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Movies / On DVD / Bottle Rocket
Bottle Rocket

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Bottle Rocket (1996)

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Reviews Counted:42

Fresh:33

Rotten:9

Average Rating:6.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: The debut feature film for director Wes Anderson and actors Luke and Owen Wilson, BOTTLE ROCKET is a kind-hearted yet quirky tale about three friends who fashion themselves into modern-day robbers.... The debut feature film for director Wes Anderson and actors Luke and Owen Wilson, BOTTLE ROCKET is a kind-hearted yet quirky tale about three friends who fashion themselves into modern-day robbers. After leaving his voluntary confinement in a mental home, Anthony (Luke Wilson) joins his friends Dignan (the film's co-writer, Owen Wilson) and Bob (Robert Musgrave) in a bookstore heist. In need of direction, more so than money, the three guys prove to be polite, but rather inept, criminals. Nevertheless the job is a success, and the trio head out to a remote hotel, planning to lay low until they can return to join a gang of supposed professional criminals lead by the infamous Mr. Henry (James Caan). Based on the 1994 black-and-white short, the expanded film is part buddy picture, crime caper, and slacker comedy. First-time director Wes Anderson displays a sure hand, creating carefully composed scenes full of rich detail (shot on 27mm film, to ensure greater depth of field), schematic use of color, and amusing, irreverent music (including a score by Mark Mothersbaugh, founding member of the punk band Devo). Full of sure-footed performances, BOTTLE ROCKET is a charming meditation on friendship, love, and innocence, conveyed with great humor and refreshing goodwill. [More]

Starring: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Robert Musgrave, James Caan

Starring: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Robert Musgrave, James Caan, Andrew Wilson, Lumi Cavazos, Jim Ponds

Director: Wes Anderson

Director: Wes Anderson
Screenwriter: Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson
Producer: Polly Platt, Cynthia Hargrave
Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Dec 16, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Wes Anderson first illustrated his lovingly detailed, slightly surreal cinematic vision in this witty and warm portrait of three young middle-class misfits. Fresh out of a mental hospital, gentle Anthony (Luke Wilson) finds himself once again embroiled in the machinations of his best friend, elaborate schemer Dignan (Owen Wilson). With the aid of getaway driver Bob (Robert Musgrave), they develop a needlessly complex, mildly successful plan to rob a small bookstore--then go "on the lam." Also featuring Lumi Cavazos as Inez, the South American housekeeper Anthony falls in love with, and James Caanas local thief extraordinaire Mr. Henry, Bottle Rocket is a charming, hilarious, affectionate look at the folly of dreamers. Shot against radiant southwestern backdrops, it's the film that put Anderson and the Wilson brothers on the map.
  • Source: Image Entertainment Inc.
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    Reviews for Bottle Rocket

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    03/26/09
    David Rooney
    David Rooney
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Though flawed, Bottle Rocket is full of buried treasures and holds up to repeated viewings, as any cult film should. [Criterion Blu-ray]

    Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment 1 Comment
    12/14/08
    Peter Canavese
    Peter Canavese
    Groucho Reviews

    Owen Wilson is a riot as the mentally unbalanced inept middle-class thief.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    05/06/08
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    ...hysterical stuff, even if it only hints at the creative level Wilson and Anderson would reach next with Rushmore.

    Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
    10/04/07
    Josh Larsen
    Josh Larsen
    Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

    Apesar de perder o foco em seu segundo ato, conta com uma introdução divertida e, em seu terço final, traz um dos assaltos mais hilários do Cinema norte-americano.

    comment Comment
    07/09/06
    Pablo Villaca
    Pablo Villaca
    Cinema em Cena

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    03/13/06
    Cole Smithey
    Cole Smithey
    ColeSmithey.com

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    07/31/05
    Jimmy O
    Jimmy O
    Film Snobs

    No review available.

    comment 1 Comment
    06/17/05
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    04/28/05
    Philip Martin
    Philip Martin
    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

    Dry, droll and really very funny.

    comment Comment
    04/02/05
    Scott Weinberg
    Scott Weinberg
    eFilmCritic.com

    Anderson's first foray into style-over-substance comedies

    comment 1 Comment
    02/04/05
    Jon Niccum
    Jon Niccum
    Lawrence Journal-World

    Wes Anderson's first film -- and a fascinating indicator of what was to come.

    comment Comment
    01/26/05
    Ken Hanke
    Ken Hanke
    Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    08/13/04
    Rob Blackwelder
    Rob Blackwelder
    SPLICEDWire

    One of the best films of 1996.

    Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
    07/30/04
    Thomas Delapa
    Thomas Delapa
    Boulder Weekly

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    07/28/04
    Jurgen Fauth
    Jurgen Fauth
    About.com

    Finely observed, fierce, and funny. The early stirrings of genius.

    comment Comment
    07/14/04
    Martin Scribbs
    Martin Scribbs
    Low IQ Canadian

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    07/02/04
    Jake Euker
    Jake Euker
    F5 (Wichita, KS)

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    03/26/04
    Carol Cling
    Carol Cling
    Las Vegas Review-Journal

    No review available.

    comment 1 Comment
    02/08/04
    Daniel M. Kimmel
    Daniel M. Kimmel
    Worcester Telegram & Gazette

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    01/06/04
    Michael Dequina
    Michael Dequina
    TheMovieReport.com
     
     
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    Latest News for Bottle Rocket

    October 21, 2009: Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
    Wes Anderson, arguably the godfather of the quirky American indie thanks to the likes of Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, takes his first steps into the world of stop-motion... More...

    September 28, 2007: Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket to Join the Criterion Collection
    A decade after attaining cult classic status, Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket is getting the deluxe DVD treatment. More...

    July 24, 2007: Trailer Bulletin: Wes Anderson's Darjeeling Limited
    Anyone who's a fan of Wes Anderson's perfectly quirky films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic) should rejoice at the news that the trailer for his... More...

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