With the parodies and jokes surrounding the lead character of this film stating, "I like the way you talk," I was not expecting this film to be anything I'd be impressed with. Boy, was I wrong. This a fantastic film.Billy Bob Thornton plays Karl Childers, a man about to be released from a mental hospital after staying there for 30 years. Karl killed his own mother and her lover when he was only about 12 years old and you wonder from the beginning of this film why are they letting him out?
Some people call him slow, some people say he's retarded but as each scene comes and goes, you realize that there is a lot more going on inside Karl's head than anyone else believes.
While autism is not mentioned by name in the film, it's obvious that this character was modeled after an autistic person. He does not maintain eye contact and rarely exhibits emotion or speaks.
He returns to his childhood hometown after being released from the hospital and puts his mechanical skills to good use as a small engine wiz at a local mechanic shop.
He befriends Frank (Lucas Black), a young boy who reminds Karl of the kind of life he could have had, if he had only had different parents. Frank's mother has a psycho for a boyfriend (masterfully played by Dwight Yoakum) who treats Frank and his mother like garbage and threatens to kill them if the relationship ever ends.
Small town folks have big hearts, but sometimes small minds. Frank's mother (Natalie Camerday) has a best friend who is gay (well acted by John Ritter) and he must hide his relationships from the townsfolk. Her friend Vaughn wants to go to a a bigger city with wider acceptance of his lifestyle, but he continues to stay to act as a guardian angel for his friend and her son.
As Karl meets and interacts with the new friends (and enemies) he meets, he reveals some of his darker secrets with his friend, Frank. While he shows almost no emotion, Karl's story evokes tears from all but the most stony-hearted viewer. He not only feels great pain of what he has experienced and what he has done, he feels great empathy for Frank and his mother and holds their friendship dear to his heart.
There is violence in the film, but the most violent of scenes is just audible nothing is seen, just heard. This film is too intense for young viewers, but teenagers should have no problem with it.
This film really makes you think about what goes on in the minds of those who are mentally different in any way and how all emotions are universal.
So gravels Karl, Billy Bob Thornton's unique husky-voiced creation as he describes the inner character of his friend and surrogate sonthe innocent and pure Frank. Thornton could easily use this line to describe the broad and embracing spirit of his award-winning 1996 directorial debut, the contemporary classic SLINGBLADE.
Originally released in the halcyon days of independent film-making, the bygone era known as the 90's, SLINGBLADE deftly and eerily combines the wholesome everyman small town ideals of a Norman Rockwell painting with the morbid Southern Gothic tone of William Faulkner's best prose.
Filming in and around his Arkansasian home town, Thornton pulls off a creative hat trick expanding his one man play and short film into a feature length celebration of salvation through grace and atonement through blood as staged in the backwoods and clapboard houses of rural America.
As a Director, Thornton holds his camera in capricious long shots and expanded takes, allowing his characters to exist in an exaggerated time and space, thereby empowering his actors to explore the nuances of their shadowy lives and share freely of their expansive hearts. Yes all of these people have secretsThornton rarely saturates his frame with full light. Bands of shadow wash across every character. Everybody has flawspotential for good and evil in equal measureeven the villainous Doyle Hargraves (deliciously played by country-western star Dwight Yokum), deserving of Book of Revelation retribution as any character in recent memory, has his moments of vulnerability. The tragic wide-eyed ten year old Frank (played without any cloying sentiment by Lucas Black) too is capable of sudden violence when defending his mother.
Thornton shows he trusts his actors. With his continual use of long unbroken takes, he doesn't artificially create performances through imposed editing. These actors embrace the loud silences and large spaces and time and, as a result, appear to truly and organically erupt in moments of joy, compassion, humor and rageall in the gentle lilting brogue of a brown water Arkansas drawl. The ensemble cast, made up of professionals (John Ritter in a heart-breakingly humane and admirable performance) and locals (several non-actors appear in effective support), alike never fail to hold the camera's eye.
The film is violent, but tastefully so. The bloodiest moments are reserved for off camera-employing the audience's imaginations to create far more vibrant images than any camera could providea lesson too many of Thornton's contemporaries forgot. The most violent and jarring moments occur in Thornton's elliptical dialogue. He understands the power of word pictures. He also displays a brilliant ability to oscillate a scene from chilling to hilarious to tragic on a turn of a phrase.
And at the center of this dark fairy tale is Thornton himself, transformed completely into the character of Karl Childersa middle aged man recently released from "the nervous hospital". A literary descendent of The Frankenstein Monster, Lennie Small, Forrest Gump and Boo Radley (brilliantly realized in one of filmdom's most obscure "in jokes"Robert Duvall appears unbilled as Childers' father), Karl rubs his hands with Lady MacBeth syndrome in guilt. With his high-water pants and hunched-over gait, centering himself from the bottom of his chin and speaking in a growling and grunting exhale Childers lends himself to instant imitation. But what no imitator can ever capture is the calm benevolence lurking behind Thornton's brown eyes.
