Sling Blade (1996)

Director:

Billy Bob Thornton

Writers (WGA):

Billy Bob Thornton (play)
Billy Bob Thornton (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 November 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Sometimes a hero comes from the most unlikely place.

Plot:

Karl Childers, a simple man hospitalized since his childhood murder of his mother and her lover, is released to start a new life in a small town.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Murder | Mental Institution | Small Town | Homosexual

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton	...	Karl Childers
Dwight Yoakam	...	Doyle Hargraves
J.T. Walsh	...	Charles Bushman
John Ritter	...	Vaughan Cunningham
Lucas Black	...	Frank Wheatley
Natalie Canerday	...	Linda Wheatley
James Hampton	...	Jerry Woolridge
Robert Duvall	...	Karl's Father
Rick Dial	...	Bill Cox
Brent Briscoe	...	Scooter Hodges
Christine Renee Ward	...	Melinda (as Christy Ward)
Sarah Boss	...	Marsha Dwiggins
Kathy Sue Brown	...	Theresa Evans
Wendell Rafferty	...	Melvin
Bruce Hampton	...	Morris (as Col. Bruce Hampton Ret.)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, including descriptions of violent and sexual behavior.

Runtime:

135 min | 148 min (Director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A (original rating) | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:16 (original rating) | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | USA:Not Rated (director's cut) | South Korea:15 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (re-rating) | Australia:M (original rating) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Benton, Arkansas, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

According to Billy Bob Thornton, he invented Karl's unique facial expressions and speech patterns, plus ad-libbed the entire "sling blade" speech at the beginning of the film, while looking at himself in a make-up room mirror, waiting to film his scene as a train conductor in The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains (1987) (TV). His scene was later cut from that film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Vaughan and Karl are having the discussion in the diner about their similarities, Vaughan's wrist-watch appears and disappears between shots.

Quotes:

Bill Cox: [about Karl] The son-of-a-bitch's a regular Eli Whitney on a lawn mower and *loves* French fries. 'Son-of-a-bitch can eat four larges and not even belch.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hungry for Love (2009)

Soundtrack:

Darlin'

Best movie of 1996 I reckon, um hum!

Surprisingly, this movie is not based on a true story, but it sure was Thornton's breakthrough in the movie business. I feel he sold out to the mainstream when he made the awful Armageddon. Thornton's Karl Childers is released from a mental insitution after 20 years from killing his mother as a child and returns to his backwoods Arkansas town with no family or friends to speak of, but befriends a fatherless boy and his mother. The entire cast is superb; Dwight Yoakum as a bigoted redneck, John Ritter as a gay store manager, Robert Duvall in a cameo as Thornton's almost catatonic father, Rick Dial (a boyhood friend of Thornton's) as Karl's genial boss, etc. The movie has just the right touch for life in the small-town south without the traditional Hollywood glamorization.