Natural Born Killers (1994)

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers (WGA):

Quentin Tarantino (story)
David Veloz (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 August 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The Media Made Them Superstars.

Plot:

Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.

Plot Keywords:

Media | Prison | Killer | Revenge | Violence

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Woody Harrelson	...	Mickey Knox
Juliette Lewis	...	Mallory Knox
Tom Sizemore	...	Det. Jack Scagnetti
Rodney Dangerfield	...	Ed Wilson, Mallory's Dad
Everett Quinton	...	Deputy Warden Wurlitzer
Jared Harris	...	London Boy
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Deputy Warden Kavanaugh
Edie McClurg	...	Mallory's Mom
Russell Means	...	Old Indian
Lanny Flaherty	...	Earl
O-Lan Jones	...	Mabel
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Wayne Gale
Richard Lineback	...	Sonny
Kirk Baltz	...	Roger
Ed White	...	Pinball Cowboy
Terrylene	...	Julie
Maria Pitillo	...	Deborah
Josh Richman	...	Soundman
Sean Stone	...	Kevin
Melinda Renna	...	Antonia Chavez
Jerry Gardner	...	Work Boss #1
Jack Caffrey	...	Work Boss #2
Leon Skyhorse Thomas	...	Work Boss #3
Corinna Everson	...	TV Mallory
Dale Dye	...	Dale Wrigley
Edward Conna	...	Gerald Nash (as Eddy 'Doogie' Conna)
Evan Handler	...	David
Matthew Faber	...	Kid #1
Jamie Harrold	...	Kid #2
Jake Grace	...	Kid #3 (as Jake Beecham)
Saemi Nakamura	...	Japanese Girl #1 / Japanese Reporter
Keiko Seiko	...	Japanese Girl #2 (as Seiko Yoshida)
Katharine McQueen	...	London Girl
Salvator Xuereb	...	French Boy #1
Natalie Karp	...	French Girl
Emmanuel Xuereb	...	French Boy #2
Balthazar Getty	...	Gas Station Attendant
Jessie Rutkowski	...	Young Girl
Sally Jackson	...	Mickey's Mom
Phil Neilson	...	Mickey's Dad
Brian Barker	...	Young Mickey
Corinna Laszlo	...	Emily, Hostage in Motel
Red West	...	Cowboy Sheriff
Gerry Runnels	...	Indian Cop
Jeremiah Bitsui	...	Young Indian Boy
Lorraine Farris	...	Pinky
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Warden Dwight McClusky
Glen Chin	...	Druggist
Steven Wright	...	Dr. Emil Reingold
Peter Crombie	...	Intense Cop
John M. Watson Sr.	...	Black Inmate
Joe Grifasi	...	Deputy Sheriff Duncan Homolka
Douglas Crosby	...	Mallory's Guard #1
Carl Ciarfalio	...	Mallory's Guard #2
Marshall Bell	...	Deputy #1
Carol-Renee Modrall	...	Short-Order Cook
Jim Carrane	...	Smithy
Robert Swan	...	Deputy Napalatoni (as Bob Swan)
Louis Lombardi	...	Deputy Sparky
Robert Jordan	...	WGN Newscaster
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ashley Judd	...	Grace Mulberry (scenes deleted)
David Paul	...	The Hun Brothers (scenes deleted)
Peter Paul	...	The Hun Brothers (scenes deleted)
John Busse	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Hank Corwin	...	Headless Figure / Mickey's Dad Demon (uncredited)
Paul Dillon	...	Prison Inmate Who Breaks TV (uncredited)
Herb Gains	...	Wayne Gale's assistant (uncredited)
James Gammon	...	Redneck's Buddy in the Diner (uncredited)
Jennifer Say Gan	...	Asian Reporter (uncredited)
Jane Hamsher	...	Female Demon (uncredited)
Mark Harmon	...	Mickey Knox in Wayne Gale's Reconstruction (uncredited)
Arliss Howard	...	Owen Traft, Mickey & Mallory's Guardian Angel / The Demon (uncredited)
Kathy Long	...	Female deputy kicking Mickey (uncredited)
Robert Marshall	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Don Murphy	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Robyn Reede	...	Lady Cop (uncredited)
Chris Renna	...	Prisoner with Swastika Tattoo on Forehead (uncredited)
Jack Rooney	...	Prison Inmate (uncredited)
Richard Rutowski	...	Prisoner with Mustache (uncredited)
Keith Schrader	...	Press Member (uncredited)
Kent Shelton	...	Prison Snitch (Barber's Chair) (uncredited)
Michael Thomas	...	Victim (uncredited)
Kevin Watson	...	Spirit (uncredited)

