As summer begins here’s a pivotal summer movie. In summer of T2 and Robin Hood, Thelma & Louise rocked the nation. Thanks to the Criterion Collection, Thelma & Louise comes to 4K UHD.

The desert never looked so dry on film before. The 4K transfer doesn’t push the cliche orange sunny glow.  It’s bright without being sweaty, just dry. Of course a few shots get wavy Heat vision but the only sweat in movie is bicyclist with the joint.

Stops along the road match this look. A motel room is clean and stark. It really brings out the lighting in roadside diners and behind bars, not well lit places in real life but controlled for scenes at emotional points in Thelma and Louise’s journey.

Opening scenes provide a real contrast. Louise’s diner and Thelma’s kitchen are comparably cold, but Thelma’s suburban yard is bright and colorful, maybe the last time their lives are so bright. Even their shiny blue car gets dirty on the road.

Surround is mainly reserved for the twangs of the score, but a crop duster flies by behind you. There is some thunder in the rear as well as gunshots and the echoes of the tanker explosion.

The new extras are on Blu-ray. Ridley Scott’s interview is more origins but he touches on Thelma & Louise and it has his first student films too. The best tidbit is how John Barry found out he missed out on scoring Alien and Blade Runner.

Callie Khouri reveals some backstory so warning if you prefer to keep it ambiguous. But she also touches on how little has changed sadly and why her next movie had no guns.