Customer Reviews

Bowling for Columbine (DVD, 2003)

5 star:		(396)
4 star:		(85)
3 star:		(65)
2 star:		(41)
1 star:		(211)

 

 

I am from Germany! My teacher took us to this documentary and we first thought : oh no! We have no time for it!

Everybody loved it! `Cause:

Michael Moore shows exactly what we think about Americans!
This film shows the stupidity of NRA members (represented by Heston) and how far from reality they are!
Not to mention the part where Heston says that the American history was more violent than the German!

And those who say that the facts given in the movie are [bad]!
Think about it again...Most of the facts Moore mentions are right and informative!...

Its ironic the number of reviewers who see this as an anti-gun statement. With as much respect as I can muster they have missed the point, as indeed has Mr Moore.

Mr Moore was making an intelligent and insightful essay into the roots of ALL violence in America, but I suspect he got a bit lost when events caught up with him.

The irony is, gentle reader, that Mr Moore supplies plenty of ammunition for pro-gun people. For example, he shows clearly that Canadian gun ownership is very high, yet has nowhere the level of gun crime as the United States. Pro- rata New Zealand has as high a gun ownership rate as the US, but has less than 100 gun fatalities a year- and that includes suicides and accidents. So if guns cause crime, surely Canada would have as high a rate as the USA? One fellow interviewed points out that gun ownership as increased, yet the rate of crime has gone down. Again, if the guns were the problem wouldnt you see the increase? One women points out that when your house is attacked why do you call the police? Well, she says it is because they are the ones with the guns.

The point is, the film was heading towards making the point that violence is not a single faceted problem, and many factors contribute- maybe music, maybe violent video games, who knows? However, about two thirds through the film, he started to investigate the tragic shooting of a young girl at a school by a six year old boy. Without a doubt, this was a tragic accident, but is it not- and again Mr Moore misses the point- anything more than an accident. Indeed the NRA's own gun safety programmes deal with exactly that situation and isnt it a shame that the boy concerned hadn't seen it.

Previous reviewers have focused on the guns, and not looked at the other points the film have made, such as the dig at US foreign policy. Indeed Mr Moore makes that point, showing that on the day of the columbine shooting there were heavy US airstrikes. Dealing with that suddenley seemed too hard, and he pulled the film back to a superficail argument- ban the guns and suddenley everything is hunky dorey.

Be warned that much of this film is not for the squimish. You will see numerous shootings, and some terrible footage from columbine itself. It is not to be taken lightly.

All in all an interesting view of the USA. It is such a shame that Mr Moore didn't control his emotions, and present a more balanced view.

Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" is a riveting and electrifying documentary. Focusing on gun control (although topics also range from American history to violence in the media), it's powerful and often hilarious. Moore makes an engaging on-screen host, and the little vignettes he strings together are often hilarious, such as the history cartoon and the interview with the guy linked to the Oklahoma city bombing. Other scenes are truly powerhouse filmmaking, like the Columbine surveillance footage and the unforgettable showdown with Charlton Heston. The film is weighed down a bit by Moore's tweaking of the truth (like in the staged opening scene and the tricky editing of Heston's NRA speeches) and his occasionally insane arguments (like linking Dick Clarke to a school shooting), but overall, it's memorable and worth seeing.
On DVD, the film is in an aspect ratio of roughly 1.85:1. Being a documentary with much footage taken from news shows, the image quality varies, and is sometimes quite grainy. It looks and sounds as good as it should. Of the abundant extras, the most worthwhile is Moore's fifteen-minute defense of his famous Oscar acceptance speech ("Shame on you, Mr. Bush!"). There is a lot of interview footage with Moore at various film festivals and on various shows to a point at which there's almost too much Moore. A commentary with some of his interns (I listened to a bit of it; not informative, but funny and spontaneous) and a Marilyn Manson music video are also worth noting.

i don't know, folks, i simply don't know, but after moore's 'roger & me', he seems to fail to surpass himself out of his first attempt to be a greater and better documentary filmmaker or even a writer. all of his products so far are still clouded under 'roger & me'. you don't have to read or watch his books or this new docu that got him an oscar, just get 'roger & me' is more than enough. and one more thing, moore should not use his old technique by dressing himself up like a sloppy american redneck or poor bluecollar guy just out of his sagging mattress from his rundown mobile home, he's actually very rich now, by dressing up like what he wore throughout the whole bowling game would only proved that he's also a phony, trying very hard to continuously cash in by earning the the empathy of we, the real working class. this docu film is actually quite bored in most parts, if compared to his 'roger n me'

Summary:
Michael Moore wants to figure out why there are so many murders by guns in the United States. There are far more gun related murders in the U.S. each year than in any other country. So, he visits numerous people (including Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Barry Glassner, and many others) and uses a conglomeration of archive footage to see if he can answer the question.

My Comments:
The movie itself is fascinating; it is funny and disturbing at the same time. And, it keeps your attention. I was surprised that the topic was well-enough presented to keep my attention for two hours. Especially funny was the cartoon from South Park (narrated by a bullet) that talks about the history of the United States.

