Rolling Thunder (1977)
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82% of critics liked it
(11 reviews) -
79% of users liked it
(1,758 ratings)
William Devane plays a rare sympathetic role in Rolling Thunder, though his behavior is just as cold-blooded and sharkish as in any of his villainous assignments. Devane is cast as Maj. Charles Rane, a recently released Vietnam POW who is given a hero's welcome in his Texas hometown. Things sour… More William Devane plays a rare sympathetic role in Rolling Thunder, though his behavior is just as cold-blooded and sharkish as in any of his villainous assignments. Devane is cast as Maj. Charles Rane, a recently released Vietnam POW who is given a hero's welcome in his Texas hometown. Things sour pretty quickly, however: Rane's wife has lost all love for him, his son doesn't recognize him, and there are those in town who consider him a "loser" or "baby-killer." All he really has to show for his ordeal in Nam is a cache of silver coins bestowed on him by the more sympathetic townsfolk. A scumbag gang of thieves decides to relieve Rane of his money; they kill his family, then torture and disfigure Rane to ascertain the whereabouts of the coins. Now living only for vengeance, the taciturn Rane heads to Mexico to exact his own brand of justice on the fleeing crooks. Tommy Lee Jones co-stars as Rane's best friend, Johnny Vohden, who unquestioningly agrees to help Rane in his mission of revenge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Flynn
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure
R,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1977 Wide
- Studio
- American International Picture
Critic Reviews
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Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice
Performances are made crystalline through a sixth sense for camera placement and curt cutting from director John Flynn, whose 2007 passing was little noted, though his no-BS way of laying down a story is a rare commodity in any era.
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Variety Staff, Variety
In sum, it neither rolls nor thunders.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
[It] has some good things, but in the way it has been directed by John Flynn it moves so easily and sort of foolishly toward its violent climax that all the tension within Charlie has long since escaped the film.
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Jamie Russell, Total Film
This exploitation flick is a red-blooded, all-American revenge movie, but offers sensitive insight into the pain of post-war adjustment.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
While Rolling Thunder suffers from Schrader's predictable obsessions with masculine ritual and gunplay, Devane and Jones enhance the material with their nuanced, sensitive portrayals of men who have lost their souls in another land.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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William Devane
as Maj. Charles Rane
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Tommy Lee Jones
as Johnny Vohden
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Linda Haynes
as Linda Forchet
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Lisa Blake Richards
as Janet
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Dabney Coleman
as Maxwell
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James Best
as Texan
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Cassie Yates
as Candy
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Lawrason Driscoll
as Clif
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Jordan Gerler
as Mark
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Luke Askew
as Slim
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Jerry Brown
as Patrolman 1
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Randy Herman
as Sanchez
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Paul A. Partain
as Brother-in-law
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James Victor
as Lopez
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Autry Ward
as Texan 2
