Product Details

• Actors: James Stewart
• Directors: John Sturges, William Wyler
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Good Times Video
• DVD Release Date: May 15, 2001
• Run Time: 45 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005B1YH
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,058 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #76 in Movies & TV > DVD > Military & War
  • #96 in Movies & TV > DVD > Documentary

Editorial Reviews

THUNDERBOLT - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

145 of 147 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good show about a great fighter plane in World War II, July 21, 2001

By 

Rob Morris (Idaho Falls, ID United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thunderbolt (DVD)

This DVD has been taken from a early-forties era documentary film made with Stateside audiences in mind. It was probably shown in theaters before the main shows during the war years. One of the big pluses is that the film is in color, and that the color is strikingly good for a combat film. Directed by Academy Award winner William Wyler (best known for 'Ben-Hur' and the original documentary of 'The Memphis Belle'), the film depicts life--and death--in a P-47 Thunderbolt squadron based in Italy. It gives the viewer a good look at Italy, not just the base itself. The strafing runs are excellent, taken by a camera mounted in the planes on actual missions. For a wartime propaganda film, it is quite honest and deals with the suffering of noncombatants, showing bombed-out buildings, children playing near a burned corpse, and haggard, war-weary men and women. The aerial footage is excellent, the dialogue is good, and the quality of the picture is also good. The film also shows the tragic results of a Thunderbolt crash quite graphically, as if to remind the viewer that war is a dangerous game and that there is never any guarantee that the pilots will return from their missions. This color film runs around 45 minutes. It is well worth the price.

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The "other" Classic WW2 Documentary in Color, June 11, 2003

By 

Michael R. Lachance (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thunderbolt (DVD)

Along with "Memphis Belle" this fine film stands up there with the best documentary features of the era. Using wartime film equipment, (no fancy Hollywood gear!) William Wyler (Ben-Hur) did his part for the war effort, with style and class (and a little humor!). A combination of propaganda and straight up honest filmmaking, 'Thunderbolt' is a film worth buying.

Shot on 16mm Kodachrome, You wont see ultrafine images or glorious sound. The color and contrast are sometimes harsh. But this was War, and filmmaking in a combat zone isn't easy, under harsh conditions Wyler's film survived to become the true classic it is today.

Enjoy!

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Little Film, August 9, 2004

By 

R. Richard (Natick, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thunderbolt (DVD)

This is a great little documentary about an important part of WW II, the Italian campaign, that is too often over looked. Some of the footage is a bit out of focus but other sections have some great footage. The 57 FS "The First in the Blue" documented in the film was the first US air group engaged in the war fighting all the way from Palestine and across North Africa. I can't imagine there are many better $5 deals out there.