Bowling for Columbine (2002)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Michael Moore

Writer (WGA):

Michael Moore (written by)

Release Date:

9 October 2002 (France)

Genre:

Documentary | Crime

Tagline:

Are we a nation of gun nuts or are we just nuts?

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Gay Slur | Political Activism | Arcade Game | Cynicism | American History

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 28 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Jacobo Arbenz	...	Himself, President of Guatemala (archive footage) (as President Arbenz)
Mike Bradley	...	Himself, Mayor of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Arthur A. Busch	...	Himself, County prosecutor, Flint, Michigan (as Arthur Busch)
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Bush)
George W. Bush	...	Himself, President of the United States (archive footage)
Michael Caldwell	...	Himself, police detective
Richard Castaldo	...	Himself, Columbine victim
Dick Clark	...	Himself, restaurant owner
Steve Davis	...	Himself, deputy sheriff (archive footage)
Byron Dorgan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mike Epstein	...	Shopper in Mall
Joe Farmer	...	Himself, superintendent of schools (archive footage)
Mike Fasolo	...	Corporate Criminal (DVD only) (archive footage)
Denny Fennell	...	Himself, home security consultant
Barry Glassner	...	Himself, author of "The Culture of Fear" (as Prof. Barry Glassner)
John Harris	...	Himself (voice)
Dick Herlan	...	Himself (as Richard Herlan)
Charlton Heston	...	Himself, actor / NRA president
Jeremy Hicks	...	Himself, suspended student for wearing kilts (archive footage)
Ernest F. Hollings	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Senator Fritz Hollings)
Jimmie Hughes	...	Herself, principal of Buell Elementary School
Dick Hurlin	...	Himself, former producer of "Cops"
Amanda Lamante	...	Herself, Columbine student
Mary Lorenz	...	Herself, K-Mart official
Marilyn Manson	...	Himself, entertainer
Daniel Mauser	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tom Mauser	...	Himself, father of victim
Evan McCollum	...	Himself, Lockheed Martin public relations
Timothy McVeigh	...	Himself, Oklahoma City bomber (archive footage)
Carey McWilliams	...	Himself, blind gun owner (archive footage)
Gerald Miller	...	Himself, Welfare-to-Work creator (archive footage)
Michael Moore	...	Himself / Narrator
Mohammed Mossadegh	...	Himself, Prime Minister of Iran (archive footage) (as Prime Minister Mossadeq)
Dinh Diem Ngo	...	Himself, President of South Vietnam (archive footage) (as President Diem)
James Nichols	...	Himself, brother of Terry Nichols
Terry Nichols	...	Himself, Oklahoma City bombing accomplice (archive footage)
Manuel Noriega	...	Himself, President of Panama (archive footage)
Tamarla Owens	...	Herself, mother of boy who shot girl (archive footage)
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi	...	Himself, Shah of Iran (archive footage)
Robert J. Pickell	...	Himself, sheriff of Flint, Michigan (as Sheriff Robert Pickell)
Augusto Pinochet	...	Himself, Chilean dictator (archive footage)
Jeff Rossen	...	Himself, FOX reporter (archive footage)
David Satcher	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Dr. David Satcher)
Nicole Schlief	...	Herself
David Smith	...	Himself, Sarah's husband (voice) (archive footage)
Susan Smith	...	Herself, child murderess (archive footage)
Matt Stone	...	Himself, former Columbine student
Mark Taylor	...	Himself, Columbine victim

Also Known As:

Bowling à Columbine (Canada: French title)
Bowling for Columbine (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violent images and language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Canada | USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating on appeal) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Italy:T | Brazil:12 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:12 | Israel:PG | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #39324) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Trivia:

The "Willie Horton" ad from the Bush-Quayle campaign shown during the film is actually two separate ads spliced together. The footage was removed from the VHS version of the film, but not the DVD.

Quotes:

Michael Moore: Why not use Gandhi's way? He didn't have guns, and he beat the British Empire.
John Nichols: I'm not... familiar with that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Nip/Tuck: Cliff Mantegna (#1.7)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

I Want To Go Back To Michigan

Intriguing, but ultimately too propagandistic

I went into this movie wanting to like it: it's billed as a movie questioning America's culture of fear, militaristic foreign policy, violent crime, and so on. These are all, of course, important issues that should be addressed more than they usually are. And Moore does bring up some interesting points, particularly relating to the culture of fear. But ultimately, he takes too many cheap shots and his arguments turn too overtly propagandistic: nobody who doesn't already agree with him is going to be convinced by this film. There's also the usual Moore tendancy to towards demagoguery, in which he looks for good sound-bytes (video-bytes?) that don't really make much of a legitimate point.

It's unfortunate, because this could have been a good movie if Moore had been a little more restrained. There are some good points buried in it, but be aware that it's largely a propaganda film: the left-leaning equivalent of those "public service" films the Christian Coalition puts out. If you're willing to ignore the over-the-top bits, and his style doesn't irk you too much, it's worth a watch. But as a legitimate documentary, it leaves something to be desired.