Thornton's Karl Childers is one of the greatest characters ever created for film. Like the fatherless Frank, the simple minded Childers is pure of heart and in a state of grace and yet he possesses a terrifying capacity for violence. For inside those loving and forgiving eyes lies too a direct portal into what Karl himself would call "Hades". He is simple sure. But he is not simplistic. His heart, like the story-world he lives in is "an awful big place to live in."
An unforgettable film.
Read Best Reviews of Sling Blade (1996) Here
This movie won the Academy Award for best screenplay, and it's very easy to see why it was deserving of the acclaim that it received.The movie centers around Carl Childers (Billy Bob Thornton), a mentally retarded man who has just been released from a mental hospital after spending most of his life there. He's a convicted murderer who killed his own mother and her lover, but the audience is made to love him from the beginning and feel sympathy for his situation. He befriends a young boy named Frank who is being raised by a single mother who has an abusive boyfriend. The movie centers around the growing friendship between Carl and Frank, and how Carl decides to take matters into his own hands in order to protect Frank and his mother from the abusive boyfriend.
The strength of this movie is in the acting job by Thornton. His character is a cross between Boo Radley from To Kill A Mockingbird (by Harper Lee) and Lenny from Of Mice And Men (by John Steinbeck). While the audience is suspicious of Carl at the beginning of the movie because of his history, we are quickly assured that he is extremely gentle and kind. Also of note is the performance by Dwight Yoakam as the abusive boyfriend. You'll really hate his character, which obviously means that Yoakam did a great acting job.
Overall, this is an excellent movie. It's definitely worth seeing.
Want Sling Blade (1996) Discount?
Billy Bob Thornton is a perfect example of a starving actor who came from Arkansas with a friend and despite having a few appearances on television and film, it was not until 1996 when the actor's short film and screenplay known as "Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade" was adapted to a full-feature film. Written and directed by Thornton ("Monster's Ball", "Eagle Eye", "Mr. Woodcock", "The Alamo", "Bad Santa", etc.), "Sling Blade" was the film that launched his career and earn him an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role and receive critical acclaim.Shot with a small budget of uner a $1,000,000, the independent film would earn over $24 million domestically at the box office and would become a big hit worldwide.
The film would star John Ritter ("8 Simple Rules...For Dating My Teenage Daughter", "Three's Company", "Clifford", etc.), J.T. Walsh ("The Negotiator", "Pleasantville" and "Nixon"), Country singer Dwight Yoakam ("Crank" and "Panic Room"), Lucas Black ("The Miracle Worker", "Friday Night Lights", "Jarhead", etc.), Natalie Canerday ("Walk the Line" and "October Sky") and Robert Duvall ("The Godfather", Days of Thunder" and "Colors").
VIDEO & AUDIO:
It's important to let people know that this film was an Independent film made for under a million dollars and shot in 24 days. In fact, during the filming, the producers didn't have all the money set while filming "Sling Blade", so this is not exactly a film to expect caliber film material used during filming.
"Sling Blade" is featured on High Definition for the first time. The film receives a 1080p High Definition (1:85:1 aspect ratio) transfer and for the most part, the film looks good on Blu-ray. For a film that is 15 years old, there are parts with occasional dust but for a classic film, Miramax has opted for no DNR (Digital Noise Reduction) and kept the grain intact. I do feel that Billy Bob Thornton found a very good director with Barry Markowitz to capture the feel of a small town. Capturing the detail of the shop that Karl works at to the look and feel of the film that makes you wonder if it's late 1950's America or modern America. Of course, it's the latter but the fact is that Thornton with Markowitz are able to capture look and feel of that small town quite well on film. Could it have been better if they using high end equipment, possibly. But for what they had at their disposal with the small budget they had to work with, you can't help but be proud at what this crew was able to accomplish.
As for audio, the film is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (also Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital). The film is definitely dialogue driven. This is not a film with sound effects or a film that will utilize the entire soundscape. But what was important for Billy Bob Thornton was to capture the audio and making sure that sound was clear (especially during Robert Duvall's scene) and most of all, the music of Daniel Lanois was used effectively. There is a featurette dedicated to the use of music in the film but for the most part, this is a front and center channel driven film.
It's important to note that with this Blu-ray release, picture quality is much clearer. Where the original DVD has its share of digital compression artifacts, it not as prominent on the Blu-ray release. Also, the lossless soundtrack is clear and pristine and definitely, watching this film on HD was awesome!
Subtitles featured are in English SDH and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Sling Blade" comes with the following special features featured in 480i Standard Definition and English 2.0 Dolby Digital:
*
* Audio Commentary by Writer/Director/Actor Billy Bob Thornton A very informative commentary by Billy Bob Thornton. Who goes into detail of how certain shots were created. The talents on the film and shooting with a low budget with a tight schedule. Overall, a very enjoyable commentary.
* Mr. Thornton Goes To Hollywood (1:06:51) A featurette about Billy Bob Thornton's rise to fame. From living in Arkansas and he and a friend moving to California and living with little money, Thornton working odd jobs and eventually getting a job at Shakey's pizza and his struggles as an actor. Interviews with people close to Thornton including friends, former girlfriend that is a producer and many others who give us an idea of what kind of man Billy Bob Thornton is.
