Sling Blade DVD: Review By chupnick

When Karl Childers (Billy Bob Thornton) was 12 years old, he murdered his mother and her boyfriend. He was sent to a mental hospital for 25 years; after his stay, he was released and goes back to his childhood town. There, he finds a job at a local car repair shop. Karl then meets a young boy and his mother who lets him stay in their garage, much to the dismay of the mother's boyfriend, Doyle Hargraves (Dwight Yoakam). This abusive relationship reminds Karl of his past.

When "Sling Blade" hit theaters in 1996, Billy Bob Thornton virtually became a household name. That's not to say that was his breakout role, but audiences around the world were able to see his true talents as an actor as well as a director and writer.

The next year, he was honored with two Oscar nominations for the film - one in the Best Actor category and one in the Best Adapted Screenplay category which he won.

On June 7, 2005, Buena Vista Home Entertainment re-released the Academy Award winning film on a two-disc DVD. I was so excited to sit down and watch this film on DVD! Some of the abuse scenes still give me chills.

I was also glad to see John Ritter and J.T. Walsh in this. Two years after the completion of this film (1998), J.T. suffered a heart attack and died. John Ritter passed away in 2003 due to complications of a heart valve. It's amazing what these two actors could have accomplished had their lives not have been shortened.

I had the opportunity to talk with Billy Bob Thornton about these two great actors and what it meant for them to be in this film with him. He told me watching the old footage of them was one of the toughest things he's ever had to do. He said he and the two actors became great friends after production ended.

He talked about why he added the additional 10 minutes of the film. He said "I don't make mistakes when I shoot! We just ran out of time."

Disc 1:

The Director's Cut of the film. This features an additional ten minutes of never-before-seen footage of the motion picture.

There is also featured commentary from Billy Bob Thornton on certain scenes and why the additional footage was added.

Disc 2:

There are a ton of in-depth interviews with the cast and crew including Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, Robert Duvall, Producer David Bushell, and the Composer Daniel Lanois. In one discussion, the cast recalls the transformation of John Ritter for this film. Mickey Jones was so overly amazed at his presence, he almost didn't realize it was Ritter. Another discussion is of the admiration of J.t. Walsh by the entire cast and crew.

Thornton also talks about casting his friend, Rick Dial (who plays, in the film. Dial was previously and still currently the owner of a furniture store. The story of how he was cast is definitely a fantastic story to hear.

Also included on the 2nd disc is the featurette "Doyle's Dead." Thornton introduces the story of a song Mickey Jones plays guitar wanting to start a band with Bill (Dial). The other features and featurettes are so well done, it's worth the price of this DVD.

The look of this DVD is amazing. The aspect is Widescreen (1.85:1) and it's enhanced for 16X9 televisions. It's almost as if you're watching a movie in High Definition. The film is very easy to watch because of this.

The film sounds as amazing as it did back in 1996. The under-lying music is spectacular and is crisp and clean. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, you feel like you're back in the theater.

During some of the roundtable discussions on Disc 2, Billy Bob Thornton is a bit lower than the others. But what he has to say is very emotional, and you should listen to every word he says. You really get a real feel for what he had to go through to shoot this movie.

This is a Miramax Collector's Series DVD. The front of the DVD has a beautiful, close up picture of Karl's face. Under that is a wide shot of Karl in the middle of a bridge, similar to the original 1996 cover. Inside the front cover, there is a booklet with an emotional and heart-felt note from Thornton that says "'Sling Blade' was a life changing experience for me. I'm proud to a part of the release of the 10-year Anniversary DVD. For fans of the movie, it will give you a glimpse into what went on back in the day."

Along with that, there are different pictures Miramax found that were never published, various facts about the cast and the film, and an April 1997 article published in Esquire Magazine about Thornton shortly after his Oscar win.

On the back, there is a detailed description of all the special features on both discs.

I feel this is a definite must-have for any movie fan, Billy Bob fan, or "Sling Blade" fan. This DVD offers a deeper look inside to the supporting characters of the film, not just the features.

Roger Ebert hits it right on the nose with his quote: "An Extraordinary Performance!" That not only explains Thornton's work in the film, but this DVD as well!

This is a must buy DVD!