Nothing wild, but overall a good solid mix.












Extras:

• Audio Commentary
• Flight Risk
• A Rollercoaster Ride
• Catching Up
• Ride with the Angels: Making Blue Thunder
• The Special: Building Blue Thunder
• 1983 Promotional Featurette
• Extended Scene
• Theatrical Trailer
• Image Gallery

Final Score: ​

So, the question is, do I regret missing out on this film for the last ….oh...39 years? Yeah, I actually do. Its not one of Badham’s best works, but it is a fun 80s actioneer that sort of predicted the rise of the infamous Apache helicopter that was released only 6 years later. It fathered a short lived TV show (which Sony is releasing the same date as this 4K UHD from Arrow) and the much longer running Airwolf series. The 4K UHD looks and sounds great, and Arrows extras are very solid. Definitely recommended if you like the 80s films.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, Malcolm McDowell, Daniel Stern
Directed by: John Badham
Written by: Dan O'Bannon, Don Jakoby
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Arrow Pictures
Rated: R
Runtime: 109 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 5th, 2026

Recommendation: Great Watch