Natural Born Killers (DVD)

After watching Bonnie and Clyde I wanted to see more 'Lovers on the Run' films and it was recommended to me that I watch Natural Born Killers. As the film started I was mortified, I thought this is going to be a rubbish attempt at Indie art that will only irritate me with pretension. Within ten minutes however, I was hooked. Natural Born Killers comes from a story by Quentin Tarantino, but it is significantly different from his original intention. Like True Romance it is following on the themes laid down in films such as Badlands and Bonnie and Clyde, whilst updating them for a 1990s audience. Directed by Oliver Stone in 1995 it tells the story of a ...  Read the complete review

Introduction When this film was released in 1994, it raised a storm of protest, with complaints that it was just too violent. It is not difficult to see why. In today’s society with the fear that violence in films and on the TV contributes to violence in society, the idea of a fearless serial killing couple running around America and revered by the media as the new Bonnie and Clyde is bound to be too much for many to take. I personally think that the point has been missed. I think what Oliver Stone is trying to show with this film is the media circus that surrounds crime and violence in today’s society. Yes, the film deeply exaggerates this, but it has been proved ...  Read the complete review

You can usually rely upon Oliver Stone to deliver a movie which at least provokes some kind of reaction. His previous offerings have included the physical and mental intensity of 'Platoon' alongside the political intrigue surrounding 'Nixon' and 'JFK' - so obviously this is a guy who doesn't go for the easy option. One thing you can always be sure of though, is that whatever you are watching is going to be no easy viewing experience. He may not always pull the rabbit out of the hat, 'Heaven and Earth' for example shows us that there is such a thing as trying to be 'too' clever, but he always gives us something to chew on - and ...  Read the complete review

note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room Natural Born Killers has sadly never ascended beyond the status of a cult film - it is a supremely powerful work that is a classic that's seemingly misunderstood by so many people for its stylistic flagrance. Oliver Stone's punchy and trippy direction is stunning, in a film that examines the media's obsession with gore and violence, whilst at the time delivering a film that's visceral and utterly dementedly violent. The film depicts a Bonnie and Clyde-esque couple, Mickey Knox (Woody Harrelson) and his wife Mallory (Juliette Lewis), who are going on a killing spree throughout the United ...  Read the complete review

The Plot Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis play Mickey and Mallory Knox, a modern day Bonnie and Clyde on a cross-country killing spree, Mickey had originally rescued Mallory from her sexually abusive father. However there is no illusions of grandeur for this ruthless duo, as a TV psychiatrist (Steven Wright) observes: "They know the difference between right and wrong. They just don't give a damn." In murdering cold heartedly 52 victims, the couple become international celebrities, thanks mostly to the attentions of a lurid TV tabloid show hosted by the horribly ambitious and utterly ruthless Wayne Gale (Robert Downey, Jr.). ...  Read the complete review