Directed by
Oliver Stone

Writing credits (WGA)
Quentin Tarantino		(story)
David Veloz		(screenplay) &
Richard Rutowski		(screenplay) &
Oliver Stone		(screenplay)

Produced by
Risa Bramon Garcia	....	associate producer
Jane Hamsher	....	producer
Arnon Milchan	....	executive producer
Thom Mount	....	executive producer
Don Murphy	....	producer
Richard Rutowski	....	associate producer
Clayton Townsend	....	producer
Rand Vossler	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Brent Lewis

Cinematography by
Robert Richardson

Film Editing by
Brian Berdan
Hank Corwin

Casting by
Risa Bramon Garcia
Billy Hopkins
Heidi Levitt

Production Design by
Victor Kempster

Art Direction by
Alan Tomkins		(supervising art director) (as Alan R. Tomkins)
Margery Zweizig

Set Decoration by
Merideth Boswell

Costume Design by
Richard Hornung

Makeup Department
Cydney Cornell	....	hair designer
John E. Jackson	....	makeup artist
Matthew W. Mungle	....	key makeup artist
Matthew W. Mungle	....	special makeup effects artist
Gordon J. Smith	....	special makeup effects artist
Melissa A. Yonkey	....	hair stylist (as Melissa Yonkey)

Production Management
Bill Brown	....	post-production supervisor
Leeann Stonebreaker	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herb Gains	....	first assistant director
Noga Isackson	....	second assistant director
Philip C. Pfeiffer	....	second unit director (as Philip Pfeiffer)
Adam Rosen	....	dga trainee
B. Scott Senechal	....	second assistant director (as Scott Senechal)
David H. Venghaus Jr.	....	second second assistant director (as David Venghaus Jr.)
Kevin Barry Howe	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Alan Allinger	....	general forman
Rodney Armanino	....	construction coordinator
Tana Bishop	....	art department coordinator
Troy Borisy	....	lead man: Chicago
Bill Darrow	....	stand-by painter
Glenn Forbes	....	assistant property master
John P. Goldsmith	....	set designer (as John Perry Goldsmith)
Dale Haugo	....	lead scenic artist
Wendell A. Bud Hill II	....	stand-by carpenter (as Wendell A. 'Bud' Hill II)
John A. Kelly	....	lead set painter (as John Kelly)
Amie McCarthy	....	prop assistant (as Amie Frances McCarthy)
Wayne Shepherd	....	lead man: Southwest
Charles Stewart	....	property master
Stella Vaccaro	....	set designer (as Stella Furner)
Alice Baker	....	assistant set decorator (uncredited)
Dick Hansen	....	props (uncredited)
John O. Hartman	....	buyer (uncredited)
Peter Tosti Stephenson	....	swing gang gang boss: New Mexico (uncredited)
Glenn Stevens	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
James Ashwill	....	foley mixer (as Jim Ashwill)
Robert Batha	....	sound editor
Gregg Baxter	....	supervising adr editor
Lon Bender	....	additional sound (as Lon E. Bender)
Steve Bowerman	....	boom operator
John T. Cucci	....	foley artist (as John Cucci)
Victor Ray Ennis	....	first assistant sound editor
Tom Fleischman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley artist (as Gary 'Wrecker' Hecker)
Craig S. Jaeger	....	foley editor (as Craig Jaeger)
Randy Kelley	....	sound effects editor
Mark Lanza	....	sound effects editor (as Mark A. Lanza)
Peter J. Lehman	....	sound effects editor
David MacMillan	....	sound mixer
Joseph A. Mayer	....	adr editor (as Joe Mayer)
Christian P. Minkler	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Christian Minkler)
Michael Minkler	....	sound re-recording mixer
Philip D. Morrill	....	assistant sound editor (as Phil Morrill)
Dan O'Connell	....	foley artist (as Dan O'Connel)
Kelly Oxford	....	dubbing editor
Kevin E. Patterson	....	utility sound
Joseph Phillips	....	sound effects editor
Charleen Richards	....	adr mixer
Dan M. Rich	....	supervising dialogue editor (as Dan Rich)
Wylie Stateman	....	supervising sound editor
Bill Voigtlander	....	adr editor
Jeff Watts	....	sound editor
Kim Waugh	....	additional sound
Michael D. Wilhoit	....	supervising sound editor (as Michael Wilhoit)
Barney Cabral	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Richard Dwan Jr.	....	adr editor (uncredited)
Richard Dwan Jr.	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)
Scott Martin Gershin	....	sound designer (uncredited)
Nicholas James	....	sound editor (uncredited)
David Kneupper	....	sound designer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Larry L. Fuentes	....	special effects foreman
Steve Luport	....	special effects
Frank L. Pope	....	special effects
James D. Schwalm	....	special effects (as Jim Schwalm)
Bob Stoker	....	special effects foreman
Lucinda Strub	....	special effects
Matt Sweeney	....	special effects coordinator
G. Peter King	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Daniel Chuba	....	visual effects producer: PDI
Rebecca Marie	....	visual effects supervisor: PDI
Alex Olivares	....	optical effects coordinator
Wendy Rogers	....	lead animator: PDI
Cathy Wagner	....	animator: PDI
Aaron Dem	....	assistant to the producers: PDI (uncredited)
Al Magliochetti	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Carter Tomassi	....	animation camera (uncredited)

