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Distant Thunder

Play trailer Poster for Distant Thunder R 1988 1h 54m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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43% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A Chicago teenager (Ralph Macchio) searches the Pacific Northwest woods for his Vietnam-veteran father (John Lithgow).
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Distant Thunder

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times This is a movie of great subtlety and strength, marred by the mechanical way in which the last act is played. Rated: 3/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Cathy Burke United Press International It's hard to fault a story so poignant and still so relevant. But this tale of lost souls deserved exactly the right setting, one that could have provided the intimacy needed to illustrate a sad, yet hopeful, message. Aug 23, 2016 Full Review Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily Rated: 2/5 Oct 6, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Aug 28, 2005 Full Review Frank Swietek One Guy's Opinion Rated: 2/5 Apr 15, 2004 Full Review Brian Mckay eFilmCritic.com Cliched film about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but with surprisingly strong performances by Lithgow and Macchio. Rated: 3/5 Mar 19, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (10) audience reviews
Audience Member Overall, there are a few things this film gets correct and other aspects seem slightly off. While I admire the performances of the leads, I can't deny that the leading actors seem somewhat miscast, and the characters here make strange choices with unexplained moments and backstories. The pacing and story are predictable, and many moments are long and drawn out, which also makes the story, at times, uninteresting and dull. Granted, the film manages to hit hard on an emotional aspect to tie everything in before its credits are finally revealed. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/11/23 Full Review Audience Member 88% "It said 'no tresspassing'"-Harvey Nitz (Reb Brown) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member This film is very powerful and has many lessons that can be learned from it also. Ralph Macchio and John Lithgow give powerful performances. It is somewhat hard to stay interested in untill the last 30 minutes of the movie. All in all, a captivating film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member This film is very powerful and has many lessons that can be learned from it also. Ralph Macchio and John Lithgow give powerful performances. It is somewhat hard to stay interested in untill the last 30 minutes of the movie. All in all, a captivating film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member I had never heard of this movie but I decided to get it because it has a great cast. John Lithgow, Ralph Macchio and Reb Brown. I had no real expectations and seeing how very few people atleast on Netflix, facebook and IMDB have rated this it was very surprising. Figuring that Ralph Macchio and John Lithgow are not unknown actors and the film felt like it had a budget. Anyway, I really did enjoy this movie. It has great cinematography and great acting. The vietnam scenes and the woods parts are shot well. I am confused to why it is not more widely known. It is taken seriously and the story is compelling. The relationship between Lithgow and Macchio is pretty unique. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at this movie and I did enjoy it a lot. It is different than other films and I guess it being kind of low on the radar makes it all the more compelling. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member The action seemed to drag and I found myself getting restless and eager for this film to end. The relationships between the characters barely carried this movie, but whether that was more the result of the acting or writing is hard to say. Even if the situation depicted here is based on some kind of truth - a combat veteran so traumatized by his experience that he cannot function in day-to-day society, so he lives a life of isolation in the mountains - it still seems too remote and far-fetched to be taken seriously. How many Vietnam vets took to the hills anyway? Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Distant Thunder

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A Chicago teenager (Ralph Macchio) searches the Pacific Northwest woods for his Vietnam-veteran father (John Lithgow).
Director
Rick Rosenberg
Production Co
Paramount Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 11, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$146.0K
Runtime
1h 54m
Sound Mix
Surround
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