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Sling Blade ()


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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.

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Awards:
  • Won 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 15 nominations.
  • See more »
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Cast verified as complete

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Karl Childers
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Doyle Hargraves
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Charles Bushman
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Vaughan Cunningham
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Frank Wheatley
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Linda Wheatley
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Jerry Woolridge
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Karl's Father
Rick Dial ...
Bill Cox
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Scooter Hodges
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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
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Monty Johnson
Ian Moore ...
Randy Horsefeathers
Judy Pryor Trice ...
Mrs. Woolridge
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Bubba Woolridge
Betty Lynn Hall ...
Woolridge Daughter
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Frostee Cream Boy
Gary Don Fletcher ...
Preacher
Tim Holder ...
Albert
Tom Kagy ...
Freddy
Stacy Thomason ...
Woodridge Secretary (as Stacy Barrow)
Jackie Stewart ...
Walter
Jamie Stewart ...
Teenage Boy
D.J. Royston ...
Housekeeper
Lacy Bailey ...
Karen
Raymond Lewallen ...
Ticket Agent
Bill Glasscock ...
Old Man (voice)

Directed by

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Billy Bob Thornton

Written by

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

Produced by

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David Bushell ... producer (as David L. Bushell)
Larry Meistrich ... executive producer
Brandon Rosser ... producer

Music by

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Daniel Lanois

Cinematography by

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Barry Markowitz ... director of photography

Editing by

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Hughes Winborne

Editorial Department

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Peter T. DaPuzzo ... post-production intern
David Hamme ... assistant colorist
Lawrence Mischel ... negative cutter (as Larry Mischel)
Dan Muscarella ... color timer
Mark Nowicki ... remastering colorist
Patti Nunez ... assistant post-production supervisor
Johnny Wilson ... assistant editor
Stefan Bruck ... post-production consultant (uncredited)
Sue Mischel ... negative cutter (uncredited)

Casting By

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Sarah Tackett

Production Design by

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Clark Hunter

Set Decoration by

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Traci Kirshbaum

Costume Design by

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Doug Hall ... (as Douglas Hall)

Makeup Department

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Kate Biscoe ... key hair stylist (as Kate Morgan Biscoe)
Tracy Warbin ... key makeup artist

Production Management

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Robert Salerno ... production manager
Laura Seymann ... post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Amber Ayub ... first assistant director
W.M. Halle ... first assistant director
Daron McAfee ... second assistant director
Todd Jameson Saettele ... second assistant director (as Todd Jameson)

Art Department

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Jacob Alsbrook ... lead man
Joe Arnold ... on-set dresser
Max Biscoe ... assistant set decorator
Joe Cuzan ... swing art
Dwayne Grady ... propmaster
Carlton Rude ... assistant props

Sound Department

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Gary Alexander ... re-recording mixer
Weldon Brown ... adr recordist
Scott Cannizzaro ... foley engineer
Eric A. Christoffersen ... foley assistant (as Eric Christoffersen)
Pete Conlin ... first assistant sound editor (as Peter Conlin)
Russell Creak ... assistant foley artist
Theodore K. Dietz ... sound production assistant
David Ellinwood ... foley recordist (as Dave Ellienwood)
Wi Ding Ho ... apprentice sound editor
Mark Howard ... dialogue loop editor / sound recordist
Ivan Hurzeler ... assistant sound editor
Lucinda Komisar ... assistant sound editor
Jeff Kushner ... sound designer / supervising sound editor
Paul Ledford ... production sound mixer
Ronald Matthew Lee ... additional sound effects recordist (as Matthew Lee)
Wayne Lorenz ... additional sound engineer
Lauren Morrell ... assistant sound editor
Alison Sanford ... sound recordist
Sila A. Soyer ... apprentice sound editor (as Sila Soyer)
James Wright ... stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Keenan Wyatt ... boom operator

Camera and Electrical Department

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Ehab Assal ... assistant camera / camera production assistant
Michael Audino ... grip (as Michael D. Audino)
Jonathan Brown ... steadicam operator
Dalton ... second assistant camera
Marc Eckhardt ... grip
Edwin M. Figueroa ... key grip
Douglas W. Hill ... electrician
R. Derek Keener ... best boy electric
Robert Ortiz ... video playback operator
Stewart Wright Pallister ... grip
Tom Potoskie ... dolly grip (as Thomas W. Potoskie)
Nate Ranger ... first assistant camera
J.A. Riggs ... generator operator
John Wagner ... gaffer
Michael Yarish ... still photographer
Rob Koch ... assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Margaret Critz ... wardrobe production assistant
Rani Cunningham ... wardrobe supervisor
Theba Lolley ... set costumer

Location Management

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Sheryl Glubok ... assistant location manager
David Scolli ... location intern
George Vowteras ... location manager

