Sling Blade

Old Yeller meets Pulp Fiction in this quirky tale of a mentally disturbed man named Karl Childers (writer/director Billy Bob Thornton) who moves in with a young boy and his abused mother, after being released from a state mental institution (as a boy, Karl killed his mom and her teenage lover with the titular sling blade). Thornton is excellent as the man-child Childers, whose sense of fairness and almost fanatic moral code provide the suspense-laden drama as Karl tries to come to terms with the occasional live-in boyfriend of the boy's mother (an abusive alcoholic, powerfully portrayed by Dwight Yoakum). Sling Blade occasionally falters when it tries to achieve a Disney-like innocence between Childers and the boy, and the main premise (that a mother would allow her son to bring home a mentally disturbed adult male) takes the notion of Southern hospitality a bit far. Still, this Oscar-winner for Best Screenplay, expanded from the short film Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade (VL-5/97) is definitely recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review--June 14, 2005--Miramax, 2 discs, 148 min., R, $19.99--Making its second appearance on DVD, 1996's Sling Blade: Collector's Series Edition boasts an excellent transfer, backed by Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. DVD extras on this double-disc set include 15 minutes of bonus footage, audio commentary by writer-director-costar Billy Bob Thornton, a roundtable discussion with Thornton, costars Dwight Yoakam and Mickey Jones, and producer David Bushell (76 min.), the 67-minute documentary “Mr. Thornton Goes to Hollywood,” and the 44-minute “Bravo Profiles: Billy Bob Thornton,” as well as conversation segments--with Thornton and composer Daniel Lanois (23 min.), Thornton and costar Robert Duvall (9 min.), and one with Duvall (8 min.)--a three-part “On the Set” featurette (9 min.), the five-minute “Doyle's Dead” deleted scene, a four-minute “The Return of Karl” segment, and text reviews. Bottom line: a super extras package for an excellent film.][Blu-ray Review—Aug. 4, 2009—Miramax, 135 min., R, $34.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1996's Sling Blade features a great transfer and a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are similar to the DVD release, including audio commentary by writer-director-costar Billy Bob Thornton, a roundtable discussion with Thornton, producer David Bushell, and costars Dwight Yoakam and Mickey Jones (76 min.), the behind-the-scenes documentary “Mr. Thornton Goes to Hollywood” (67 min.), “Bravo Profiles: Billy Bob Thornton” (44 min.), and conversation segments with Thornton and composer Daniel Lanois (23 min.), Thornton and costar Robert Duvall (9 min.), and Duvall solo (8 min.). Also included is a three-part “On the Set” featurette (9 min.), the five-minute “Doyle's Dead” deleted scene, a four-minute character segment on “The Return of Karl,” and trailers. Bottom line: a fine Blu-ray debut for a winning film.]