The 90s were a burgeoning time for independent cinema. It cannot all be traced back to Quentin Tarantino, but it is hard to have a conversation about this period of time without bringing his name into the fray. Tarantino was the cool new voice in film, which meant that many imitators were destined to pop up and try to figure out the bizarre, twisted alchemy that seemed to come so naturally to him. That is not to take anything away from any of these filmmakers; creatives influence one another all the time, but it is how each person puts their own spin on it that really matters. Skip Woods made quite the splash on the festival circuit in 1998 with his debut feature film Thursday. In the years since, Woods has stuck to writing mainstream fare like Swordfish, A Good Day To Die Hard and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but his lone directorial achievement shored up its budgetary limitations with a story so comically pitch black that a cult appreciation soon followed it. In retrospect, he was obviously somewhat inspired by Tarantino, but Thursday lacks the finesse needed to achieve that level of greatness.
That the opening sequence of Thursday is also its most entertaining is a bit of a problem. Woods drops you right into the middle of a Monday night run to a convenience store by a trio of people we assume are friends. In an excellent bit of comedic sparring and tension building, we slowly get a glimpse of Nick (Aaron Eckhart, The Dark Knight), Dallas (Paulina Porizkova), and Billy Hill (James LeGros, Guncrazy) as they argue the spirit of promotional signage near the coffee machine. In this one scene, we get a taste of the sly, mean-spirited humor that will permeate the film along with the explosive violence that will also be a bellwether for the path of the story. These three are criminals, and now we know they have gotten into a hairy situation in which an increase in body count is not unexpected. They have chosen this situation, but former criminal Casey Wells (Thomas Jane, The Punisher) is about to have his life rocked by an unexpected visit from his older partner, Nick. An ill-fated pop-in can really ruin a Thursday.
As far as getting the audience invested in the outcome of the characters, Woods does a decent job of quickly getting you up to speed on the stakes. Casey has been living life on the straight and narrow in the suburbs with his gorgeous wife, Christine (Paula Marshall), and they have started on a path to adopting a child together. Flashbacks to their initial meeting is heartwarming, but there is a sense of unease between the two in the present only exacerbated by the arrival of Nick. When Nick goes off to handle some business, Casey discovers the bag Nick has left behind is full of drugs and chaos soon follows from those who look to reclaim it. Jane is the perfect choice for a character who has been on a path of reform, yet still has some menace behind his eyes from a life filled with tough situations. The rotating assortment of colorful characters are entertaining, but it is Porizkova that leaves the biggest impression as the sociopathic sex fiend who loves toying with a beleaguered Casey. There is a shocking act carried out by her that we rarely see depicted so unflinchingly on screen, which you have to give the movie twisted credit for.
The bones of Thursday are quite strong and Woods shows a pretty decent eye for visual storytelling, but the Tarantino-esque clever dialogue is where the film struggles a bit. The performers put in great performances all around, but the dialogue from the script can be a bit forced, trying to seem “cool” without the naturalism of a more assured mind. Outrageous violence and mounting tension can only go so far when certain segments of dialogue stop the story in its track. The most egregious instance of this is a flashback with Casey trying to get a rise out of a black guy by asking him about certain cliches, but it does not feel genuine to the character. It feels very scripted in a bad way. The script also fumbles the ending, in my opinion. The story is wrapped up so quickly that it will make your head spin, so much so that the film feels as if it is missing a proper conclusion. There is a lot to really appreciate throughout this film. For as small of a budget as this film was, Thursday asserts itself as a stylish endeavor that impresses. There are scenes in this film that are absolutely riveting, and specific acts of violence will leave you cheering with demented glee. There are unfortunately some apparent flaws that keep this one from being a flat-out classic.
Video Quality
Thursday makes its Blu-Ray debut with a 1080p transfer in its original 1.85:1 that is quite pleasing from Kino Classics. While I have no specific details about the transfer, this appears to be derived from an older master from Universal that shows little signs of damage or digital tinkering. For the majority of the film, the transfer looks clear and detailed with only a couple of shots exhibiting what would be labeled as density fluctuations in the grain field. The image quality is stable with some impressive detail in the production design and texture of clothing. Colors struggle very slightly in terms of saturations, but for the most part they do not look too unnatural. Black levels are pleasing in their depth, but a few moments struggle with delineation. Due to the style of the film, there are some harsh highlights that get clipped. There are no compression artifacts or other digital anomalies in the transfer. Overall, the presentation is one that holds up fairly well considering the low budget nature and age of the film.
Audio Quality
Kino Classics brings us this new Blu-Ray with both a lossless DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio mix that are quite capable. The dialogue holds up quite nicely, coming through clearly for the most part with only a few instances where lines are stepped on by the music or sound effects like gun fire. The environmental effects are not overwhelming but are delineated nicely throughout the speakers. The sounds of booming firearms bring some heft to the mix and reverberate to the rear speakers. The movie features a high-energy soundtrack which sounds great within the mix. The low end is given a bit to work with from time to time, but dialogue is king in this presentation. This is a track that captures the feeling of this movie exactly as it needs to without being too much of a show off.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Film Historian Sally Christie gives an insightful commentary track that delves into the history of the film, the talent in front of and behind the camera, parallels to other performances from the actors, the dark humor of the film, the critical reception and much more that is worth exploring.
- Interview with Star Thomas Jane: A new 15-minute video interview with Jane that is a really wild, entertaining ride. Jane tells stories about landing his role in The Thin Red Line, some noticeable interactions he had with Marlon Brando, his experiences working with Mickey Rourke, the directing style of Skip Woods, his performance in The Crow: City of Angels, acting with a double hernia and much more. This is the type of unfiltered interview that you could listen to all day and not be bored.
- Trailers: A two-minute trailer for Thursday is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Stretch, The Veil and The Underneath.
Final Thoughts
Thursday is an edgy crime-drama that aims to be the next Tarantino-level cult classic, but it does not quite hit the sweet spot of such a notable auteur. The performances are very solid all around, but the dialogue often feels like it is trying too hard and the potential of the story feels unfulfilled by the time the credits start rolling. This is a feature that will more than likely entertain in the moment, but is unlikely to have staying power in your memory on the level of other genre favorites. Kino Classics have delivered a long-awaited Blu-Ray for fans that sports a pleasing A/V presentation and some entertaining supplemental features. If you appreciate morally dubious, darkly entertaining crime films, there are worse ways to spend your time than checking this one out.
Thursday is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