Stunts
Phil Neilson	....	stunt coordinator
Janet Paparazzo	....	stunt double
Linda Perlin	....	stunts
Tim Trella	....	stunt double (as Timothy P. Trella)
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ned Corrigan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie J. Fernandez	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Guercio	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ronald Jaynes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Jeffreys	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kathy Long	....	stunts (uncredited)
Daniel Maldonado	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carol-Renee Modrall	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ken Moreno	....	stunts (uncredited)
Phil Neilson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ron Nix	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carl Paoli	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jimmy N. Roberts	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kent Shelton	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Benny Urquidez	....	stunts (uncredited)
Spice Williams-Crosby	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Sidney Ray Baldwin	....	still photographer (as Sidney Baldwin)
Robert C. Carlson	....	first assistant camera: Chicago
Chris Centrella	....	key grip
Scott Gillis	....	rigging key grip
Wayne D. Goldwyn	....	time-lapse photographer (as Wayne Goldwyn)
Marty Kassab-Chaney	....	video assist operator (as Marty Kassab)
Dean M. King	....	best boy grip
Brett Mabry	....	electrician
Ed Maloney	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Eddy Maloney)
Michael A. Mendez	....	best boy rigging grip (as Michael Mendez)
Reinhart 'Rayteam' Peschke	....	chief lighting technician
Brad Rea	....	dolly grip
Keith L. Smith	....	second assistant camera (as Keith Smith)
Richard Sobin	....	second assistant camera: Chicago
Gregor Tavenner	....	first assistant camera
Amy Vincent	....	second assistant camera
Shaw Hawkins Burrows	....	rigging grip: New Mexico (uncredited)
Dante Cardone	....	gaffer: second unit (uncredited)
Clifton Dance	....	electrician (uncredited)
Kevin Edwards	....	key grip: second unit (uncredited)
Adam C. Eichhorst	....	grip (uncredited)
Harland Espeset	....	grip (uncredited)
Fred Folmer	....	best boy grip (uncredited)
Samuel Hughes	....	electrician (uncredited)
Samuel Hughes	....	lighting technician (uncredited)
Alan Jacques	....	process photographer (uncredited)
Fred L. McLane	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Randy Nolen	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)
Ray Ortega	....	electrician (uncredited)
Steve Parrington	....	video playback engineer (uncredited)
Philip C. Pfeiffer	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Animation Department
Paul Golden	....	animation producer: Colossal Pictures
Richard Quan	....	animation producer: Colossal Pictures

Casting Department
Jane Alderman	....	casting: Chicago
Erica Arvold	....	casting associate: Chicago
Ronnie Hollis	....	location casting assistant: Southwest
Sally Jackson	....	location casting: Southwest
Mikella Kievman	....	casting assistant
Laurel Miller	....	casting assistant
Suzanne Smith	....	casting associate
Mary Vernieu	....	casting associate
Regina Prokop	....	extras casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mark Bridges	....	assistant costume designer
Eden Clark Coblenz	....	key costumer: Southwest (as Eden E. Clark)
Michelle Kurpaska	....	costume supervisor
David Page	....	key costumer
Mary Zophres	....	assistant costume designer
Susan J. Bonno-Buckner	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)
David Glaubke	....	set costumer (uncredited)
Maryann Scinto	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Julie Dole	....	assistant editor
Quincy Z. Gunderson	....	assistant editor (as Quincy Zane Gunderson)
Christine Lee	....	assistant editor
Thomas J. Nordberg	....	first assistant editor
David Orr	....	color timer
John Venzon	....	assistant editor
Eric Whitfield	....	assistant editor
Charles Bunn	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Babette Dickerson	....	post-production intern (uncredited)