* Bravo Profiles: Billy Bob Thornton (43:24) An older featurette that features Billy Bob Thornton during the time he was married with Angelina Jolie. Interviews with Matt Damon, Angelina and other talents and people who have worked with Billy Bob. I have to admit, this featurette took place during a time when he and Angelina Jolie were a hot couple and with a really good featurette with "Mr. Thornton Goes to Hollywood", this is one featurette I wouldn't mind if it was cut out. It's more or less a rehash of the previous featurette but with interviews with his now ex-wife and a few other talents.
* A Roundtable Discussion with Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, Mickey Jones and Producer David Bushell (1 hr., 15 min.) A very cool roundtable with everyone talking about their memories of the film ten years later. From how Lucas Black was cast, their memories of John Ritter and J.T. Walsh, shooting on a small budget and in 24-days, hiring his high school buddy Rick Dial for the film and how he has appeared in other films since then, working with Robert Duvall and also discussing about the one person in Hollywood who disliked the film and the script. An all out, no holds barred roundtable discussion. Very entertaining to watch.
* A Conversation with Billy Bob Thornton and Robert Duvall (8:31) Billy Bob Thornton's movie legends was Robert Duvall and so Billy Bob talked about how he met Robert and how they have enjoyed working with each other. Robert Duvall remembers working with Thornton especially the place that they ate.
* A Conversation with Robert Duvall (7:35) Robert Duvall talks about working with Billy Bob Thornton and why the film worked.
* A Conversation with Billy Bob Thornton and Composer Daniel Lanois (22:59) Featuring Daniel Lanois performing "Omni" and an interview how Billy Bob Thornton came to select Daniel to create the music for the film, how Daniel enjoyed creating the music for the film and working with Billy Bob and more. Also, creating music for certain scenes and their favorite musical scene in the film.
* The Return of Karl (3:40) A rehearsal of Billy Bob on the set as Karl (improvising with crew).
* On the Set: There are a total of three small featurettes in this segment. Billy Bob at Work (4:39) which is behind-the-scenes footage of Billy Bob working with his cinematographer. Doyle's Bad: The Johnsons (1:44) the filming of that scene when the band is playing. Doyle Gets Pummeled (1:53) Watching the filming of the intense scene when Doyle gets drunk and Frank defends his mother.
* "Doyle's Dead" with Introduction by Billy Bob Thornton (4:23) A scene that was shot with two of the band members from the Johnson's trying to make music after the death of Doyle. There is an introduction by Billy Bob Thornton and why he did use this segment in the film.
EASTER EGG:
When watching the "Mr. Thornton Goes to Hollywood" featurette. About 52:08 minutes into the featurette, a white silhouette featuring Karl sitting in a recliner will show up. Click on that symbol and sure enough a 21: second video features Billy Bob Thornton as Karl and Lucas Black as Frank starts playing.
JUDGMENT CALL:
There is no doubt that "Sling Blade" is a powerful and magnificent performance by Billy Bob Thornton.
This was a film that was planned very well and Billy Bob Thornton has discussed shooting the film in 24 days, writing the film in 9 writing days and shooting the film for over $900,000. This is Independent filmmaking at its finest. The ability to create a film that feels so natural, to shoot in a town that just feels right for the film and to cast well-known stars that you don't realize who they are until a few minutes later and realize that Doyle is Dwight Yoakam and Vaughan is John Ritter and of course, to see this transformation of Billy Bob Thornton to Karl is amazing.
Needless to say, this film is a true masterpiece and screenwriting at its best. Rarely do you see a film written, directed and starring an actor that would receive such worldwide critical acclaim, shot on a shoestring budget and to be enjoyed by so many people.
And here we are with the Blu-ray release that pretty much marks nearly the 15th year anniversary of the film. It's important to note that this release is NOT the same as the 10th Anniversary Original Cut which is about 148 minutes long. This is the theatrical cut which works perfectly. The Original Cut just went too long and I'm glad Miramax opted for the theatrical cut.
So, for those who are wondering if it's worth the double dip, especially if you own the 10th Anniversary DVD, my answer is yes. You get the film in High Definition video and the lossless soundtrack. Granted, this film was a low-budget independent film but the detail is much more clearer than its DVD counterpart and the lossless soundtrack is much more clearer, especially the music of Daniel Lanois. For the most part, the same special features from the 10th Anniversary DVD release are included on this Blu-ray. I would not discard the 10th Anniversary DVD because that version is the "original cut" at 148 minutes. I do prefer the theatrical cut featured on the Blu-ray at 135 minutes.
If there was anything that I wish was included on the Blu-ray is the short film "Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade" which stars Billy Bob Thornton and Molly Ringwald. It would have been nice to see the short film which inspired the adaptation to a full-length film.
Overall, "SLING BLADE" is a film that is solidified itself as a movie classic. A film that will touch people on many different layers due to its brilliant performances from the film's talents, a film that need not be filmed in metropolitan city but capturing the small town Americana feel in Arkansas, showing us that a film does not need a tremendous amount of money to create a major film but that this film is just fresh, unique and for the most part, a brilliant masterpiece from Billy Bob Thornton.
"SLING BLADE" is highly recommended!
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