Bowling for Columbine (2002)

Filmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.

Director:

Michael Moore

Writer:

Michael Moore

Stars:

Michael Moore, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson

Won 1 Oscar. Another 38 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Michael Moore	...	Himself - Narrator
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Salvador Allende	...	Himself - President of Chile (archive footage)
Jacobo Arbenz	...	Himself - President of Guatemala (archive footage)
Mike Bradley	...	Himself - Mayor of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Arthur A. Busch	...	Himself - County Prosecutor: Flint, Michigan (as Arthur Busch)
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Michael Caldwell	...	Himself - Police Detective
Richard Castaldo	...	Himself - Columbine Victim
Dick Clark	...	Himself
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Steve Davis	...	Himself - Deputy Sheriff (archive footage)
Ngo Dinh Diem	...	Himself - President of South Vietnam (archive footage)
Mike Epstein	...	Himself - Shopper in Mall
Joe Farmer	...	Himself - Superintendent of Schools (archive footage)

Storyline

The United States of America is notorious for its astronomical number of people killed by firearms for a developed nation without a civil war. With his signature sense of angry humor, activist filmmaker Michael Moore sets out to explore the roots of this bloodshed. In doing so, he learns that the conventional answers of easy availability of guns, violent national history, violent entertainment and even poverty are inadequate to explain this violence when other cultures share those same factors without the equivalent carnage. In order to arrive at a possible explanation, Michael Moore takes on a deeper examination of America's culture of fear, bigotry and violence in a nation with widespread gun ownership. Furthermore, he seeks to investigate and confront the powerful elite political and corporate interests fanning this culture for their own unscrupulous gain.

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Plot Keywords:

columbine | columbine high school killings | school shooting | bank | firearm | 

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Taglines:

Is America a nation of gun nuts? Or just nuts?

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Genres:

Documentary | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent images and language

Details

Official Sites:

michaelmoore.com - Michael Moore responds... Official site

Country:

Germany Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bowling for Columbine

Filming Locations:

Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$209,148 (USA) (11 October 2002)

Gross:

$21,244,913 (USA) (9 May 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Alliance Atlantis Communications, Salter Street Films International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first rough cut of the film ran about six hours.

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Goofs

As Charlton Heston walks away from Michael Moore in the final interview, the scene cuts repeatedly between Heston (point of view from behind Moore) and Moore (point of view from the stairs directly in front of Moore) holding a photo of the slain Flint, Michigan girl and asking Heston to look at it. When the POV is of Moore holding the photo, there is clearly no cameraman anywhere behind him. The same with the POV of Heston, there is clearly no cameraman anywhere in front of Moore. So the two POVs were not filmed simultaneously as the film implies.

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Quotes

Michael Moore: There were a lot of things that I didn't know after the World Trade Center attack. But one thing was clear: whether it was before or after September 11th, a public that's this out of control with fear should not have a lot of guns or ammo laying around.

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Crazy Credits

During the opening, archive footage is presented that claims the movie is presented by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

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Connections

Features Area 51: Site 4 (1996)

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Soundtracks

How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us
(1996)
Written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe
Performed by R.E.M.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Projects

User Reviews

A few good points ruined with flat-out lies.

I will not completely revoke the fact that Michael Moore's movie Bowling for Columbine had some interesting, and funny parts. However, he completely misleads the viewer by piecing together Charleston Heston speeches, taking statements grossely out of context, and flat out lying. I really can't begin to explain how far he goes so, for more info. So, if you're interested, just do a search for "Revoke the Oscar" on google, or your search engine of choice. Keep in mind that these sites are intent on changing your view of Michael Moore, so there are many low-blows, but you can also find the actual truth about the "documentary" too.