Music Department
Budd Carr	....	executive music producer
Amy Dunn	....	assistant music supervisor
Alex Gibson	....	music editor
Carlton Kaller	....	music editor
Randy Lee	....	musician: bass
Sylvia Nestor	....	associate music supervisor
Denise Okimoto	....	assistant music editor
tomandandy	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
Michael Avallon	....	driver
Dan Brizendine	....	transportation captain (as Daniel W. Brizendine)
Calvin Chin	....	transportation co-captain: Chicago
Peter R. Chittell	....	transportation captain (as Peter Chittell)
Richard Deangelo	....	transportation captain: Chicago
Dusty Saunders	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Jacolyn Baker	....	location manager (as Jacolyn J. Baker)
Tom Berto	....	animal wrangler: Southwest
Angela H. Brice	....	assistant production coordinator: Chicago
Charles Bunn	....	post-production staff assistant (as Charles R. Bunn)
Ian Calip	....	staff assistant
Mindy Cole	....	assistant: Mr. Townsend
P.J. Connelly	....	assistant location manager: Southwest (as P.J. Connolly)
Keith Cooper	....	warden: Joliet Correctional Center, Illinois Department of Corrections
Dale Dye	....	technical advisor (as Capt. Dale Dye)
Yolande Geralds	....	set production assistant: Southwest
Leslie Godfrey	....	assistant production coordinator: Los Angeles
Salvador A. Godinez	....	warden: Stateville Correctional Center, Illinois Department of Corrections
Debra Hill	....	accounting assistant
Rose Hlaing	....	production secretary: Chicago
Pamela Hochschartner	....	production coordinator
Deirdre Horgan	....	script supervisor
Nicholas Irwin	....	post-production accountant
James J. Klekowski	....	assistant location manager: Chicago
Brady Kuhlman	....	production secretary (as Braden Kuhlman)
Diana E. Latham	....	production secretary: Chicago (as Diana Latham)
Jay Lehrfeld	....	assistant location manager
Todd Lent	....	staff assistant
Rick Little	....	snake wrangler: Southwest
Arthur Manson	....	producers' representative
Christopher Medak	....	set production assistant
Leo Meyer	....	deputy director: Adult Institutions, Illinois Department of Corrections
Cee Moravec	....	staff assistant
Suzanne Schnulle Murphy	....	first assistant accountant (as Sue Schnulle Murphy)
Carole Nix	....	assistant production coordinator
George Patterson	....	office staff assistant: Chicago
Howard Peters	....	director: Illinois Department of Corrections
Paul Byrne Prenderville	....	set production assistant (as Paul Prenderville)
Susan G. Reifer	....	research and clearance
Chris Renna	....	production physician (as Christian Renna)
Denyse Rossi	....	payroll accountant
Barbara Simpson	....	assistant location manager: Southwest
Michael Singer	....	unit publicist
Christopher Solmssen	....	set production assistant (as Christopher T. Solmssen)
Lee Solomon	....	set production assistant: Chicago
Lee Solomon	....	set production assistant: Chicago
Justin Stanley	....	assistant: Mr. Murphy
Barbara-Ann Stein	....	controller
Barbara Stoia	....	script supervisor
Paul Stojanovich	....	video advisor (as Paul Stajanovich)
Amy Tindell	....	assistant: Ms. Hamsher
Ron Towery	....	stock footage researcher
Lisa Ullmann	....	office staff assistant: Chicago
Nadia Venesse	....	dialogue coach
Benjamin Von Nagel	....	staff assistant
Jerri Whiteman	....	second assistant accountant
Calvin Wimmer	....	post-production staff assistant
Azita Zendel	....	assistant: Mr. Stone
Paula Zimmer	....	production secretary: Southwest
Peter D'Alessio	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Rob Disner	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Gina Genova	....	unit manager: Southwest (uncredited)
Moira Michiels	....	extras coordinator (uncredited)
Michael Morgenthal	....	construction accountant (uncredited)
Clive Ng	....	financial services: Triumph Sound Holding (uncredited)
Mia Ries-Wicklund	....	extras coordinator (uncredited)
Jeff Smith	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Oliver Stone	....	executive album producer (uncredited)

