...a moving, poignant, humorous, chilling, and melancholic motion picture, with a bravura turn from its writer/director/star.
Weaknesses in the movie? Sure. They are few, but they are most assuredly present. I mentioned one already: the story line was too long and slow in its theatrical form and now it's even longer. As Karl says of the world, "It was too big." Fans will love it all the more; I didn't. I also mentioned the misapprehension that slow people are somehow better able to comprehend the real world; romantic twaddle, of course, but it's a good device for allegory and fable. Another: The head of the hospital, supposedly understanding of Karl's dilemma, releases him without the slightest idea where Karl will go or what he will do. In a comparable real-life situation, wouldn't there have been more forethought invested here? Then, too, the sheer number of good-ol'-boy types in the story seems rather excessive. And about Duvall: It isn't that he's wasted uttering only a couple of words in the movie; it's that he's too well known and too conspicuous to be as effective as he could be. But, perhaps most important, the film's ending can be anticipated a mile off, with Thornton explaining this concern away in his commentary by saying, "The movie is not about surprise; it's about watching how it all takes place." Kinda like the new "Star Wars," I guess. We know exactly where it's going, but it's all in the fun of getting there.
"Sling Blade" attempts and largely succeeds in presenting us with life-enhancing themes like the need for friendship and belonging; the importance of the father-son relationship; the significance of diversity in the world; and the simple necessity for peace and quiet and tranquility in one's daily existence. With a tour-de-force performance by Thornton; a fine supporting cast; a good, if overlong script; a haunting, if occasionally overwrought musical score; and some realistic location shooting, "Sling Blade" has become a piece of genuine Americana. The movie was a worthwhile recipient for a special-edition DVD set.
Video:
The movie is presented in a slightly truncated 1.78:1 ratio, only a wee bit less wide than its original 1.85:1 theatrical-release ratio but better fitting a standard 16x9 widescreen television. It has been transferred to disc in anamorphic form at a reasonably high bit rate, neither of which seem able to make up for the master print's often soft focus. While some scenes are crystal clear, others are a tad blurry, fuzzy, with a touch of grain in darker areas. So, I guess it's kind of a wash. Fortunately, colors are deep and natural, making up for any of the transfer's other minor deficiencies.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound may simply be reproducing what is on the soundtrack, or the audio engineer may have fiddled with the frequency response, I don't know, but the music's bass is quite loud and overpowering in more than a few key scenes. Rather than intensifying the dialogue that it's supposed to be underlining, it distracts from it. Moreover, although the front-channel stereo spread is acceptably wide, the rear-channel surround information is at a premium, limited to the occasional chirping of birds and the faint reinforcement of musical ambiance.
Extras:
The main bonus item on disc one of this two-disc special edition is an audio commentary with Billy Bob Thornton. As Thornton explains it, though, it's an unusual commentary because part of it was recorded back when the movie was made and part of it was newly recorded for the Director's Cut. So Thornton says that's why his voice may sometimes sound a little different. In any event, he not only remarks on the film in general, he tells us where and why the newly restored scenes appear, and he provides a generally useful and listenable set of observations, analyses, background information, and personal anecdotes. Thornton seems genuinely emotional about the picture, telling us it was "the best moviemaking experience" of his life. He also justifies the restored footage by saying, "We don't cut out parts of our day in real life, do we?" Fair enough. Then he concludes by admitting that some people will prefer the shorter theatrical version. Yes, like me.
Disc one also includes an introductory set of trailers for other BV titles; thirty scene selections; English as the only available spoken language; Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired. The package is completed by a sixteen-page informational booklet and chapter guide.
Disc two contains a number of other bonuses, mainly singing the praises of the film and the filmmaker. The first item is a sixty-six-minute documentary, "Mr. Thornton Goes to Hollywood," divided into fourteen chapters, that uses interviews with family, friends, and former teachers to follow Thornton from his birth through his eventual creation of "Sling Blade." Billy Bob winds up seeming like a good and humble soul, ironically canonized by things like this overly reverential tribute.
After that is another documentary heralding Billy Bob's talents: "Bravo Profiles: Billy Bob Thornton," forty-three minutes long. That is followed by a roundtable discussion with Billy Bob Thornton, actors Dwight Yoakam and Mickey Jones, and producer David Bushell that goes on for twelve chapters and seventy-five minutes. Then, there a conversation with Billy Bob Thornton and Robert Duvall, eight minutes; a conversation with Duvall alone, seven minutes; and a conversation with Thornton and composer Daniel Lanois, twenty-two minutes. It's a lot of talking, and only parts of these conversations are any more enlightening than what was revealed in the documentaries. Next, Thornton recreates his Childers' character in a three-minute segment called "The Return of Karl." Following this, "On The Set" takes us behind-the-scenes with "Billy Bob at Work," four minutes; "Doyle's Band: The Johnsons," two minutes; and "Doyle Gets Pummeled," two minutes. Then, there's "Doyle's Dead," a four-minute deleted scene, with an introduction by Thornton, that was supposed to have gone at the end of the closing credits but didn't seem appropriate after the film took on a more serious tone than Thornton had originally intended. Finally, there are three text reviews of "Sling Blade" by critics Richard Corliss, Stanley Kauffmann, and Anne Beatts.
