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	...	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:

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

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Taglines:

What a wonderful world.

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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:

Michael Moore Official Website

Country:

USA Canada Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Akiryhtos polemos

Filming Locations:

Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$209,148, 13 October 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$21,244,913, 11 May 2003

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$35,564,473, 31 December 2002

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

Michael Moore: [Flint] The elementary school that Moore visits is in Flint, Michigan

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Goofs

The "Brief History of America" segment includes the assertion that early Americans burned suspected witches. No accused witches were burned in America.

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Quotes

Michael Moore: In George Bush's America the poor were not a priority. And after September 11th correcting America's social problems took a back seat to fear, panic and a new set of priorities.
George W. Bush: [Archive speech] One way to express our unity is for Congress to set the military budget and the defense of the United States as the number one priority, and fully fund my request...

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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 Zomergasten: Episode #20.6 (2007)

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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

canada seems a bit welcoming...

Michael Moore does this country a great justice with this film. He exposes the crazy, ultra-militant underbelly of American culture without spreading a bunch of liberal-slanted accusations that would taint the message. In fact, he has several conservative moments, including one where he doffs his lifetime NRA membership card before Charlton Heston.

Moore is quick to point out the paranoid American blame cycle that is the stain on our collective carpet. When bad things happen (or might happen) Americans are quick to single out the immediately convenient scapegoat, but are hardpressed to focus the microscope on the bigger picture of our progressively crumbling society. Especially as compares to other European nations and the relatively placid Canada, who are made out to be a paragon of virtue by comparison.

Between this even-handed film and the fact that I was forced to sign my life over to Selective Service to obtain college funding, I have the funny feeling I'll be seeing the better side of the Great Lakes soon. And to add to this joy, Bowling for Columbine gives any rational thinker the fuel to stand up to the most bigoted, indoctrinated, flag-waving apple pie die for your government pigeon.