Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade (1994)

Director:

George Hickenlooper

Writer:

Billy Bob Thornton

Release Date:

23 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Twenty-five years after commiting a double murder, Karl Childers is going to be released from an institution for the criminally insane...

Plot Keywords:

Cross Dresser | Nudity | Bathroom | Precursor To Motion Picture | Sexist

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton	...	Karl Childers
Molly Ringwald	...	Teresa Tatum
J.T. Walsh	...	Charles Bushman
Jefferson Mays	...	Gerry Woolridge
Suzanne Cryer	...	Frances
Abby Abernathy
Brent Briscoe
Otto Coelho		(as Otto Coecho)
Abe Dalool
Ron Livingston
Aaron Wheeler
Bill Boll
Chester Dent
Bill Sprague
Joey Bilow
Mark Gimbrere
Michael Beugg		(as Michael D. Beugg)
Linda Beugg
Trevor A. Tarr
Mike Herman
Glennon Schneider
Kevin Hell
Doug Hart		(as Rod Beaumont)
Carlos Sanchez
Anthony Guneratne
Nikywa Prevost
Beth Ruggiero
Rosalie Barron
Dewitte Briggs
Jude Barron
Kevin Hudnell
Mark Sellors
Lincoln Schlei
Joel Milner
Brent J. Williams

Directed by
George Hickenlooper

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Billy Bob Thornton

Produced by
Michael Beugg	....	co-producer
Kevin Hell	....	executive producer
Mike Herman	....	executive producer
George Hickenlooper	....	producer
Kevin Hudnell	....	producer
Adam Lindemann	....	producer
Bradford L. Schlei	....	executive producer (as Brad Schlei)

Original Music by
Bill Boll

Cinematography by
Kent L. Wakeford		(as Kent Wakeford)

Film Editing by
Henny Bouwmeester
George Hickenlooper

Art Direction by
Deborah Smith

Costume Design by
Matthew Jacobsen

Makeup Department
Hila Amrani	....	assistant hair stylist
Hila Amrani	....	assistant makeup artist
Elena Arroy	....	hair stylist
Elena Arroy	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Glennon Schneider	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Juanita Dias Costa	....	second assistant director
Jeffrey A. Fisher	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Gregory Arnett	....	assistant art director
Arnd Stockhausen	....	property master

Sound Department
Mike Gitman	....	sound mixer
Yehuda Maayan	....	boom operator (as Juda Maayan)
Peter V. Meiselmann	....	production sound mixer
Peter V. Meiselmann	....	sound designer
Gary Shepherd	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
John Enbom	....	camera loader
Steve Goedde	....	set photographer
Stuart Hanna	....	grip
Ralph Harwin	....	electrician
Ralph Harwin	....	grip
Evan A. Nesbitt	....	first assistant camera
Maggie Robison	....	electrician
Jim Sanfilippo	....	gaffer
Jamie Sterra	....	second assistant camera
George Steward	....	best boy grip
John A. Strubbe	....	key grip (as John Strubbe)
Eric Trageser	....	first assistant camera

Editorial Department
Juanita Dias Costa	....	editorial department
W.M. Grimes	....	editorial department
Douglas O. Hart	....	editorial department
Howard Lavick	....	editorial consultant
Ray Morfino	....	color timer

Other crew
Frank Buckner	....	assistant to director
Mark Gimbrere	....	production assistant
Linda Kwan	....	script supervisor
Margaret Stevens	....	production coordinator
Tracy Young	....	caterer

Distributors

• ViewCave (1994) (worldwide) (all media) (internet) (non-exclusive)
• Picture Start (1995) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• MVP Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Vanguard International Cinema (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Vanguard International Cinema (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Vanguard Cinema (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

UK:25 min | USA:25 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:18 (Ontario)

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first scene, Charles Bushman moves some checkers around while another man sits in a trance-like state. At this point both of the seated man's hands are on the table. However, when Charles moves away from the table, one of the seated man's hands is now resting on his leg, below the table.

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars (1977)

All great stories have a beginning!

Pretty much everything has been said by previous reviewers here. It is probably pertinent to add that but for the success of this little independent number, the full length SLING BLADE most probably would never have gotten made three years later.

Obviously a labor of love for creator Billy Bob Thornton. He presents a markedly different Karl Childers here. As retardedly backward but infinitely more menacing. It was probably on reflection that the character was made more "marketable" and sympathetic the second time around. Both films are such an absorbing focus on what is essentially a simple man turned (by dint of social expectation) feral by circumstances totally outside his control. The villain of the piece of course was Karl's father, played in a marvellous one-off cameo by Robert Duvall in the feature-length film.

In SOME FOLKS CALL IT A SLING BLADE, the reporter is played by Molly Ringwald. Many seem not to have approved of her interpretation of the part, preferring the cutesy high-school reporter in the 1996 release. I thought she handled it well, after all she was dealing with a quite different "Karl Childers.'

Either way, this makes for a fascinating back-up to SLING BLADE. If anything, it adds to one's understanding of the man himself.