Ridley Scott's masterly road movie was a feminist thriller in the Cormanesque exploitation style but with a much bigger budget and greater poise. Ditzy, put-upon lower-middle-class housewife Thelma (Geena Davis) and her chum, tough cafe waitress Louise (Susan Sarandon), take off from their Arkansas small town in Louise's 1966 Thunderbird for a weekend's fishing. But when Louise kills Thelma's would-be rapist they go on the run, heading for Mexico. To a possible murder charge they add armed robbery, kidnapping a policeman and massive destruction of property. The only decent man around is a sympathetic cop played by Harvey Keitel.

It's a film that appeals to the outlaw in all of us, and ends with a freeze-frame reminiscent of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Pursuing a recurrent theme in his work (dutiful citizens rebelling against the conventional values in which they've been raised), Scott's movie stands alongside Alien and Blade Runner. Strong supporting performances come from rising stars Brad Pitt and Michael Madsen. Callie Khouri won an Oscar for her original screenplay, her only work of note to date.