Wikipedia

Days of Thunder

For the NASCAR-style racing series in Europe which used the name "Days of Thunder" in 2003–04, seeStock Car Speed Association.

Days of Thunderis a 1990 Americansportsaction dramafilm produced byDon SimpsonandJerry Bruckheimerand directed byTony Scott.The film starsTom Cruise,Nicole Kidman,Robert Duvall,Randy Quaid,Cary Elwes,Caroline Williams,andMichael Rooker.It also features appearances by real lifeNASCARracers, such asRichard Petty,Rusty Wallace,Neil Bonnett,andHarry Gant.Commentator Dr.Jerry Punch,ofESPN,has acameo appearance,as does co-producer Don Simpson.

Days of Thunder
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTony Scott
Screenplay byRobert Towne
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyWard Russell
Edited by
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • June 27, 1990(1990-06-27)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$60 million[1][2]
Box office$157.9 million

Days of Thunderwas released in the United States on June 27, 1990, byParamount Pictures.The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its racing sequences, Hans Zimmer's musical score, and the performances of Cruise and Duvall, but criticized its lack of originality compared to Scott's previous filmTop Gun,and grossed $157 million worldwide against a production budget of $60 million. A sequel is in development.

Plot

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YoungUSACracer Cole Trickle is recruited byChevroletdealership tycoon Tim Daland to race for his team in theNASCAR Winston Cup Series,bringing former crew chief and car builder Harry Hogge out of retirement to lead Cole's pit crew (Harry had left NASCAR a year prior to avoid investigation involving the death of driver Buddy Bretherton). After Cole sets a fast time in a private test atCharlotte Motor Speedway,Harry builds him a new chassis and hires him onto his team.

Cole makes his first start atPhoenix,where he has difficulty adjusting to the larger NASCAR stock cars and communicating with his crew, while being intimidated on the track by Winston Cup Champion and dirty driver Rowdy Burns; these obstacles, combined with numerous crashes and blown engines, prevent Cole from finishing the next three races atBristol,Dover,andRockingham.Cole confesses to Harry that he does not understand any common NASCAR terminology, leading Harry to put him through rigorous training. This pays off atDarlington,when Cole uses aslingshot maneuverfrom the outside line to overtake Rowdy and win his first race.

The rivalry between Cole and Rowdy intensifies throughout the season until theFirecracker 400atDaytona,where both drivers are seriously injured after being caught ina massive crash.Recovering inDaytona Beach,Cole develops a romantic relationship with Dr. Claire Lewicki, aneurosurgeonat a local hospital. NASCAR President Big John brings Rowdy and Cole together in a meeting and warns them that he and his sport will no longer tolerate any misbehavior from the two rivals. The two bitter rivals soon become close friends after having dinner and settling their differences by smashing rental cars in a race on the beach, per Big John's persuasion.

Daland hires another hotshot rookie, Russ Wheeler, to fill Cole's seat until Cole returns, and then expands his team, with Daland now fielding two cars – the second car driven by Russ, despite Harry's disapproval. Though Cole shows signs of his old self, he falls into a new rivalry with Russ, leading to an engine failure atAtlanta.Daland offers no help to Cole or his crew, as he is defensive of his newest driver. AtNorth Wilkesboro,Russ blocks Cole's path during their pit stop, and later forces Cole into the outside wall on the last lap to win the race. Cole retaliates by crashing into Russ' car after the race, leading to a fight between Harry, Daland, and both of Cole and Russ's pit crews, with Daland firing both Cole and Harry in the process.

Rowdy learns he has to undergo brain surgery to fix a broken blood vessel, and asks Cole to drive his car at theDaytona 500so his sponsor will pay for the year. Cole reluctantly agrees and convinces Harry to return as his crew chief. Hours prior to the race, Harry discovers metal in the oil pan, a sign of engine failure, and manages to procure a new engine from Daland, who still believes in his former driver's promise. During the race, Cole's car is spun out by Russ and suffers a malfunctioning transmission, but the combined efforts of Harry's and Daland's pit crews manage to fix the problem and get Cole back on the lead lap. On the final lap, Russ predicts that Cole will attempt his signature slingshot maneuver from outside, but Cole tricks him with a crossover, overtaking him from the inside to win his first Daytona 500.