Music Department

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Peter Afterman ... music consultant
Brian Blade ... additional musician: drums
Malcolm Burn ... additional musician: keyboards
Barry Cole ... music supervisor
Tim Gibbons ... musician: bass, drums and vocals
Emmylou Harris ... special guest vocalist
Mark Howard ... music programmer: drums
Ali Jennings ... additional musician: slide guitar
Darrell D. Johnson ... musician: bass, conga drum, organ and hand drum (as Darryl Johnson)
Pascal Nabit Meyer ... musician: organ
Bambi Lee Savage ... musician: vocals and guitar
Chris Swann ... musician
Elizabeth Wendel ... music consultant
Russ Wilson ... musician: falsetto harmony, percussion piano, bass and bass pedal

Script and Continuity Department

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Danna Liebert ... script supervisor

Additional Crew

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Umber Ayoob ... intern
Josh Baxter ... intern
Leonard John Bruno ... product placement (as Leonard Bruno)
Aaron Bryson ... projectionist
Brig Caldwell ... assistant caterer
Steve Carlis ... post-production auditor / production executive
Joe Glass ... production assistant
Amy Israel ... studio executive
Susan Jacobs ... unit publicist / unit publicity
Jonathan Jasay ... intern
Jason Jersey ... production assistant
Sharon Kahn ... unit publicist
Jeremy Levy ... intern
Ginny Lou Litsey ... assistant production auditor
Joe McCrackin ... assistant to director
Larry Meistrich ... production executive
Kathy Morris ... craft service
Heather Mosher ... product placement assistant
Tim Olivett ... caterer
J. Robert Saettele ... key set production assistant
Dena Silberstein ... product placement
Mary Sunshine ... production auditor
David Tuttle ... production executive
Benjamin Meade ... production staff (uncredited)
Daniel J. Victor ... production financing (uncredited)

Thanks

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Leslie Abell ... special thanks
Erskine Caldwell ... special thanks
Tom Epperson ... special thanks
John Faulkner ... special thanks
William Faulkner ... special thanks
The Krachman Brothers ... special thanks
Bob Myman ... special thanks
Jerry Myman ... special thanks
George Newcomb ... special thanks
John Fergus Ryan ... special thanks
Suzy Lilly Saettele ... thanks
Emily Gerson Saines ... special thanks
Emily Schweber ... thanks
Harry James Thornton ... special thanks
Jimmy Don Thornton ... dedicatee
Pietra Thornton ... special thanks
Virginia Faulkner Thornton ... special thanks
Brad Wilson ... thanks

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

A partially handicapped man named Karl is released from a mental hospital, about 20 years after murdering his mother and another person. Karl is often questioned if he will ever kill again, and he shrugs in response saying there is no reason to. Now out of the mental institution, Karl settles in his old, small hometown, occupying himself by fixing motors. After meeting a young boy named Frank, who befriends him, Karl is invited to stay at Frank's house with his mother Linda, who views Karl as a strange but kind and generous man. However, Linda's abusive boyfriend, Doyle, sees things differently in the way rules ought to be run- normally insulting Linda's homosexual friend Vaughan as well as Karl's disabilities, and having wild parties with his friends. As Karl's relationship with Frank grows, he is watchful of Doyle's cruel actions. Written by commanderblue

Plot Keywords
Taglines Sometimes a hero comes from the most unlikely place. See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Resplandor en la noche (United States, Spanish title)
  • Sling Blade - Auf Messers Schneide (Germany)
  • El otro lado de la vida (Spain)
  • L'altre costat de la vida (Spain, Catalan title)
  • Lama tagliente (Italy)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 135 min
Official Sites
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Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $890,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend United States $36,644, 01 Dec 1996

Did You Know?

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Trivia Billy Wilder once told Billy Bob Thornton that he was "too ugly" to be an actor, and that he should write a screenplay for himself, where he could exploit his "less than perfect" features. After this movie launched Thornton's career, he publicly discussed his conversation with Wilder, which was at a cocktail party where he was working as a waiter. He got a call from Wilder, who invited him over to his house. Wilder said he didn't recall their conversation, but was glad that he heeded his advice. As a gift, Wilder gave Thornton a paperback copy of this movie's script with his autograph, and a personal message inscribed on it. See more »
Goofs When Karl is at the Frostee Cream, if you look at the menu, you can see Blizzard's, Peanut Buster's and a DQ Sandwich on the menu board which would indicate that the movie was filmed at a Dairy Queen. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in Star Trek: First Contact/Shine/Jingle All the Way/Sling Blade/Microcosmos (1996). See more »
Soundtracks The One I Love See more »
Crazy Credits The opening credits start about 18 minutes into the film. See more »
Quotes Karl: I like them French fried potaters.
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