Days of Thunder on Blu-ray Disc Review
By Greg Robinson
The Film
It's funny how certain things stick in your mind. If you were to ask me the name of my second grade teacher or what the dinner entree was at my wedding reception, I'd probably respond with something along the lines of, "Uhhh....." However, if you were to ask me when I first became obsessed with home theater and surround sound, I could tell you precisely when and how that happened.
It was during the summer of 1997 and the fated moment occurred in the television aisle of the Holbrook, NY Costco warehouse. It was there that Bose had set up a surround sound demonstration kiosk which featured a LaserDisc player mated to one of their Lifestyle Home Entertainment Systems - complete with five miniature cube speakers and a subwoofer. Of course, you couldn't really see the player or the Bose unit; all you could do was push a large, red button which blinked enticingly below the TV screen. After pushing said button, I took a few steps back and watched as Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise) "dropped the hammer" and turned a few lightning fast laps with a skeptical Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) watching from the sidelines. Buck Bretherton (John C. Reilly) greets Cole with a big grin upon his return saying simply, "That was fast." Standing there in Costco, grinning myself, I can remember thinking, "That was loud." And then I pushed the button again. And again.
Fresh off his success with
Top Gun in 1986 and
Beverly Hills Cop II in 1987, Tony Scott decided to stick with a winning formula when he re-teamed with Tom Cruise, Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer for
Days of Thunder in 1990. Just as Steven Seagal's
Under Siege (1992) was essentially
Die Hard (1988) on a boat, it's hard to argue with those who view
Days of Thunder as nothing more than
Top Gun in a race car. Although
Top Gun seems to have a bigger following,
Days is actually the superior film. This is thanks in large part to Robert Duvall, whose authentic and weathered Harry character serves as a grounding force in the film as he keeps Maverick, err, Cole from grinning like a fool or showing off his pearly whites too often.
The plot is simple: Cole is a young, rookie driver with something to prove. Harry is a retired mechanic/crew chief with nothing left to lose. Add to the mix Michael Rooker as a rival driver, Nicole Kidman as the obligatory love interest, throw in some truly exhilarating race photography and you get one surprisingly entertaining popcorn flick.
The Picture
Released way back in 1999, the
Days of Thunder DVD suffered from apparent print damage (mostly early in the film) and intermittent but terrible video noise. The noise was most noticeable during race sequences, where the throngs of NASCAR fans looked blurry and busy whenever the camera panned across the grandstands. For fans of the film and owners of its sub-par DVD, this new 1080p Blu-ray transfer brings with it a great deal of anticipation.
Although the print wear and tear has carried over to this new high def image and the picture does exude a prevailing softness, the Blu-ray Disc's video is a head and shoulders improvement over that of the DVD. As expected, facial close-ups are more richly detailed, colors look a tweak more natural and most importantly, the distracting video noise present in the crowds is now a thing of the past. Although it's hardly reference quality Blu-ray video, this is definitely the best I've seen
Days look since its theatrical run.
The Sound
Although it sang a siren song to my 1997 ears, that LaserDisc Dolby Surround track surely pales in comparison to the Blu-ray's new lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. Dialogue is mixed a bit low, but it's clear and intelligible throughout. Although the surround channels aren't given much to do for the bulk of the film, the "red button scene" where Cole turns a few laps does exhibit wonderful panning around the entire sound field and the climactic race at the Daytona 500 will give your subwoofer some much-needed exercise. "Gentlemen, start your engines!"
The Extras
Sadly, the only goodie we get here is the film's theatrical trailer presented in HD. This is particularly disappointing when you consider the fact that the film's sole DVD release is now more than ten years old and it too was completely devoid of bonus material. You'd think that given that much time they could come up with something to breathe new life into this old favorite.
It should also be noted that Paramount curiously continues to hide their special features from Blu-ray's in-film pop-up menu, forcing users instead to return to the "Home" menu screen where you can then access the disc's extras - or extra, as is the case with
Days. This cumbersome approach means extra clicks and extra load time, so hopefully Paramount will improve upon this in 2009.
Final Thoughts
Whether you're a NASCAR nut, Tom Cruise fan or you believe as I do that Robert Duvall brings credibility to every film he makes,
Days of Thunder is worth a spin. The new Blu-ray video offers a substantial improvement over its DVD counterpart, but a near total lack of extras makes this disc a rental for all but the most diehard of fans.
Where to Buy
Product Details
- Actors: Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Nicole Kidman, John C. Reilly, Randy Quaid, Michael Rooker, Cary Elwes, Fred Thompson
- Audio/Languages: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French & Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rating: PG-13
- Studio: Paramount
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: December 30, 2008
- Run Time: 107 minutes
- List Price: $29.99
- Extras:
