FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Sling Blade [DVD] [1996]

Sling Blade [DVD] [1996]
enlarge	Director: Billy Bob Thornton Actors: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm Category: DVD List Price: ~~£17.99~~ Buy New: £2.97 as of 21/11/2009 22:49 GMT details You Save: £15.02 (83%) New (12) Used (7) Collectible (1) from £2.96 Seller: william_barola Rating: 10 reviews Sales Rank: 19668 Format: Box set, PAL, Special Edition, Widescreen Languages: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Number Of Discs: 2 Running Time: 135 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 8717418048778 ASIN: B0009M9FCI Theatrical Release Date: 1996 Release Date: July 6, 2005 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed, and starred in iSling Blade/i, a mesmerizing drama with haunting overtones of iTo Kill a Mockingbird/i. Thornton plays a mentally retarded man who has spent 20 years in a psychiatric hospital for killing his mother and her lover. Released into the community from which he came, he befriends and protects a lonely boy regularly harassed and abused by his mom's boyfriend (a terrific performance by Dwight Yoakam). The story is ultimately about sacrifice, but Thornton certainly doesn't get twinkly about it. Some of the best material concerns the hero's no-big-deal efforts to integrate into a "normal" life: working, eating fast food, earning admiration for his handyman skills, and attaining a semblance of community among other damaged souls. John Ritter has a great part as a gay shopkeeper who tries to assuage his own loneliness by spilling his guts out to Thornton's uncomprehending character. i--Tom Keogh, Amazon.com/i

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 10 1 2 Next » Slow paced, sophisticated Arkansas drama August 5, 2005 Budge Burgess (Kilmarnock, Scotland) 9 out of 19 found this review helpful Billed as a 'Southern Gothic tale', "Sling Blade" represents something of a tour de force by Billy Bob Thornton, who wrote, directed, and stars in the film. His portrayal of Karl, a man of limited intellectual sophistication, has an intense physical quality - slow moving, slow thinking, his drawl as slow as molasses in January.pWe follow Karl on his release from incarceration in a mental hospital; he's served 25 years, his entire adult life, undergoing custodial treatment for some heinous slaying with a switchblade. He's clearly not seen as a danger by the staff of the institution: he seems a man more offended against than offending. He has no home, no family, no friends - his life revolves around the institution, and it is throwing him out.pHe returns to his home town clutching a parcel of books, there to befriend a young boy and his mother. He proves adept at repairing engines and begins to impress the locals as a man with a gentle heart and well-reasoned moral sensibilities. And then the mother's abusive boyfriend arrives on the scene.pIt's a very sympathetic portrayal by Thornton, at once convincing and engaging without straying into the realm of the sentimental. The film moves at easy pace with a gentle undercurrent of humour as it makes ironic statements about images of masculinity and the small town's assumption that because Karl takes so long to think about even simple things, he must be a particularly deep thinker.pThe humour, however, has a dark quality to it - there's none of the sentimentality and bathos of "Forrest Gump". Karl, as he explains, dryly, matter-of-fact how he was incarcerated for a double killing. It transforms the sympathetic, simple, gentle man into a character straight out of "Halloween".pThornton plays with the audience, frequently creating scenes which seem to have a predictable, clichéd quality, but which take a gentle spin. The conclusion, however, might be seen as inevitable, but there is a degree of moral ambiguity. How do you allocate or anticipate responsibility for an action?pA superb performance by Thornton, Dwight Yoacham gives an equally convincing performance as the abusive boyfriend, and Robert Duval appearrs to deliver a cameo performance (setting echoes for Karl of the Boo Radley character Duval played in "To Kill a Mockingbird").pThere is a superb assembly of extras here - interviews with Thornton, an exploration of his life and work, a commentary, an extra 20-odd minutes of film, and contributions by other members of the cast. A excellent anamorphic, widescreen transfer, with good sound and lighting and picture quality which belie its relatively low-budget genesis. A stunningly good movie - moving, engaging, enraging, enthralling. A Work of Simple Quality September 18, 2005 J. Neal (Sussex) 2 out of 8 found this review helpful Here is a movie that offers a series of insights; from the quiet, reflective tempo of small town American life, to the nature of crime and punishment; the performance of Billy Bob Thornton in the lead role is nothing short of sublime, his acting is utterly convincing and uncomplicated without being remotely simplistic. This is Forrest Gump without the cheese and an infinitely darker conclusion. This is the second attempt by Thornton (who wrote the screenplay too) to create this movie, the predecessor "Some Folks Call it a Slingblade" is highly thought of for a little known TV movie, and the fact that he remade it, bigger and better, is testament to his own enthusiasm for the enterprise: it shows too, this is a serious work by a master craftsman, it oozes quality, has a gorgeous finish and lingers in the memory long after it is first viewed. One to watch and to own. A breathtaking film December 3, 2005 Kona (Emerald City) 3 out of 15 found this review helpful A "sling blade" is what 12-year old, mentally-retarded Karl used to kill his mother and her lover many years ago. Now middle-aged and released from the state mental hospital, Karl (Billy Bob Thornton) returns to his hometown, so alone and helpless that he even tries to go back to the hospital. But Karl does begin his life on the outside and befriends a boy who is as lonely as he is. Karl moves in with the boy and his mother, who are abused by her drunken boyfriend (Dwight Yoakum) - a man just as evil as Karl#x27;s father was. pI put off seeing this move for years because I thought it would be too depressing. While it is sad, I#x27;m glad I saw it, because the story was fascinating and all of the actors were extraordinary. I guessed what the ending would be early on so I didn#x27;t feel hopeless watching the story unfold; instead I was caught up in the spell of Billy Bob and the world he created on the screen. Thornton is unrecognizable as the simple man with a cruel past, and his performance is utterly convincing. Lucas Black, as the boy, is also excellent and John Ritter has a very good role as a gay shopkeeper. A thought-provoking movie that takes an unsentimental look at real pain. Recommended. A superb film August 17, 2005 Theo Walcott (UK) 1 out of 5 found this review helpful This is one of the best films I have ever seen. I highly recommend you spend the time to watch this. In my opinion it is a tender film with a strong message. Please take my word for it... you will not be disappointed. A taste of things to come. January 28, 2008 wessex-dvds-uk (England) Sling Blade was the first film I ever watched, starring Billy Bob Thornton. I'm eternally grateful that I ever saw it, because it led me on to A Simple Plan, Bandits, Bad Santa etc. (We'll forgive him his momentary lapse in Armageddon!). br / br /Yes, it's long and a little slow-paced. But, in its defence, it has a wonderful performance from a very young Lucas Black, and some shockingly good acting from Country Western singer, Dwight Yoakam. There are some truly heartbreaking scenes - most notably when Karl re-visits his former home, and surveys the pitiful last resting place of his baby brother. br / br /For me though, what made this film so particularly special, was the enormous amount of empathy I felt for a former killer, who you just know has murder in mind again. It's wrong - but that said, you want him to do it anyway. It takes a very special actor to invoke the kind of feelings that go against what you believe to be morally right - or wrong, depending which way you care to view the film's outcome. Showing reviews 1-5 of 10 1 2 Next »

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