source: Distant Thunder

Moviecut—Distant Thunder

'Distant Thunder', for the most part is about a father and son who need to come together. That would have been fine with me but it turns out to be a movie too afraid to be about real human emotion and has to end with a violent action confrontation. In the Pacific Northwest lives a hermit, a Vietnam Vet named Mark Lambert (John Lithgow) who has retreated from the world since returning from Vietnam a broken man. He lives in a run down old shack among other vets who are occasionally driven to alcoholism, violent rages and/or suicide. The story is sparked when Lambert fails to save a friend from walking head on into a speeding freight train. Lambert has a son Jack in Illinois and thinks that it may be time to get to know the kid whom he hasn't seen since infancy. A local woman named Char encourages him to go and see Jack and try to have some sort of reconciliation. He writes to Jack (Ralph Macchio) and after much anger and blame the son relents and drives out to see his father. This is where the movie should have been a play on how a father and son come together and heal the wounds put upon them by the Vietnam War. But after a scene or two of this the movie goes into action clichés and into a third act that I found distressing. Char's boyfriend Nitz (Red Brown), another vet, goes crazy and kidnaps Jack and Char and takes them back into the woods with him. This leads to one of those stupid fight to the finish scenes with Mark that we can calculate from the moment it starts. This whole subplot is unnecessary and a distraction from what we wanted to see which was the building of the relationship between Mark and his son. John Lithgow and Ralph Macchio do some good work here playing well-developed characters with genuine feelings, especially Lithgow whom I've never seen play a character like this. I was reminded of the brilliant 'Paris Texas' another story of a man coming back to civilization to find and reunite with this family. That movie had a quiet, hushed tone and just allowed it's characters to talk and didn't need interference of action to tell us how to feel. 'Distant Thunder' is two acts of a great story ruined by the director's fear that we won't sit still and watch two character get to know one another.

Distant Thunder is an overlooked but impressive film. John Lithgow gives an oscar worthy performance and the cinematographty gives the film a haunting atmosphere. This film, along with John Frakenhimer's Black Sunday, is an excellent look at Vietnam vets that has, unfourtaneatley, been overlooked.

The one scene that really impressed me was the point where John Lithgow's character does postal on a guy with a knife at a bar. It was many years ago since I've seen this film. I still remember that scene. The instant rage in Lithgow, the fear he had of his own actions, and how freakin big he really is. JL never really seemed like an imposing guy to me till then. Good dramatic actor, would like to see more...

This movie was really good, and yet nobody has ever heard of it. John Lithgow gave a great performance as a disturbed bush-vet, and Ralph Macchio also gave an exceptional performance as his son. At first I thought that this was going to be stupid because Lithgow wouldn't be able to pull off a dramatic roll, since he is so funny in 3rd Rock, but I was proven wrong! He did a great job. The only problem I had was the stories of why the other two bush-vets were there, it barley explained Harvey and it didn't explain Mark's other "Amigo" (if you haven't seen it, that's what they call each-other); other than that, it was great! It's ashame that Lithgow's next movies were him playing a snooty British accent (thank God he found 3rd Rock!). 8/10

I wanna watch movie.so please I want see this movie.

Most of the Vietnam Vets I know are not crazy; however, that would not be good marketing for Hollywood films if they were normally portrayed as being.......normal. This film is entertaining (which is what movies are supposed to do), but it is not very enlightening for those who want to understand Vietnam Vets better. Vietnam Vets are just like any other people. They are like WW 2 vets, Korean War vets, Iraq War vets and Afghanistan War vets. We are all the same. We have wives and girlfriends, sons and daughters, functional families and dysfunctional families, have bills, educations, jobs, and go on with our lives, just like all the other Vets did. Lithgow does a very nice job, and Macchio makes a very nice Valedictorian, but the vast majority of Vietnam vets and their families are not like that. They have the same problems everyone else has; money, jobs, family relations and diet. Those things are just not exciting enough for Hollywood, so they make these kind of films to exploit the Vietnam Vet stereotype. Too bad. It might be interesting some time to see the life of a normal Vietnam vet portrayed on a Hollywood screen sometime..

I saw this movie several years ago, really late at night, on cable TV. I enjoyed the movie greatly, but, over time, forgot the name of the movie. It took me until today, after years of searching, to find the movie. Now I am off to Amazon to see if I can buy it. The movie is great in regards to the subject, a Vietnam vet. Too many are forgotten, and many returned changed forever, such as the main Character, played by John Lithgow. He does give an excellent performance, and should have had some recognition for it. Find this movie, and enjoy it!

Now this is a brilliant saga of a father-son rivalry in an emotional and atmospheric drama set within the backdrops of the post-Vietnam war. I remember watching this film during the year when it was just out and for some reason it couldn't let go off my mind. John Lithgow and Ralph Macchio plays two opposite characters of a disturbed father and a lost son relationship which blends to an utmost perfect chemistry and with the slick and tight direction of Rick Rosenthal,(I wonder why is he doing only materials for TV nowdays) the film delivers some outstanding cinematography and manages to grip you until the powerful climax. Even though you are not fond of humanity dramas, this movie would still please you as you watch John Lithgow's Oscar-caliber performance and the message of Peace implicitly.I enjoyed it on the whole and I am glad its out on DVD!