Parting Thoughts:
There is no doubt "Sling Blade" is a moving, poignant, humorous, chilling, and melancholic motion picture, with a bravura turn from its writer/director/star. It accomplishes an awful lot that most movies don't even aspire to. Yet I'm not quite so sure it needed any more screen time to convey its simple story or advance its relatively basic themes. Nevertheless, the movie's ambling pace fits the demeanor of its main character, a man who is not used to getting anywhere fast. No harm done.
"Sling Blade" attempts and largely succeeds in presenting us with life-enhancing themes like the need for friendship and belonging; the importance of the father-son relationship; the significance of diversity in the world; and the simple necessity for peace and quiet and tranquility in one's daily existence. With a tour-de-force performance by Thornton; a fine supporting cast; a good, if overlong script; a haunting, if occasionally overwrought musical score; and some realistic location shooting, "Sling Blade" has become a piece of genuine Americana. The movie was a worthwhile recipient for a special-edition DVD set.
Video:
The movie is presented in a slightly truncated 1.78:1 ratio, only a wee bit less wide than its original 1.85:1 theatrical-release ratio but better fitting a standard 16x9 widescreen television. It has been transferred to disc in anamorphic form at a reasonably high bit rate, neither of which seem able to make up for the master print's often soft focus. While some scenes are crystal clear, others are a tad blurry, fuzzy, with a touch of grain in darker areas. So, I guess it's kind of a wash. Fortunately, colors are deep and natural, making up for any of the transfer's other minor deficiencies.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound may simply be reproducing what is on the soundtrack, or the audio engineer may have fiddled with the frequency response, I don't know, but the music's bass is quite loud and overpowering in more than a few key scenes. Rather than intensifying the dialogue that it's supposed to be underlining, it distracts from it. Moreover, although the front-channel stereo spread is acceptably wide, the rear-channel surround information is at a premium, limited to the occasional chirping of birds and the faint reinforcement of musical ambiance.
Extras:
The main bonus item on disc one of this two-disc special edition is an audio commentary with Billy Bob Thornton. As Thornton explains it, though, it's an unusual commentary because part of it was recorded back when the movie was made and part of it was newly recorded for the Director's Cut. So Thornton says that's why his voice may sometimes sound a little different. In any event, he not only remarks on the film in general, he tells us where and why the newly restored scenes appear, and he provides a generally useful and listenable set of observations, analyses, background information, and personal anecdotes. Thornton seems genuinely emotional about the picture, telling us it was "the best moviemaking experience" of his life. He also justifies the restored footage by saying, "We don't cut out parts of our day in real life, do we?" Fair enough. Then he concludes by admitting that some people will prefer the shorter theatrical version. Yes, like me.
Disc one also includes an introductory set of trailers for other BV titles; thirty scene selections; English as the only available spoken language; Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired. The package is completed by a sixteen-page informational booklet and chapter guide.
Disc two contains a number of other bonuses, mainly singing the praises of the film and the filmmaker. The first item is a sixty-six-minute documentary, "Mr. Thornton Goes to Hollywood," divided into fourteen chapters, that uses interviews with family, friends, and former teachers to follow Thornton from his birth through his eventual creation of "Sling Blade." Billy Bob winds up seeming like a good and humble soul, ironically canonized by things like this overly reverential tribute.
After that is another documentary heralding Billy Bob's talents: "Bravo Profiles: Billy Bob Thornton," forty-three minutes long. That is followed by a roundtable discussion with Billy Bob Thornton, actors Dwight Yoakam and Mickey Jones, and producer David Bushell that goes on for twelve chapters and seventy-five minutes. Then, there a conversation with Billy Bob Thornton and Robert Duvall, eight minutes; a conversation with Duvall alone, seven minutes; and a conversation with Thornton and composer Daniel Lanois, twenty-two minutes. It's a lot of talking, and only parts of these conversations are any more enlightening than what was revealed in the documentaries. Next, Thornton recreates his Childers' character in a three-minute segment called "The Return of Karl." Following this, "On The Set" takes us behind-the-scenes with "Billy Bob at Work," four minutes; "Doyle's Band: The Johnsons," two minutes; and "Doyle Gets Pummeled," two minutes. Then, there's "Doyle's Dead," a four-minute deleted scene, with an introduction by Thornton, that was supposed to have gone at the end of the closing credits but didn't seem appropriate after the film took on a more serious tone than Thornton had originally intended. Finally, there are three text reviews of "Sling Blade" by critics Richard Corliss, Stanley Kauffmann, and Anne Beatts.
Parting Thoughts:
There is no doubt "Sling Blade" is a moving, poignant, humorous, chilling, and melancholic motion picture, with a bravura turn from its writer/director/star. It accomplishes an awful lot that most movies don't even aspire to. Yet I'm not quite so sure it needed any more screen time to convey its simple story or advance its relatively basic themes. Nevertheless, the movie's ambling pace fits the demeanor of its main character, a man who is not used to getting anywhere fast. No harm done.
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[release]15834[/release]