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Sling Blade

  • 1996
  • R
  • 2h 15m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
96K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,614
198
Sling Blade (1996)
HV
Play trailer1:51
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Drama

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.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.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.

  • Director
    • Billy Bob Thornton
  • Writer
    • Billy Bob Thornton
  • Stars
    • Billy Bob Thornton
    • Dwight Yoakam
    • J.T. Walsh
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    96K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,614
    198
    • Director
      • Billy Bob Thornton
    • Writer
      • Billy Bob Thornton
    • Stars
      • Billy Bob Thornton
      • Dwight Yoakam
      • J.T. Walsh
    • 347User reviews
    • 86Critic reviews
    • 84Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 14 wins & 15 nominations total

    Videos2

    Sling Blade
    Trailer 1:51
    Watch Sling Blade
    Sling Blade
    Trailer 1:53
    Watch Sling Blade

    Photos104

    John Ritter and Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade (1996)
    Billy Bob Thornton and Lucas Black in Sling Blade (1996)
    Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade (1996)
    John Ritter in Sling Blade (1996)
    Billy Bob Thornton and Lucas Black in Sling Blade (1996)
    John Ritter, Billy Bob Thornton, and Dwight Yoakam in Sling Blade (1996)
    Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade (1996)
    Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade (1996)
    Billy Bob Thornton at an event for Sling Blade (1996)
    Billy Bob Thornton at an event for Sling Blade (1996)
    Billy Bob Thornton at an event for Sling Blade (1996)
    Billy Bob Thornton at an event for Sling Blade (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Billy Bob Thornton
    Billy Bob Thornton
    • Karl Childers
    Dwight Yoakam
    Dwight Yoakam
    • Doyle Hargraves
    J.T. Walsh
    J.T. Walsh
    • Charles Bushman
    John Ritter
    John Ritter
    • Vaughan Cunningham
    Lucas Black
    Lucas Black
    • Frank Wheatley
    Natalie Canerday
    Natalie Canerday
    • Linda Wheatley
    James Hampton
    James Hampton
    • Jerry Woolridge
    Robert Duvall
    Robert Duvall
    • Karl's Father
    Rick Dial
    • Bill Cox
    Brent Briscoe
    Brent Briscoe
    • Scooter Hodges
    Christine Renee Ward
    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.)
    Vic Chesnutt
    • Terence
    Mickey Jones
    Mickey Jones
    • Monty Johnson
    Ian Moore
    • Randy Horsefeathers
    • Director
      • Billy Bob Thornton
    • Writer
      • Billy Bob Thornton
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When the film was in pre-production, Billy Bob Thornton envisioned John Ritter's character as having dyed blonde hair, thinking that Vaughan was a man who was transferred out of St. Louis for his job, where the film was set, and based his hairstyle on what he saw men sporting in GQ Magazine. Thornton, Ritter, and the film's hairstylist began experimenting with hairstyles on Ritter at the hotel where the cast and crew stayed. According to Thornton, Ritter was insistent that the hairstyle wasn't too drastic, as he had to go back to Los Angeles to shoot a Public Service Announcement. But when the hairstylist came up with, and applied the hairstyle that Ritter's Vaughan character would sport in the film, Thornton immediately approved. However, when Ritter finally got a look at his hair in the hotel room's bathroom mirror, he was infuriated at Thornton. Thornton said that when Ritter went back home to shoot the Public Service Announcement, he was wearing a baseball cap.
    • Goofs
      When Karl is talking to the Frostee Cream Boy, there are no cars on the road behind him. But whenever the camera is aimed at the Frostee Cream, there is a lot of traffic on the road reflected in the window. Billy Bob Thornton points out in the DVD commentary that this is because the local police had another pressing issue the day they filmed Jim Jarmusch, and they couldn't be there to stop traffic.
    • Quotes

      Karl: I like them French fried potaters.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits start about 18 minutes into the film.
    • Alternate versions
      The Director's Cut runs 12 minutes longer than the original theatrical releases.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Star Trek: First Contact/Shine/Jingle All the Way/Sling Blade/Microcosmos (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      The One I Love
      (instrumental)

      Written by Ali Jennings and Daniel Lanois

      Performed by Ali Jennings

      Courtesy of Daniel Lanois, Ali Jennings Songs/Socan, Daniel Lanois Songs/Socan

    User reviews347

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Filmmaking at it's Best
    As someone who loves good filmmaking, I rate this film among the best I've ever seen in all areas of the craft. Some of the criticisms of this film are hard to fathom.

    The screenplay has the tight conciseness of a well-honed play (which this essentially was derived from) and doesn't fail to prick at the emotions and the intellect of the viewer. The photography, the casting and the editing all click together quite admirably.

    However, I always marvel at the negative, emotionalized responses to otherwise superb films such as this by those who seem to miss the entire point of a movie like "Sling Blade".

    I did not see a political message about abortion, or a justification of murder or even a backhanded putdown of the rural people of Arkansas. (Many of the characters were locals, by the way.) Some viewers are setting themselves up to be against this film since they are wearing their own feelings on their sleeves and fail to see the subtle layers of the story. They are seeing only the reflection of themselves on the surface of the water, rather than the complex world below.

    Theater and film are rooted in images and characterizations designed to help us explore the human condition. It was once said that Tolstoy's voluminous novel "War and Peace" could be summed up in a single sentence thereby negating the need to write the book. Art is not a fast explanation, but a captivating and thought-provoking trip that hopefully forces us to think about our own motivations. Taking a one-dimensional view of this film might lead one to believe that Karl Childer's central message is that we should all eat biscuits smeared with mustard.

    "Sling Blade" excels at the job of making us examine the terrible choices life gives us by providing a set of characters who interact in a moving, curious and revealing way. It is not reality nor is it political, but a method by which we can look at our own individual realities.

    Others who seemed disenchanted with this film out-of-hand are those who found it "slow". Helloooo! This film is SUPPOSED to be slow and agonizingly so. It is carefully walking you to the conclusion, step-by-step, so you can squirm uncomfortably at the overall foreshadowing. It ain't an explosion-a-minute John Woo filmmaking and it certainly isn't light comedy, though it induces a surprising number of smiles.

    This is a film that makes us look at true evil in the form of J.T. Walsh, Dwight Yoakum and Robert Duval's characters and compare it to the pure goodness of the damaged creature portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton, whose own brutalization leads him to seek justice in his own imperfect way.

    To help those out who didn't "get" this film, I might recommend that you consider Thornton's character to be an amalgamation of Herman Melville's innocently homicidal protagonist in "Billy Budd" and Mary Shelley's sad monster Frankenstein. These characters, like Thornton's Karl Childers, were dramatic vehicles for the purpose of making us think. They did bad things but we were forced to view them compassionately because they reflected our own conflicting traits.

    Don't read things into a film that aren't there, but don't ignore the interesting elements that are. Get those wheels upstairs turning and start enjoying intelligent filmmaking instead of merely seeking an excitement fix!
    helpful•245
    19
    • stepjohn54
    • Apr 20, 2003

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    FAQ3

    • Does Karl have Tourette Syndrome?
    • Why was Doyle so cruel?
    • How old is Karl?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 14, 1997 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Sóng Gió Cuộc Đời
    • Filming locations
      • Benton, Arkansas, USA
    • Production companies
      • Miramax
      • Shooting Gallery
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $24,444,121
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $28,139
      • Dec 1, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $24,444,121
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 15 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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