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Sling Blade[Widescreen] - Blu-ray Disc

SKU: 9288488 | Release Date: 8/4/2009

Rating: R for Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language

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Rating: R for Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language
Format: Blu-ray Disc
Theatrical Release: 1996
Length: 135 minutes
Genre: General Dramas
Studio: UNKNOWN
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Other Formats: DVD (Collector's) - $9.99

Synopsis

Sling Blade marked the directorial debut of country singer turned actor Billy Bob Thornton, who also authored the script (expanding George Hickenlooper's acclaimed short Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade) and stars in the picture. Thornton plays Karl Childers, a mildly retarded man who spent most of his life in a mental institution. When Karl was a boy, he was severely mistreated by his abusive father (Robert Duvall). At age 12, Karl found his mother having intercourse with a man who tormented him endlessly; he snapped, flew into a homicidal rage, and killed both individuals by decapitating them. Years later, as a middle-aged man, Karl is deemed harmless to society and released from the mental institution where he resides. Karl says he has learned his lesson and adds, "I reckon I got no reason to kill no one." He returns to the town of his boyhood, where he's befriended by Frank (Lucas Black), the son of a widowed mother who sees the eccentric but open-hearted Karl as a kindred spirit. Karl also gets a job at a fix-it shop and resides in the backroom, until Frank's mother, Linda (Natalie Canerday), takes a liking to Karl and lets him stay with them. However, Karl also meets Doyle (Dwight Yoakam), Linda's boyfriend, a sadistically cruel, narrow-minded drunk who tosses casual abuse at Frank, treats Linda like dirt, and mocks Karl endlessly. The late John Ritter co-stars as Linda's friend Vaughan, a mild-mannered homosexual who works at the neighborhood dollar store. Musicians Col. Bruce Hampton and Vic Chesnutt are among Doyle's party guests. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Version Details

Languages/Sound

Eng/Spa

Subtitle Languages

Eng/Spa

Additional Features

Mr Thornton Goes To Hollywood Bravo Profiles: Billy Bob Thornton A Roundtable Discussion With Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, Mickey Jones and Producer David Bushnell A Conversation With Robert Duvall A Conversation With Robert Duvall A Conversation With Billy Bob Thornton and Composer Daniel Lanois The Return Of Karl On The Set Billy Bob At Work Doyle's Band: The Johnsons Doyle Get Pummeled "Doyle's Dead" - With Introduction by Billy Bob Thornton Feature Commentary by Writer/Director/Actor Billy Bob Thornton

Cast

Natalie Canerday
Jim Jarmusch - Dairy Queen Boy
Lucas Black - Frank Wheatley
John Ritter - Vaughan Cunningham
Billy Bob Thornton - Karl Childers
J.T. Walsh - Charles Bushman
Dwight Yoakam - Doyle Hargraves
James Hampton - Jerry Woolridge
Robert Duvall - Karl's Father

Crew

Composer (Music Score): Daniel Lanois
Songwriter: Daniel Lanois
Production Designer: Clark Hunter
Cinematographer: Barry Markowitz
Executive Producer: Larry Meistrich
Musical Direction/Supervision: Barry Cole
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
Screenwriter: Billy Bob Thornton
Editor: Hughes Winborne
Producer: David L. Bushell
Casting: Sarah Tackett
Producer: Brandon Rosser
Sound/Sound Designer: Jeff Kushner ,Paul Ledford
Associate Producer: Kingshill Group
Set Designer: Traci Kirshbaum
Costume Designer: Douglas Hall
First Assistant Director: W.M. Halle

Sling Blade: AMG Review
Matthew Doberman , AMG

Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade is a fascinating, superbly nuanced tale, alternately sweet and disturbing. Thornton's turn as writer, director, and star of the independently made feature established him as a true talent -- he received an Oscar for his screenplay -- but his isn't the only stellar work. The surprise casting of John Ritter as a gay storeowner is no stunt; he gives life and complexity to a character which, in a lesser film, would have been a mere caricature. The real revelation, however, is country & western singer Dwight Yoakam's fascinatingly loathsome domestic abuser Doyle. Yoakam and Thornton refuse to make things easy on us: Doyle possesses a cowardly ambivalence, summed up wonderfully in a scene in which he pathetically slinks away from his girlfriend's crusading son. ~ Matthew Doberman, All Movie Guide

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Sling Blade[Widescreen] - Blu-ray Disc

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Sling Blade[Widescreen] - Blu-ray Disc

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Synopsis

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