Farleyed

The editor on this film, Frank P. Keller, died shortly after working on the film. He also was the editor on Bullitt. He won the Oscar for editing on that film. Rolling Thunder has a very strong and deliberate editing style and pace--it all hangs together very well--and the action cutting is very tight. The quick cutaways to the blue-tinted POW torture scenes work very well too. I think part of the reason this film is so cool is Keller's editing.

I think someone should teach a film course where Without Limits and Prefontaine are the only two films studied. I think it would be interesting to compare how two different filmmakers dealt with the same subject. I find Without Limits to be far stronger. In Prefontaine, which is definitely watchable, a lot of the writing is too on-the-nose and too basic, whereas in Without Limits things are introduced in a more subtle off-hand way. And the fake documentary interviews in Prefontaine are really stupid. The Sutherland narration in Without Limits is great, very poetic. Also, did anyone notice the homoerotic subtext between coach and athlete in Without Limits? This was an unsusual touch in a sports movie. Maybe it was just Towne's own unique/subversive way of marvelling at lost youth. I don't know. Very interesting film.

This is a magical movie. I've seen it too many times to count. Rourke plays a character who is disillusioned by the way the world works and Dillon plays an innocent who has yet to learn that the world is shit. The music, camerawork and editing are all incredible.