There is, however, a small problem - Moore never really answers the question outright. He kind of leaves you thinking that the reason there are so many deaths is because there is a culture of fear in the U.S. that is promoted by the media. This is coupled with the ready and easy access of guns. And he gives you the impression that this is just one among a number of other problems that are resulting from capitalism and poverty in the U.S. But, you are left kind of wondering how all of this works together to result in so many gun-related murders.

Overall, the movie is entertaining and thought-provoking, but doesn't really answer the question completely.

I am a gun owner, and a second ammendment supporter. I just wanted to voice an opinion on this movie and its criticisms. I was skeptical at first about this film before I saw it. I was afraid it was going to be full of anti-gun posturing; a simple "we hate guns" proclamation. But it was not.

"Bowling for Columbine" may have initially had the agenda of making guns and gun owners look bad. But the final cut turned out to be a far deeper, abstract statement about the culture of fear in the United States. It examines, albeit in a round about way, comparisons of CULTURES, not necessarily politics. Period.

Whether or not Michael Moore twisted the numbers is irrelevent. His film is a brilliant dissection of American culture.

I have read all of his books, and seen his other films, and this one is probably my favorite. "The Big One" and "Roger & Me" are still quite wonderful, though. And definitely do not forget to read his books "Downsize This" and "Stupid White Men."

Keep an open mind...what have you got to lose?

There is a long, repetitive diatribe a couple reviews up in which the reviewer gets on Moore's case for his biased portrayal of the subjects of this movie. I think that reviewer is missing the point. Gun control is not the main thrust of the movie, it's that Americans seem to have a great deal more fear than citizens of other countries. The fact that people shoot criminals is not a rebuttal of that argument, in fact it's more proof. The reviewer states that there is less violent crime in states where people are allowed to carry concealed weapons, a solution which boils down to "make criminals afraid as well". Anecdotal or not, the evidence presented fits Moore's hypothesis that fear drives much of the violence in this country. A reading of Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent" (which I'm sure Moore must have drawn from) should further convince you of the media's role in forming public opinion, and in this case fear.

In my personal experience as a Canadian living in the U.S. I find that there is a big difference between the two countries, and that is the difference between capitalism and socialism. Capitalism can be summed up as "every man for himself", while socialism is based on spreading wealth to those who need it. One engenders competition, the other cooperation. In America you take what you can get because no one is going to hand anything to you, so naturally you're going to protect what you already have a little more vigorously. That difference goes a long way to explaining why Americans are more afraid, and why they feel the need to own guns. In any event, I grew up without locking my door, although I sure lock it now.

Whatever your politics you can't deny that Moore documents a great deal of absurd and dysfunctional behavior in this movie. He makes the viewer think and more importantly, take a stand. It is riveting, heartbreaking, disgusting and funny, all at the same time. this could be the most powerful movie I've seen in years.

Oh, and I'm no fan but Marilyn Manson was one of the most intelligent people interviewed by Moore. He gained my respect, if not my admiration of his music.

In the three years I have surfed Amazon.com, I have never been moved to write a movie review...until now. I add my two cents now because, simply, Bowling For Columbine is the most important movie I have ever seen. However, I will not detail the subject of this movie here. Check the other 100 reviews for that. I will say that Bowling for Columbine is both powerful and unsatisfying. It is powerful through the sheer weight of its subject matter, and the way director Michael Moore presents it. It does not, however, satisfy those looking for an easy answer to the question of American violence. The difference between this movie and the so-called propoganda piece it is made out to be, is that Bowling For Columbine does not leave the audience with a simple mantra to repeat to the world, explaining away gun violence with ease. It empowers a viewer with many facts, raises many questions, and then rolls the credits. Take it as you will.
Those viewers looking for a CNN-style news segment are sure to be outraged by this film. It is neither unbiased nor fair. Michael Moore is not interested in how many lives are saved by private gun ownership every year. He is not interested in finding an articulate, intelligent pro-firearm spokesman. He doesn't really care why you want your gun. But the point many viewers seem to be missing is, he ISN'T SUPPOSED TO. Michael Moore framed his film around a belief, and then sought out and presented information that would sway the audience to his side. This makes it far different from TV news segments and PBS documentaries. Want an open forum on gun laws? Watch Hardball or any of the other asinine pseudo-unbiased edutainment programs. Michael Moore is out to prove a point, and he does it well.

I have never said that about any movie, other than Star Wars before this. The people who whatched this film talked about it for days.
Michael Moore gives an in depth look at guns and violence, in a humerous and serious way.
Do not get caught up in the title, this is not all about the Columbine event. This is not a doom and gloom movie (meaning all sad). This movie is funny and thought provoking.
You will wonder why the entire country was not made to watch this film after watching it yourself.
It'll be the best 2 hours you've ever spent in front of your TV.

I believe the reviewer from NZ missed the message behind this film. The main message is not about guns at all, Moore is trying to show that the cause behind a lot of what's wrong with the US is the 'culture of fear'. He just uses the events at Columbine and Oklahoma City as a stage to illustrate his argument. This message is best conveyed during the interesting clip with Marylin Manson.

The film is thoroughly amusing, and dismally frightening at the same time.