Cole drives into Victory Lane, where he and his pit crew celebrate with Claire. He approaches Harry, sitting alone, who is impressed by Cole's performance. Cole asks Harry to walk with him and Harry agrees, challenging him to a foot race to Victory Lane.

Cast

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No. 46 City Chevrolet used by Cole Trickle.

Richard Petty,Rusty Wallace,Neil Bonnett,Harry Gant,andDr. Jerry Punchall appear in cameo roles as themselves.Bob Jenkinshad a voice-over role as a public address announcer, and hisESPNcolleaguesBenny ParsonsandNed Jarrettportray radio announcers.

In addition, character actressMargo Martindaleis seen in her first film role, as Harry's timekeeper, whileDon Simpson,one of the film's producers, has a cameo as driver Aldo Bennedetti, patterned afterMario Andrettiand using his twin brotherAldo Andretti's first name.

Production

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Principal photographytook place in early 1990 in and aroundCharlotteandDaytona Beach.It was plagued with delays due to frequent arguments on set between Simpson and Bruckheimer, Scott, and sometimes Towne over how to set up a shot. Crew members sat idle for long hours; some later said they had accumulated enoughovertimepay to go on vacation for a full four months after filming was completed. The completion date was pushed back many times, with filming being completed in early May,[6]three months later than it had originally been scheduled. At one point, following the third revision of the shooting schedule in a single day, theunit production manager,who represents the studio on the set or location, confronted Simpson and Bruckheimer and was told bluntly that the schedule no longer mattered.[7]

In Daytona, Simpson and Bruckheimer spent $400,000 to have a vacant storefront in their hotel converted into their private gym, with a large neon sign reading "Days of Thunder". Simpson also kept a closet full ofDonna Karandresses to offer the attractive women his assistants found on the beach, and held private parties with friends like rapperTone Lōc.[8]Towne also played a role in the film's increasing cost by scrapping more barn scenes when he did not like either of two barns built to his specifications. The film's original budget of $35 million nearly doubled; at that level it would have had to make at least $100 million, a rare gross at that time, to break even.[7]In addition, when Tom CruiselosttheOscarforBorn on the Fourth of July,some additional budget was cut.[9]Despite thebudget overrunsand delays, reportedly it was only after shooting was finished that the filmmakers discovered they had neglected to film Cole Trickle's car crossing the finish line at Daytona.[8]Nine million dollars of the film's budget plus gross percentage went to star Tom Cruise.[1][2]

With the delay in completion of filming and no delay in release date, post production had to be completed in five weeks rather than the five months it would normally take for such a film.[10]

Race cars

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The cars used as those of Cole Trickle, Rowdy Burns, and Russ Wheeler were provided byHendrick Motorsports,with racersGreg Sacks,Tommy Ellis,Bobby Hamilton,andHut Stricklinas the stand-in drivers. In order to provide authentic race footage involving the cars, these cars were actually raced on three occasions. In late1989,Hamilton and Sacks raced atPhoenix.[11]Hamilton officially qualified fifth and led a lap before his engine blew. In 1990, the cars were raced again at Daytona and Darlington. Sacks drove a car during theBusch Clash,while Hamilton and Ellis drove unscored entries in theDaytona 500.[12]At Darlington, Stricklin and Sacks drove two of the cars, but both were pulled from the race early after Sacks broke a crankshaft. Cole's first car in the film is sponsored by City Chevrolet, a real-life car dealership inCharlotte, North Carolina,owned byRick Hendrick.[13]

Music

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Main article:Days of Thunder (soundtrack)
Coverdale performing withWhitesnakein 1987.

The score forDays of Thunderwas composed byHans Zimmer,withJeff Beckfeatured on guitar. Zimmer had this to say about Jeff Beck "I think he is the most amazing musician I've ever worked with. The whole reason I did 'Days of Thunder' was a subterfuge to work with Jeff Beck, it was as simple as that. There's Jeff Beck and then there's everybody else.".[5]This was the first of an ongoing list of films in which Zimmer would compose the score for aJerry Bruckheimerproduction. An official score album was not released until 2013, by La-La Land Records.[14]The film's theme song "Last Note of Freedom" was sung byDavid Coverdaleof the bandWhitesnakeat the request ofTom Cruisehimself. Coverdale's vocal parts were recorded in 1990 in Los Angeles during a day off of the WhitesnakeSlip of the TongueLiquor and Poker world tour.[15]"Show Me Heaven",written and sung byMaria McKee,reached number one in the music charts of the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway.

