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Movies / On DVD / Sling Blade
Sling Blade

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Sling Blade (1996)

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95 %
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Reviews Counted: 43

Fresh: 41

Rotten:2

Average Rating: 8.4/10

Consensus: You will see what's coming, but the masterful performances, especially Thornton's, will leave you riveted.

Runtime: 2 hrs 37 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: After catching his mother and her boyfriend "in flagrante delicto" and dispatching both of them with a farm implement known as a sling blade, a simpleminded 11-year-old boy is sent to a mental hospital where he spends the next 25 years. Upon... After catching his mother and her boyfriend "in flagrante delicto" and dispatching both of them with a farm implement known as a sling blade, a simpleminded 11-year-old boy is sent to a mental hospital where he spends the next 25 years. Upon his release, the emotionally and mentally stunted man-child returns to his Arkansas hometown and takes a job in a local garage, only to have the past inexorably repeat itself. An indie-film triumph, adapted by star-writer-director Thornton from his 1993 short, "Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade." Academy Award Nominations: 2, including Best Actor--Billy Bob Thornton. Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay. [More]

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter, Natalie Canerday, Robert Duvall, Jim Jarmusch

Director: Billy Bob Thornton

Director: Billy Bob Thornton
Screenwriter: Billy Bob Thornton
Composer: Daniel Lanois
Producer: David L. Bushell, Brandon Rosser

[See More Credits]

DVD Info

 
 
 
 
Release:

Jan 6, 1998

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1 encoding
  • Keep case
  • Interactive Menus

Reviews for Sling Blade

  • T-Meter Critics
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  • RT Community
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/23/08
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Time Out
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Ratings Image

The film's many rewards cannot be described in conventional terms.

Full Review Source: Mr. Brown's Movies | comment Comment
09/17/05
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies
Ratings Image

There will never be another film like Sling Blade. And I reckon we’ll have to live with that... Mmm-mmm.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
09/07/05
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures
Ratings Image

These days Thornton is seen primarily as an actor, but with “Sling Blade” he proved a true auteur.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
07/15/05
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal
Ratings Image

A deep and thoughtful masterpiece - now on director's cut dvd!

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
06/16/05
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review
Ratings Image

...a moving, poignant, humorous, chilling, and melancholic motion picture, with a bravura turn from its writer/director/star.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
06/03/05
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
Ratings Image

Sling Blade derives its power from Thornton's affecting characterization of Karl Childers.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
07/01/04
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly
Ratings Image

Thornton makes his breakthrough

Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
02/28/03
John A. Nesbit
ToxicUniverse.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Ratings Image

There is almost nothing slipshod about the film and I suspect that it will only seem more impressive the further we get from the flurry of hype ...

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
11/01/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer
Ratings Image

This riveting character-driven drama is a cautionary tale about the ways in which violence desecrates all life.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/31/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
08/13/02
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/09/02
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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