Rolling Thunder is a cult movie. Like all of the famous (or infamous) cult movies there are many who have heard about it and the legend surrounding it. In the case of Rolling Thunder it is believed to be a bloody, hyper-violent revenge movie. The fact that the always verbose , but entertaining Quentin Tarantino has made it known to any and all that it's one of his favorite movies has sealed it's reputation. Done. Lock it up and throw away the key.
And ,like most legends, the reality is far different.
First a brief synopsis. The story is set in 1973 in Texas. Major Charles Rane of the United States Air Force has just come home after seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnamese custody. The country is different. He's different. His wife wants a divorce, his son does not know him and he has to try to adjust to being back in the "normal" world.
Major Rane is presented with a box of silver dollars. One for each day he was held in captivity shortly after arriving back home and within a couple days a gang of thugs invade his home and demand to know where the coins are. He refuses to tell them and they stick his right hand into the garbage disposal. He still won't talk. His son tells them and the criminals murder his wife and son - leaving him alive. His right hand is amputated. He receives a hook and gives himself a mission. A mission to find the men who killed his family and kill them. He enlists the help of an Army Sergeant Vohden ,who was in captivity with him, and a local barmaid who has a serious crush on him.
Major Rane finds them and there is a bloody and brutal gun battle.
That's it. It's a simple story. What has made the movie so notorious is the infamous garbage disposal event and the murder of Rane's wife and son.
However the story is more substantial than that. Within this short and simple story is a tale of a man struggling to find some footing under his feet again. He simply doesn't know where he belongs anymore. He feels hollow and drained of any real feelings or emotions. The only thing that he still has left is his overwhelming sense of duty. Duty sustained him through his years of captivity and the mistreatment that he had to endure at the hands of the North Vietnamese and though he really doesn't feel anything with the loss of his family duty compels him to hunt down the murderers and kill them.
I imagine that most people have never seen Rolling Thunder. If they have they would understand that the movie is more substantial than your standard 1970's Grind House fare. And the "infamous" torture sequence? There is almost no gore. You'll see far worse on an episode of "CSI" or "NCIS". Most of what the audience sees is what is going on in his head at the time of the torture. In Rane's case he flashes back to the treatment at the hands of the North Vietnamese and he doesn't break.
Okay that's the movie. What about the novelization? Well compared to many of the novelizations that were churned out in the seventies (when this genre was at it's peak) this one has a little more substance as well - just like the movie. I got the impression that Mr. Graves didn't approach this job as just a way to earn a quick paycheck. He took some time to actually read the script (co-written by Paul Schrader of Taxi Driver .) and it shows.
The author, Richard L. Graves, was a published author with several original works to his name. He specialized in spy thrillers, but his books have received high marks for clever plotting and keeping the reader on the edge of their seat.
In this novelization Graves adds to Ranes character giving him more depth and complexity. The type of depth that can only come about in a book when the reader can actually hear the character's thoughts. Graves never revels in the gore and violence choosing to emphasis what the characters are experiencing and feeling at the time. There is no sense of moral outrage in the story. Just a feeling that bad things happen and the world still keeps on turning. There really is no purpose for Ranes to go on his self-appointed mission. It won't solve anything and it won't bring his wife and son back to life. But Ranes is driven and with nothing else why not find them? He has nothing to lose.
The ending is very different from the movie. (view spoiler) Nothing really changes and life goes on. Again a more bleak outlook on things than the movie (though just barely) and a commentary on what many of our Vietnam veterans were experiencing at the time (mid/late seventies).
An interesting read. The novel helps to open up the story a bit more than what comes across in the movie. See the movie. It's a good example that one shouldn't judge a "book" by it's cover - or legend.
And ,like most legends, the reality is far different.
First a brief synopsis. The story is set in 1973 in Texas. Major Charles Rane of the United States Air Force has just come home after seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnamese custody. The country is different. He's different. His wife wants a divorce, his son does not know him and he has to try to adjust to being back in the "normal" world.
Major Rane is presented with a box of silver dollars. One for each day he was held in captivity shortly after arriving back home and within a couple days a gang of thugs invade his home and demand to know where the coins are. He refuses to tell them and they stick his right hand into the garbage disposal. He still won't talk. His son tells them and the criminals murder his wife and son - leaving him alive. His right hand is amputated. He receives a hook and gives himself a mission. A mission to find the men who killed his family and kill them. He enlists the help of an Army Sergeant Vohden ,who was in captivity with him, and a local barmaid who has a serious crush on him.
Major Rane finds them and there is a bloody and brutal gun battle.
That's it. It's a simple story. What has made the movie so notorious is the infamous garbage disposal event and the murder of Rane's wife and son.
However the story is more substantial than that. Within this short and simple story is a tale of a man struggling to find some footing under his feet again. He simply doesn't know where he belongs anymore. He feels hollow and drained of any real feelings or emotions. The only thing that he still has left is his overwhelming sense of duty. Duty sustained him through his years of captivity and the mistreatment that he had to endure at the hands of the North Vietnamese and though he really doesn't feel anything with the loss of his family duty compels him to hunt down the murderers and kill them.
I imagine that most people have never seen Rolling Thunder. If they have they would understand that the movie is more substantial than your standard 1970's Grind House fare. And the "infamous" torture sequence? There is almost no gore. You'll see far worse on an episode of "CSI" or "NCIS". Most of what the audience sees is what is going on in his head at the time of the torture. In Rane's case he flashes back to the treatment at the hands of the North Vietnamese and he doesn't break.
Okay that's the movie. What about the novelization? Well compared to many of the novelizations that were churned out in the seventies (when this genre was at it's peak) this one has a little more substance as well - just like the movie. I got the impression that Mr. Graves didn't approach this job as just a way to earn a quick paycheck. He took some time to actually read the script (co-written by Paul Schrader of Taxi Driver .) and it shows.
The author, Richard L. Graves, was a published author with several original works to his name. He specialized in spy thrillers, but his books have received high marks for clever plotting and keeping the reader on the edge of their seat.
In this novelization Graves adds to Ranes character giving him more depth and complexity. The type of depth that can only come about in a book when the reader can actually hear the character's thoughts. Graves never revels in the gore and violence choosing to emphasis what the characters are experiencing and feeling at the time. There is no sense of moral outrage in the story. Just a feeling that bad things happen and the world still keeps on turning. There really is no purpose for Ranes to go on his self-appointed mission. It won't solve anything and it won't bring his wife and son back to life. But Ranes is driven and with nothing else why not find them? He has nothing to lose.
The ending is very different from the movie. (view spoiler) Nothing really changes and life goes on. Again a more bleak outlook on things than the movie (though just barely) and a commentary on what many of our Vietnam veterans were experiencing at the time (mid/late seventies).
An interesting read. The novel helps to open up the story a bit more than what comes across in the movie. See the movie. It's a good example that one shouldn't judge a "book" by it's cover - or legend.