Thanks
Howard Fabrick	....	special thanks
Anne Iverson	....	special thanks
Phil Krone	....	special thanks
Dean Nakano	....	special thanks
Stanley White	....	special thanks
Fred Wyche	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros.) (presents)
• Regency Enterprises (in association with)
• Alcor Films (in association with)
• Ixtlan
• New Regency Pictures
• J D Productions (in association with)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1994) (USA) (theatrical)
• Roadshow Entertainment (1994) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1994) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1994) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1994) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1994) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1994) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1994) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1995) (UK) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (1995) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Pioneer Entertainment (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Vidmark Entertainment (1996) (USA) (VHS) (director's cut widescreen)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Trimark Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Bridge Entertainment Group (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD) (director's cut)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD) (director's cut)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Manga Films (2006) (Spain) (DVD) (director's cut)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)

Special Effects

• Pacific Data Images (PDI)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies and cranes
• Colossal Pictures  animation
• D. Bassett & Associates  negative cutting
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Gala Catering  catering
• M/S Billings Publicity Ltd.  publicity
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Paskal Lighting  lighting
• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound services
• Sonoton Recorded Music  music
• The Pogachefsky Company  publicity
• Warriors  technical advisor

Also Known As:

Asesinos por naturaleza (Argentina) (Mexico) [es]
Asesinos natos (Spain) [es]
Assassini nati (Italy) [it]
Assassinos Natos (Portugal) [pt]
Assassinos por Natureza (Brazil) [pt]
Gennimenoi dolofonoi (Greece) [el]
Les meutres de sang (Canada: French title) [fr]
Natural Born Killers (Germany) [de]
Rodjene ubice (Serbia) [sr]
Rojena morilca (Slovenia) [sl]
Syntyneet tappajiksi (Finland) [fi]
Született gyilkosok (Hungary) [hu]
Takí normálni zabijaci (Slovakia) [sk]
Takoví normální zabijáci (Czech Republic) [cs]
Tueurs nés (France) [fr]
Urodzeni mordercy (Poland) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated R for extreme violence and graphic carnage, for shocking images, and for strong language and sexuality.

Runtime:

118 min | USA:122 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Navajo | Japanese

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Italy:VM14 | Italy:VM18 (director's cut) (direct to video) (self applied) | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Norway:15 | Germany:18 (cut) | Norway:18 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-15 (director's cut) (DVD) | Finland:K-15 (director's cut) | Brazil:18 | Sweden:18 (director's cut, original dvd release) | France:-16 (original rating) | France:-16 (director's cut) | Philippines:(Banned) | New Zealand:R18 | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | USA:R | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Belgium:KNT | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Finland:K-18 (director's cut) | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:16 | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:18 (re-rating) | Israel:16 | Japan:R-15 | Mexico:C | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Canada:18+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

In an infamous incident after the film had been released, Oliver Stone and Time Warner were sued by Patsy Byers, with the support of author and film producer John Grisham. In March 1995, 18-year-old Sarah Edmondson and her boyfriend Benjamin Darras (also 18) allegedly dropped acid and watched 'Natural Born Killers'. Later that night, Sarah shot and paralyzed Byers, a store clerk in Ponchatoula, and Benjamin killed cotton gin manager William Savage in Hernando, Mississippi. John Grisham was a personal friend of Savage's, and after the murder, Grisham publicly accused Oliver Stone of being irresponsible in making the film, arguing that filmmakers should be held accountable for their work when it incites violent behavior. Byers decided to take legal action against Stone and the studio, and supported by Grisham, she used a "product liability" claim in the lawsuit, which argued that Stone had incited the teenagers to commit the crime. Initially, the case was dismissed in January 1997, on the grounds that filmmakers and production companies are protected by the First Amendment. However, in May 1998, the Intermediate Louisiana Court of Appeals overturned the lower court's decision, and the case went ahead. The attorneys for Byers' attempted to prove that Stone and Warner were culpable in the murder and in Byers injury because they had purposefully meant to incite violence by "distributing a film they knew, or should have known would cause and inspire people to commit crimes". All of Hollywood eagerly awaited the outcome of the trial, because if Stone was found guilty, it would mean a drastic reexamination of the industry practices and would carry all kinds of far reaching implications as regards the content of movies. However, in a landmark decision, Byers' action was thrown out of court in March 2001, and its dismissal was rubber-stamped by the Louisiana Court of Appeal in June 2002.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: It's obvious that the "Drug Zone" is really just a department store, despite trying to be a medicine supermarket. When Mickey and Mallory are wandering through the aisles at Drug Zone, cleaners and other household products are seen on the shelves.