Release

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Days of Thunderwas released on Wednesday, June 27, 1990 on 2,307 screens in the United States and Canada and grossed $21,502,162 in its first five days.[6]It opened on 170 screens in Japan on June 29 and grossed $2,105,932 for the weekend.[16]The film was a financial success grossing a total of $157,920,733.[17][18]The film was also successful on home video.[19]

Home media

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Having been previously released onVHSand thenDVD,Days of Thunderwas released as the fifth film entry in the Paramount Presents series on remasteredBlu-rayin May 2020. A4K Ultra HDBlu-ray was also released the same day. Extra features include a new Isolated Score and a six-minute featurette - Filmmaker Focus: Days of Thunder with Producer Jerry Bruckheimer.[20]

Reception and legacy

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Critical response

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The film received mixed reviews from critics who mostly shrugged off the sometimes over-the-top special effects and plot which greatly resembled the earlier Bruckheimer, Simpson, Scott and Cruise vehicleTop Gun,which had been hugely successful four years earlier.[21][22]Halliwell's Film GuidedismissedDays of Thunderas "An over familiar story rendered no more interestingly than usual",[23]while theMonthly Film Bulletindescribed it as "simply a flashy, noisy star vehicle for Tom Cruise, one which – like the stock car he drives – goes around in circles getting nowhere".[23]It holds a rating of 37% onRotten Tomatoesbased on 67 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The site's consensus reads: "Days of Thunderhas Tom Cruise and plenty of flash going for it, but they aren't enough to compensate for the stock plot, two-dimensional characters, and poorly written dialogue. "[24]Metacriticgave it a score of 60 out of 100 based on 16 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Reassessment

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Following Tony Scott's death in 2012,[25]film criticStephen Metcalfargued that the film marked an important turning point in the history of the American film industry. "The best film he made may well have beenCrimson Tide,"he wrote inSlate,"but the most important film he made wasDays of Thunder."The excesses of its production and its failure to equalTop Gun's magnitude of box-office success, he argues, helped end the era[26]that had followed the failure ofHeaven's Gateten years earlier. The studio's willingness to indulge directorMichael Ciminoon that film, as other studios had been doing up to that point, led to a backlash where studios favored producers like Simpson and Bruckheimer whose films bore far more of their imprint than any director who worked for them.Crimson Tide,made several years afterDays of Thunder,was the critical and commercial success it was, Metcalf says, because after similar excesses on the producers' part like those that occurred onThunderdirectors were allowed to reassert themselves.[8]

Quentin Tarantinosaid the film was his favorite big budget racing movie:

Yeah, yeah, you laugh but seriously I'm a big fan. To meDays of Thunderis the movieGrand PrixandLe Mansshould have been. Sure, it had a big budget, big stars and a big director in Tony Scott, but it had the fun of those earlyAIPmovies. I just don't think it works if you take the whole thing too seriously.[27]

In 2024, Producer Jerry Bruckheimer also praised the film: “[It] was a terrific film. Tom was great in it. “[28]

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While the film was neither based on a true story, nor abiographical film,the main character Cole Trickle was very loosely based on the careers ofTim RichmondandGeoff Bodine,[29][30]and several scenes reenacted or referenced real-life stories and personalities fromNASCARhistory.[29]The scene where Big John tells Cole and Rowdy they will drive to dinner together is based on an actual meetingBill France Jr.had in the 1980s betweenDale Earnhardt Sr.andGeoff Bodine.[29]Richard ChildressandDale Earnhardt Jr.discussed howDays of Thunderwas based on the rivalry between Earnhardt Sr. and Bodine. One scene in which Cole deliberately blows his engine by over-revving it reflects upon an incident in which Tim Richmond was said to have done at Michigan in 1987.[31]In another scene, Trickle is told he cannot pit because the crew is too busy eatingice cream.This incident actually occurred at the 1987Southern 500involving the Hendrick Motorsports No. 35 team with crew chiefHarry Hydeand Richmond's replacement driverBenny Parsons.[32]The scene where Cole and Rowdy destroy a pair of rental cars by racing them through the city streets loosely referenced early 1950s NASCAR superstarsJoe WeatherlyandCurtis Turner,each of whom were known to rent cars, race, and crash them with abandon.[33][34]

