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In light of the Christopher Nolan rumours, we take a look back at 1983’s Blue Thunder – a high-tech thriller that deserved more attention on its release.

It’s hard to pinpoint why the vehicular TV and film boom of the 1980s happened. Was it a coincidence that the likes of Knight Rider (1982), Firefox (also 1982), Blue Thunder (1983), Airwolf (1984) and Street Hawk (1985) all came out within a few years of each other?

Whatever the explanation, there was a brief period where vehicles got top billing, whether they were experimental planes (Firefox) helicopters, an ‘all-terrain attack motorcycle’ (Street Hawk) or Knight Rider.

Blue Thunder – the original 1983 film, not the short-lived TV spin-off which emerged the following year – is arguably the best of the lot. An action thriller directed by John Badham, it was one of the most exciting movies of its type released in the early 1980s – and yet, for some reason, several...

Reel-Important People is a monthly column that highlights those individuals in or related to the movies that have left us in recent weeks. Below you'll find names big and small and from all areas of the industry, though each was significant to the movies in his or her own way. Edward M. Abroms (1935-2018) - Editor. He received an Oscar nomination for his work on Blue Thunder and also edited Street Fighter, The Sugarland Express and numerous Colombo TV movies. He also worked on The Jewel of the Nile. He died on February 13. (Deadline) Lassie Lou Ahern (1920-2018) - Actress, Dancer. As a child, she appeared in a number of early Our Gang shorts (including Thundering Fleas, seen below) and silent features, including Uncle Tom's...