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 40 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

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

firearm | national rifle association | columbine high school killings | gun control | school shooting | 

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Taglines:

One Nation Under The Gun

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Genres:

Documentary | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent images and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #928.

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Goofs

The film claims that that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold attended a bowling class on the morning of the massacre. This is incorrect as testified in a judicial review.

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Quotes

Michael Moore: One thing was clear. It still sucked being a teenager. And it really sucked going to school.

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Crazy Credits

There is no cast list, either at the start of the film or at the end. People are credited either by subtitle, by the narrator or by themselves.

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Alternate Versions

In the theatrical release, a caption was inserted into a 1988 Bush-Quayle ad, "Revolving Doors," which read "Willie Horton released. Then kills again." In the DVD release, the caption reads "Willie Horton released. Then rapes a woman." Neither version makes it clear that the text was not part of the original ad.

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Connections

Featured in 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die: Episode 4 (2011)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Hard to Disagree with the Point Even If You Don't Like the Artist

Michael Moore's incendiary film about America and its gun culture.

Moore uses the Columbine school massacre as an opportunity to discourse upon the subject of why tragedies like that one are so much more prevalent in America than anywhere else. His thesis, that America promotes a culture of fear and violence, is hard to refute, even if you disagree with his methods. Like all of Moore's films, "Bowling for Columbine" is fantastically entertaining, and also enraging. His version of America is one that I'm ashamed to live in.

Moore won the 2002 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and then eliminated the chance that he'll ever win again by ranting against then President Bush in his acceptance speech in one of the Academy's most infamous moments.

Grade: A

Details

Official Sites:

Michael Moore Official Website

Country:

USA Canada Germany

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 USA:

$209,148, 13 October 2002

Gross USA:

$21,576,018

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$58,011,975

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