Bowling for Columbine

Theatrical Release Date: 2002 10 11 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 027616882264

Studio: MGM

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Questionable for Children, Adult Language]

Summary: Filmmaker, author, and political activist Michael Moore trains his satirical eye on America's obsession with guns and violence in his third feature-length documentary, which gets its title from a pair of loosely related incidents. On April 20, 1999, shortly before they began their infamous killing spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold attended their favorite class, a no-credit bowling course held at a bowling alley near the school, the same bowling alley which would become the scene of a robbery and triple homicide two years later. While pondering these events, Moore humorously considers the link between random violence and the game of ten pins; along the way, Moore calls on the Michigan Militia (and gets to know some of the models for their "Militia Babes" calendar); spends some time with James Nichols, brother of Oklahoma City bombing accomplice Terry Nichols; visits K-Mart's corporate offices with two teenagers injured in the Columbine massacre as they ask the retail chain to stop selling bullets for handguns; investigates the media's role in the American climate of fear and anger; compares crime statistics in the United States with those of Canada (which, despite higher unemployment and a larger number of guns per capita, manages to rack up a small fraction of the homicides committed in the United States), and questions actor and National Rifle Association president Charlton Heston regarding his appearance at a pro-gun rally held in Littleton a few days after the Columbine massacre, and a similar rally in Flint, MI, after a six-year-old boy killed a classmate with a gun he took from his uncle's house. Bowling for Columbine received its first public screening at the 2002 Ann Arbor Film Festival; the film's official premiere took place a few months later at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Culture & Society

Awards: Best Documentary – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Original Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Foreign Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Documentary Feature – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 55th Anniversary Prize – Cannes Film Festival Best Documentary – National Board of Review Best Documentary – Independent Spirit Awards Best Documentary – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Documentary – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Documentary – Chicago Film Critics Association Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival Best Documentary Feature – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Presented – IDFA

Features: ccExclusive Michael Moore interview on his Oscar win & acceptance speech
Personal introduction by Michael Moore
"Return to Denver/Littleton" featurette
Interview with Michael Moore by former Press Secretary Joe Lockhart
Audio commentary by receptionists and interns
Teacher's guide
Segment from "The Awful Truth II: Corporate Cops"
Michael Moore's "Action Guide"
Film festival scrapbook
The Charlie Rose Show with Michael Moore
Marilyn Manson's "Fight Song" music video
Photo gallery
Original theatrical trailer

Bowling for Columbine

Format: DVD

Release Date: 08/19/2003

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 119 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 -- Feature Presentation
1. Morning in America [1:41]
2. North Country Bank [1:48]
3. Mike's First Gun [3:20]
4. Chris Rock [:56]
5. Michigan Militia [3:43]
6. James Nichols [2:56]
7. Oscoda Boys [5:18]
8. Littleton [3:54]
9. Wonderful World [5:53]
10. Columbine [5:39]
11. Heston at NRA Rally [3:14]
12. South Park/Matt Stone [2:37]
13. Scary Kids [2:51]
14. Marilyn Manson [3:55]
15. "Was it the Bowling?" [1:36]
16. We're #1 [3:08]
17. A Brief History of America [3:15]
18. Fear of Everything [3:05]
19. Fear of Black Men [3:08]
20. Suburban Guns [3:58]
21. L.A. Cops [1:27]
22. Corporate Cops [4:05]
23. Oh, Canada! [5:01]
24. Unlocked Doors [5:43]
25. Little Kayla [6:36]
26. The Other Victim [2:35]
27. "Welfare to Work" [5:41]
28. Fear and Ammo [2:35]
29. Returning the Merchandise [4:34]
30. K-Mart [3:19]
31. Charlton Heston [8:40]
32. Mike Bowling/Credits [3:16]

Mark Deming

In Michael Moore's best work, the director's attitude toward his subject walks a fine line between bemusement and bitter outrage, and those two extremes are closer than one might ever expect in his film Bowling for Columbine. Moore's examination of America's three-way addiction to guns, violence, and fear doesn't offer many answers to the tough questions it poses, but to a large degree that's part of the point; one of the film's most telling moments comes when Moore interviews the father of one of the students killed in the Columbine High School massacre, and after a while he can only conclude ruefully that he simply doesn't know why America has become such a violent society. Of course, Moore certainly has his opinions about this matter, but for every moment where he's taking on K-Mart for selling handgun ammo or Charlton Heston for appearing at major pro-gun rallies days after highly publicized incidents of handgun violence (in the latter case, at least Moore's entitled as a member of the NRA), there's another where Moore sets out to find if it's true that Canadians don't lock their doors by simply barging in unannounced, or visits a bank where you can get a free rifle for opening a savings account. Moore is able to make the absurdity of real life communicate his message just as well as his rage or sadness, and the film's pointed but effective comedy not only makes the film more entertaining, but also reinforces the more somber (and sometimes shocking) material elsewhere. Bowling for Columbine has an obvious and specific political agenda (and your appreciation of the film may well have a lot to do with the degree to which you share his views), but Moore seems less interested in determining who is right or wrong than in asking what can be done to make America a safer and saner place to live, and for all the craziness (both funny and disturbing) on view, it's the shaggy regular-guy humanity of Bowling for Columbine that makes it most effective, both as a polemic and as cinema. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Brandon T. Jackson  Actor 
Barry Glassner  Actor 
Richard Castaldo  Actor 
James Nichols  Actor 
Charles Bishop  Producer 
Michael Moore  Director 
Michael Moore  Producer 
Michael Moore  Screenwriter 
Michael Donovan  Producer 
Wolfram Tichy  Executive Producer 
Kathleen Glynn  Producer 
Jim Czarnecki  Producer 
Jeff Gibbs  Composer (Music Score) 
Bob Golden  Composer (Music Score) 
Michael Moore  Actor 
Charlton Heston  Actor 
Matt Stone  Actor 
Marilyn Manson  Actor 
Dick Clark  Actor 
George W. Bush  Actor 

Country: USA