Quotes:

Mickey: You'll never understand, Wayne. You and me, we're not even the same species. I used to be you, then I evolved. From where you're standing, you're a man. From where I'm standing, you're an ape. You're not even an ape. You're a media person. Media's like the weather, only it's man-made weather. Murder? It's pure. You're the one made it impure. You're buying and selling fear. You say "why?" I say "why bother?"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Adam and Joe Show: (#1.4)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Something I Can Never Have

A Truly Brilliant Film

After viewing this film many, many times since I first saw it I came to the conclusion that this film basically put on screen my feelings as to why I disliked and still continue to dislike the 90's/Post-Millenium American Pseudo-Culture. At first I did not understand it (the metaphors and such) but having viewed it countless times over the past few years I have developed an understanding of this truly remarkable film.

Critics over the years have panned this film as a 'glorification of meaningless violence', when in fact the film itself is basically the 90's equivalent to Kubrick's 'Dr. Strangelove', where it turns the paranoia of a nation into satire and then deconstruct it in the best way possible. Everybody who is reading this review right now has probably seen the film anyway so I won't reiterate the plot, but what I will do is try and help explain the concept of the film since it's quite obvious that there are a few people out there who don't understand this film.

The 90's - A decade after the Reagan years and a time for the next generation to settle down and basque in the trails of excess that the previous decade left behind. What are we left with in Western Civilization? Media sensationalism and the counter-culture of people who watch car crashes.

Oliver Stone very much plays on the idea of 'serial-killer-turns-media-story-turns-pop-icon' which has been quite evident in the cases of people such as Charles Manson and Richard Ramirez. What Oliver Stone manages to do is portray the negative in the 90's, particularly American pseudo-culture in the 90's. You have Rodney King, O.J Simpson, Tonya Harding, Waco, The Menendez Brothers... and all these things are linked by a single medium, 90's television. The sensationalism of the media saturates most of Western Civilization today, and we live in a world where it's more important to see celebrities on the front of magazines or right-wing televangelists telling us that we need to give them money than it is to focus on the real issues that exist in this world. 'Natural Born Killers' relates to this. What 'Natural Born Killers' plays on is the question - 'why did we, the people, turn on to CNN and watch a white bronco cruising through the streets of Los Angeles one day in 1994?'. In turn, 'Natural Born Killers' plays on the culture-question - 'why do people stop to see car crashes?'. It also asks the question - 'Is that guy on television crazy because he's killed 90+ people or am I crazy for watching a white bronco cruise through the streets of Los Angeles?'. So there are 3 questions that 'Natural Born Killers' raises without a lot of people really understanding them. What the film does - instead of answering these questions - is let the viewer decide for himself or herself whether the serial killer on television is crazy for killing people or we are crazy for actually watching a serial killer talk on television.

So why do the critics despise this film? The critics despise this film because what they see on the film is themselves in Wayne Gale. Robert Downey Jnr accurately portrays the absolute false hysteria and false machismo of tabloid figures such as Geraldo Riviera and Oprah Windfrey et al, in his characterisation of Wayne Gale. He plays the archetypal media figurehead that lives in newsrooms, talking into mobile phones, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, watching television and living deceitful private lives. Another reason why the critics hate this film is because of the subversive message that it portrays in the script. The writers grew up in the 50's and 60's when the paranoia of Cold War was still in their faces everywhere they went. After the Cold War was over these same people started asking themselves, "well, who is the enemy now?". Some of them started realising that the enemy wasn't 10,000 miles away hiding in a mountain, the problem was not attached to a very large metal object that goes 'boom!', but rather the fact that the real enemy is in the corporations and media, the real power of a nation doesn't rely in the leader but the television. 'Natural Born Killers' subversively explains this, that THEY are the problem, and many members of the mainstream media didn't like because they were what the film was about.

Why do the general public despise this film? Because the same people who hate this film are the same people who the film-makers were laughing at when they made it. When the character of Mickey is on the television giving his interview, and the film cuts to a simple black and white image from a stock house of a typical American family sitting around the television, the same people who hate this film are the typical American family sitting around watching the interview, glued to the television like mindless zombies.

Overall - this film is brilliant and it tells it exactly how it is.