Thelma & Louise (1991)

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writer (WGA):

Callie Khouri (written by)

Release Date:

24 May 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Somebody said get a life... so they did.

Plot:

An Arkansas waitress and a housewife shoot a rapist and take off in a '66 Thunderbird.

Plot Keywords:

Waitress | Road | Fugitive | Arkansas | Police

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 12 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Susan Sarandon	...	Louise
Geena Davis	...	Thelma
Harvey Keitel	...	Hal
Michael Madsen	...	Jimmy
Christopher McDonald	...	Darryl
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Max
Brad Pitt	...	J.D.
Timothy Carhart	...	Harlan
Lucinda Jenney	...	Lena, the Waitress
Jason Beghe	...	State Trooper
Sonny Carl Davis	...	Albert
Ken Swofford	...	Major
Shelly Desai	...	East Indian Motel Clerk (as Shelly De Sai)
Carol Mansell	...	Waitress
Stephen Polk	...	Surveillance Man

Also Known As:

Thelma & Louise (France)
Thelma and Louise (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, and for some violence and sensuality.

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:12 | Brazil:14 | USA:R (No. 31011) | Canada:18A (Canadian Home Video rating) | New Zealand:M | Canada:14+ | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Callie Khouri's original plan for the film was to direct it herself, on a very low budget and with a documentary feel to it.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Reflection of a truck in rear of the mirrored tanker. The truck is supposed to be the '66 Thunderbird.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Louise Sawyer: Decaf or regular?
Girl in diner: Uh, regular, please.
Louise Sawyer: You girls are kinda young to be smokin', dontcha think? Ruins your sex drive.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Law & Order: Point of View (#3.9)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

House Of Hope

A rare moment in cinema of the total rejection of the rule of law and patriarchy…

The road movie is traditionally a male genre, relying on the sense of freedom and independence that having one's own transport provides and which has usually been the privilege of men… What is innovatory about "Thelma & Louise" is the way it reequips the genre for women…

Thelma (Geena Davis) is a housewife trapped in a meaningless marriage, Louise (Susan Sarandon) is a waitress in a not very significant relationship… They decide to give themselves a little space by taking off for a weekend… But when Louise shoots a man who is trying to rape Thelma, they are precipitated into a far more radical break with their past lives…

The setting of action in the American southwest and the acts of outlawry the women are obliged to commit in order to keep on the run give the film some of the feel of a Western… What makes it nevertheless a women's film is that the relationship between the two principals is at the center of the story… The various men they encounter, both the ones they leave behind and those they meet on the road have less importance for Thelma and Louise than the two women do for each other…

Predictably, the film met with hostility from some male viewers, on the grounds that the men were caricatured and that the film encouraged violence…