A year after the film's release, the fictionalMello Yellosponsorship depicted on Trickle's No. 51 car was followed by a real-life sponsorship arrangement. The No. 42 Pontiac ofSABCO Racingdriven byKyle Pettycarried the paint scheme from 1991 to 1994. Mello Yello also sponsored thefall raceat Charlotte from 1990 to 1994. At the 2013Subway Firecracker 250,driverKurt Buschhad his unsponsored No. 1Phoenix RacingChevy painted to resemble Cole Trickle's No. 46 City Chevrolet car as part of an awareness campaign for theArmed Forces Foundation.[35]

The Darlington throwback race weekend has also seen drivers race with paint schemes based on those from the film. The2015 Bojangles' Southern 500saw the Mello Yello car on the No. 42 Chevy ofKyle Larson.[36]Rick Ware Racingexecuted the throwback in2017forCody Ware's No. 51, but with a "Pray for Texas" message in support of the survivors ofHurricane Harvey.[37]At thefollowing year's race,RWR's No. 51 forB. J. McLeodresembled Russ Wheeler's No. 18Hardee'scar, but with Jacob Companies as the sponsor.[38]In2019,the City Chevrolet paint scheme returned on the No. 24Hendrick Motorsportscar ofWilliam Byron.[39]TheNASCAR Xfinity Series' 2019 Darlington race saw the No. 51 ofJeremy Clementsuse a paint scheme resembling Rowdy Burns'Exxoncar, but with RepairableVehicles as the sponsor.[40]

The 1991Simpsonsepisode "Saturdays of Thunder" is named after the film.[26]

In 2015,M&M'sreleased a promo video onYouTubeto commemorate the 25th anniversary ofDays of Thunderand to promote M&M's Crispy. The video features driverKyle Buschand crew chiefAdam Stevensparodying scenes from the film.[41]

Accolades

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The film was nominated for theAcademy AwardforBest Sound(Charles M. Wilborn,Donald O. Mitchell,Rick KlineandKevin O'Connell).[42][43]

Video games

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Main articles:Days of Thunder (1990 video game)andDays of Thunder (2011 video game)

In 1990,Mindscapereleased a video game adaptation of the film for multiple platforms such as the PC,NESandAmiga.AGame Boyversion was released in 1992. The game was available for thePlayStation NetworkandiOS.Paramount Digital Entertainment released a new video game based on the film for theiOS,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360andPlayStation Portable.iOS version was released in 2009 and other versions were released in 2011. The game includes 12 NASCAR sanctioned tracks—includingDaytona International SpeedwayandTalladega Superspeedway—and the film characters Cole Trickle, Rowdy Burns, and Russ Wheeler. The PS3 version, labeledDays of Thunder: NASCAR Editionhas more than 12 selectNASCAR Sprint Cupdrivers, includingDenny Hamlin,Ryan NewmanandTony Stewart.

Sequel

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In November 2024, it was reported that Tom Cruise was in final talks to star in and produce aDays of Thundersequel.[44]It is being developed concurrently with an untitledTop Gun: Mavericksequel.[45]

References

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  15. ^"Whitesnake".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-03-08.Retrieved2014-04-07."It was a personal request from Mr Cruise...& when I discovered the producer was Trevor Horn, I didn't hesitate to get involved...I recorded the song in LA during a 2 or 3-day break on the Slip of the Tongue US tour...( or the Liquor & Poker Tour...ahem )...""Whitesnake".Archived from the original on March 8, 2011.Retrieved2011-05-02.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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  43. ^Dances with Wolves Wins Sound: 1991 Oscars
  44. ^Vary, Adam (November 1, 2024)."Tom Cruise in Early Talks for 'Days of Thunder' Sequel".Variety.Archivedfrom the original on November 1, 2024.RetrievedNovember 1,2024.
  45. ^Masters, Kim; Hibberd, James (November 1, 2024)."Tom Cruise Eyeing 'Days of Thunder' Sequel for Paramount (Exclusive)".The Hollywood Reporter.Archivedfrom the original on November 1, 2024.RetrievedNovember 1,2024.
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