Sling Blade

UPC: 031398138006

Summary: Sling Blade marked the directorial debut of country singer turned actor Billy Bob Thornton, who also authored the script (expanding George Hickenlooper's acclaimed short Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade) and stars in the picture. Thornton plays Karl Childers, a mildly retarded man who spent most of his life in a mental institution. When Karl was a boy, he was severely mistreated by his abusive father (Robert Duvall). At age 12, Karl found his mother having intercourse with a man who tormented him endlessly; he snapped, flew into a homicidal rage, and killed both individuals by decapitating them. Years later, as a middle-aged man, Karl is deemed harmless to society and released from the mental institution where he resides. Karl says he has learned his lesson and adds, "I reckon I got no reason to kill no one." He returns to the town of his boyhood, where he's befriended by Frank (Lucas Black), the son of a widowed mother who sees the eccentric but open-hearted Karl as a kindred spirit. Karl also gets a job at a fix-it shop and resides in the backroom, until Frank's mother, Linda (Natalie Canerday), takes a liking to Karl and lets him stay with them. However, Karl also meets Doyle (Dwight Yoakam), Linda's boyfriend, a sadistically cruel, narrow-minded drunk who tosses casual abuse at Frank, treats Linda like dirt, and mocks Karl endlessly. The late John Ritter co-stars as Linda's friend Vaughan, a mild-mannered homosexual who works at the neighborhood dollar store. Musicians Col. Bruce Hampton and Vic Chesnutt are among Doyle's party guests. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Special Achievement – National Board of Review Best First Feature – Independent Spirit Awards Best Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble Acting – Screen Actors Guild Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival

Sling Blade

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 04/15/2011

Audio: DHMA null, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 135 Minutes

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Matthew Doberman

Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade is a fascinating, superbly nuanced tale, alternately sweet and disturbing. Thornton's turn as writer, director, and star of the independently made feature established him as a true talent -- he received an Oscar for his screenplay -- but his isn't the only stellar work. The surprise casting of John Ritter as a gay storeowner is no stunt; he gives life and complexity to a character which, in a lesser film, would have been a mere caricature. The real revelation, however, is country & western singer Dwight Yoakam's fascinatingly loathsome domestic abuser Doyle. Yoakam and Thornton refuse to make things easy on us: Doyle possesses a cowardly ambivalence, summed up wonderfully in a scene in which he pathetically slinks away from his girlfriend's crusading son. ~ Matthew Doberman, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Daniel Lanois  Composer (Music Score) 
Billy Bob Thornton  Director 
Billy Bob Thornton  Screenwriter 
Larry Meistrich  Executive Producer 
David L. Bushell  Producer 
Brandon Rosser  Producer 
Billy Bob Thornton  Actor 
Dwight Yoakam  Actor 
J.T. Walsh  Actor 
John Ritter  Actor 
Lucas Black  Actor 
Natalie Canerday  Actor 
James Hampton  Actor 
Robert Duvall  Actor 

Country: USA