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:

Witch Hunt | Controversy | Truancy | Cynicism | Columbine

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 first rough cut of the film ran about six hours.

Quotes:

[from a Columbine student video]
Student #1: What's your views on high school?
Student #2: Uh, I love it. I learn, I get picked on by bastards who hate me, and the principal's a dick.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#20.6)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Corporation Man

Technique = 8... Honesty in Presentation = 0

First let me say that, as a person (a Canadian for anybody who might question if all the negative reviews are from the USA) who doesn't care for guns and has no interest in them -- I've never even held one -- upon first viewing of "Bowling for Columbine" I was a fan. I loved this film. I even bought the DVD. I thought it was a brilliant documentary and that its presentation of the facts was spot on.

However, the scene where Moore talks about a bomber on display in the desert and the army plaque beneath it always made me wonder exactly how honest he was being, since what he claimed the plaque said sounded too outrageous to me. It kept on grating me until about a year later I began to actually research his film and found that nearly every single thing Moore presents in BFC is either heavily manipulated facts or bald-faced deceptions.

Take the scene of him getting a gun for opening an account at a bank. What he does not show is that there was a criminal background check including photo ID check and an FBI background check. Then, to get the gun, he had to open a 10 year Certificate of Deposit... basically he had to deposit nearly $1000 before he could get the gun, not the smartest idea compared to just buying a gun if that's the only intent. Even then, when Moore gets his gun and asks about the safety of handing out guns in the bank, the audience is duped into forgetting a large portion of Moore's handing-out-a-gun-at-a-bank safety joke: the bank doesn't supply the ammunition!

You even have his little cartoon where he tries to link the NRA to the KKK... never mind that him saying the NRA was formed the same year that the KKK was declared an illegal organization is 100% wrong... never mind that the NRA was actually formed by Northern Yankee's who fought AGAINST slavery... never mind that the NRA was primarily created in reaction to Southern laws that would ban blacks from owning firearms (the exact opposite of the cartoon's suggestion the NRA wanted to suppress blacks and leave them defenseless)... never mind that the cartoon is a South Park rip-off, presented after an interview with South Park creator Matt Stone in order to make it seem like the cartoon was made by the creators of South Park. I mean, no wonder Matt Stone hates Moore and made him a target of insults in his "Team America: World Police" movie. Talk about complete deception from every angle.

What's worse is that he is even hypocritical in how he talks about America's culture of fear and how the media tries to instill fear in the population, and yet that is EXACTLY what BFC is: a film that presents manipulated facts in order to create fear. Probably the best refutation of BFC one can find is the in-depth article by Dave Kopel called "Bowling Truths" that literally shreds BFC from beginning to end, showing it to be -- as he puts it -- more of a 'mockumentary' in the vein of "This is Spinal Tap" than a serious documentary outlining anything close to reality.

In terms of gun control issues, if you really want an intelligent look at the problems of gun control, check out the episode of Penn & Teller's Bullsh*t on gun control. Now THAT is an intelligent and more importantly an HONEST delving into gun control. But if you are looking for facts and honesty in subject matter, you couldn't find a worse choice than BFC.

BFC is insulting to anybody who would be willing to take the time and educate themselves on exactly how honest Moore is. If you think BFC is truthful and honest, go read Kopel's article (readily available on the net) and you'll see how much Moore stretches the truth. I mean, even the film's title is deceptive since -- as even the preliminary police report states -- the two shooters at Columbine never showed up for bowling that morning! I still own the DVD, if only to show people a perfect example of how sheep can be led around if they don't stop and ask whether what they are hearing is real. BFC offers little reality and a lot of political brouhaha that does little for intelligent discussion on gun control. In that, he has hurt the gun control movement more than he has helped it.

(And by the way, people in Canada do lock their doors. I have to wonder how many doors he had to try in order to get his shots of every door being open.)