A thought provoking film.
Bowling for Columbine (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:159
Fresh:153
Rotten:6
Average Rating:8.2/10
Consensus: Though it may not always convince, Bowling for Columbine asks important questions and provokes thought.
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Synopsis: Filmmaker and leftist activist Michael Moore asks some serious questions as he probes the depths of America's trigger-happy gun culture in the insightful and amusing documentary, BOWLING FOR... Filmmaker and leftist activist Michael Moore asks some serious questions as he probes the depths of America's trigger-happy gun culture in the insightful and amusing documentary, BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE. Guns in America are used to kill an average of more than 11,000 people per year. This death toll is obscenely out of balance with other first world countries, which generally average a total in double digits. Experts and analysts have pointed to America's bloody history as a reason, but how does that explain the lower murder rate in Germany? Violent entertainment has also been fingered, but how does this account for staggeringly low numbers in Japan, home of the most violent entertainment video games on the market. Moore's trademark comedic tone is razor-sharp as his quest leads him everywhere from Littleton Colorado's Columbine High School to the home of NRA President Charlton Heston. Moore, oddly enough a lifetime NRA member, makes his main target the news media, but also fires away at inefficient welfare programs, Dick Clark, and Kmart. The latter is even compelled to make a major policy change in their stores due to one of Moore's confrontational stunts. This exploration into America's obsession with guns is disarmingly humorous, but Moore also asks challenging questions and fearlessly seeks responsible parties, making the film an effective call for more social awareness as well. [More]
Starring: Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Matt Stone, Dick Clark
Starring: Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Matt Stone, Dick Clark, James Nichols, Jeff Rossen
Director: Michael Moore
Director: Michael Moore
Producer: Kathleen Glynn, Michael Donovan, Charles Bishop, Jim Czarnecki
Studio: MGM/UA
Reviews for Bowling for Columbine
While watching Bowling for Columbine, the word 'absurd' kept coming to mind.
This vital film has all of the street-smart urgency of Moore's best work and precious little of the smug self-indulgence that has so often led us fellow lefties to roll our eyes in embarrassment.
Digs uncomfortable humor out of shocking and sorrowful situations. You’ll laugh as you shake your head in disgust.
As funny as it is sad. As brilliant as it is terrifying. Moore gives us the first necessary documentary since Roger and Me . And yes, I know he made that, too.
Always the underdog, [Moore]'s fighting hard against just about everyone here, but mostly he's fighting to give a movie that's saddled with a terminally unclear thesis some sense of gravitas.
Bowling for Columbine isn't just a highly recommended accomplishment; it deserves to be required viewing...One of the year's biggest entertainments, and one of its most thought-provoking.
A sweeping, sometimes insightful and often funny look at America's culture of violence.
Bowling for Columbine would never be mistaken for even-handed, but it is at least a sincere attempt to find the source of this country's inability to curb gun violence and murder.
Thought-provoking, outspoken and frequently hilarious, Bowling for Columbine is vintage Michael Moore.
Impressively reframes the gun-control debate in terms that advocates of both sides might find fruitful, but Moore doesn't do anything to shed his reputation as a snot.
By turns hilarious, infuriating, moving, manipulative, self-serving and, most importantly, absolutely required viewing.
A film as mournful as it is amusing, one that forces even a seasoned agent provocateur like Moore to admit that he cannot answer the questions he poses.
Latest News for Bowling for Columbine
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May 20, 2007:
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July 31, 2006:
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