RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Sling Blade
Sling Blade

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

Sling Blade (1996)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
95 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 43

Fresh: 41

Rotten:2

Average Rating: 8.4/10

Consensus: You will see what's coming, but the masterful performances, especially Thornton's, will leave you riveted.

Runtime: 2 hrs 37 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: After catching his mother and her boyfriend "in flagrante delicto" and dispatching both of them with a farm implement known as a sling blade, a simpleminded 11-year-old boy is sent to a mental... After catching his mother and her boyfriend "in flagrante delicto" and dispatching both of them with a farm implement known as a sling blade, a simpleminded 11-year-old boy is sent to a mental hospital where he spends the next 25 years. Upon his release, the emotionally and mentally stunted man-child returns to his Arkansas hometown and takes a job in a local garage, only to have the past inexorably repeat itself. An indie-film triumph, adapted by star-writer-director Thornton from his 1993 short, "Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade." Academy Award Nominations: 2, including Best Actor--Billy Bob Thornton. Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay. [More]

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Dwight Yoakam, John Ritter, Natalie Canerday, Robert Duvall, Jim Jarmusch

Director: Billy Bob Thornton

Director: Billy Bob Thornton
Screenwriter: Billy Bob Thornton
Composer: Daniel Lanois
Producer: David L. Bushell, Brandon Rosser

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jan 6, 1998

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Sling Blade
  • Now see for yourself -- the powerful motion picture applauded by critics and moviegoers alike, written, directed, and starring Billy Bob Thornton. Twenty five years after committing an unthinkable crime, a quiet man named Karl (Thornton) is finally returning home. Once there, he is befriended by a fatherless boy and his mother. But when his newfound peace is shattered by the mother's abusive boyfriend (Grammy-winner Dwight Yoakam), Karl is suddenly placed on a collision course with his past. Also featuring Robert Duvall, John Ritter, and J.T. Walsh, SLING BLADE is an unforgettable movie experience.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Sling Blade

    • T-Meter Critics
    • Top Critics
    • RT Community
    • My Critics
    • My Friends
    • DVD
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
    Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
    Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
     
     
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    07/23/08
    Todd McCarthy
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Derek Adams
    Time Out
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    05/26/06
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    The film's many rewards cannot be described in conventional terms.

    Full Review Source: Mr. Brown's Movies | comment Comment
    09/17/05
    Michael Dequina
    Mr. Brown's Movies

    There will never be another film like Sling Blade. And I reckon we’ll have to live with that... Mmm-mmm.

    Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
    09/07/05
    Kevin Carr
    7M Pictures

    These days Thornton is seen primarily as an actor, but with “Sling Blade” he proved a true auteur.

    Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
    07/15/05
    Forrest Hartman
    Reno Gazette-Journal

    A deep and thoughtful masterpiece - now on director's cut dvd!

    Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
    06/16/05
    Emily Blunt
    Blunt Review

    ...a moving, poignant, humorous, chilling, and melancholic motion picture, with a bravura turn from its writer/director/star.

    Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
    06/03/05
    John J. Puccio
    DVDTown.com
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
    04/09/05
    Robin Clifford
    Reeling Reviews

    Sling Blade derives its power from Thornton's affecting characterization of Karl Childers.

    Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
    07/01/04
    Judith Egerton
    Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
    05/14/03
    Jeanne Aufmuth
    Palo Alto Weekly

    Thornton makes his breakthrough

    Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
    02/28/03
    John A. Nesbit
    ToxicUniverse.com
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
    11/06/02
    Jeff Strickler
    Minneapolis Star Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    There is almost nothing slipshod about the film and I suspect that it will only seem more impressive the further we get from the flurry of hype ...

    Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
    11/01/02
    Philip Martin
    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
    10/15/02
    Margaret A. McGurk
    Cincinnati Enquirer

    This riveting character-driven drama is a cautionary tale about the ways in which violence desecrates all life.

    Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
    08/31/02
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Spirituality and Practice

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    08/13/02
    Rob Vaux
    Flipside Movie Emporium
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
    06/05/02
    Boxoffice Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    05/09/02
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
    05/09/02
    Susan Stark
    Detroit News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
    Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
    See More Topics...

    Related Forums for Sling Blade

    Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

    See All

    More DVDs

    Close
    Top Rentals
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    79%
    79%
    Gran Torino
    30%
    30%
    12 Rounds
    23%
    23%
    Confessions of a Shopa…
    —
    The Code
    39%
    39%
    Inkheart

    More Rentals…

    New On DVD This Week
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    22%
    22%
    Push
    12%
    12%
    The Unborn

    More New Releases…

    RT On Current TV

    What’s Hot On RT

    Deconstructing Harry

    Deconstructing Harry

    Pt. 3: Cuaron's darker Prisoner of Azkaban

    Best Mockumentaries

    Best Mockumentaries

    From Borat to Spinal Tap, this one goes to 11

    Humpday Clip

    Humpday Clip

    An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

    Half-Blood Prince

    Half-Blood Prince

    How good is the 6th Harry Potter?

    Other News

    Close
    • Top Stories
    • Popular
    • Interviews
     
     

    Comments

     
     
    Top Stories
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Weekly Ketchup: T.J. Hooker Film in Development
    34
    • Warners Shortens Green Lantern Wishlist Source: Hollywood Reporter
    112
    • Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: MakingOf.com
    36
    • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
    60
    • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
    20
    • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
    10
    • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
    82
    • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
    39
    • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
    8
    • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
    92
    Popular
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
    67
    • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
    59
    • Deconstructing Harry, Day 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
    55
    • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
    52
    • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
    46
    • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
    43
    • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
    43
    • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
    39
    • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
    26
    • Tomatometer Watch: How Good is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
    25
    Interviews
    Headlines Comments
      
    • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
    0
    • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
    10
    • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
    2
    • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
    5
    • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
    10
    • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
    24
    • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
    5
    • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
    11
    • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
    7
    • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
    7
     
     

    Sponsored Links

    Around The Network

    • Sling Blade at Rotten Tomatoes

    Fresh Links

    Featured
    Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
    Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

    MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

    The New Cult Canon
    The New Cult Canon External Link

    The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

    Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
    Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

    TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

    A Baywatch Comedy?
    A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

    BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

     
     
    About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
    IGN Logo

    IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
    TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
    AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


    By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
    Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
    IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
    Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.