RMG 311 – Rolling Thunder (1977)

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On this episode, the Retro Movie Geek crew is joined by Rick Patterson (find more from Rick HERE), and they’re geeking out over Rolling Thunder (1977) and

Knightriders & Babylon 5
good writing
William Devane & Tommy Lee Jones
good moviemaking
and much, much more!

Synopsis:

Writer Paul Schrader created this explosive portrait of a man who is like a walking vial of nitro-glycerine – ready to go off at any time. His critically-acclaimed Rolling Thunder is one of the finest films to explore the often violent effects of the Vietnam War on its returning “heroes”.

When Major Charles Rane returns home to Texas, he is given a hero’s welcome. He and his friend Johnny Vohden have endured eight years of physical and mental torture in a POW camp. Charlie’s big homecoming includes a Cadillac convertible and a couple of thousand dollars… and the news that his wife has fallen in love with another man.

The event that detonates Charlie is a brutal holdup by a gang looking for his reward money. They murder his son, the only person who matters to Charlie, and grind his hand in a garbage disposal. But they have underestimated the endurance of this determined man – a man who believes he is already half-dead.

Now Charlie is equipped with a metal claw for a hand, his old friend Johnny, and a car that is a rolling arsenal of weapons and ammunition, as they set out to methodically eradicate the killers in true commando style.

Excellent performances and a gripping plot that hurtles toward a violent climax!

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