It's a real shame that such a wonderful, hysterical documentary as "Bowling for Columbine" had to gradually sink to a level of infamy this past year - when, around the time it won its Oscar, reports surfaced that a good amount of footage, facts, and interviews were grossly manipulated. I have never seen any other previous works of Michael Moore, but have heard a great deal about the notoriously outspoken, leftist filmmaker who made "Roger & Me" and "The Big One". Apparently he has quite the reputation for fabricating a lot of his material, and putting such shameless spins on certain subjects that it ends up ultimately alienating the viewer.
However, as flawed as this film clearly is in some respects, one must give Mr. Moore a lot of credit for having the gusto to put together such a fascinating collage of biting social commentary - biased or not - on the U.S.' current obsessive state in gun culture and violence.
Featuring an impressive number of different interviews and celebrity run-ins with the likes of rock icon Marilyn Manson, Matt Stone (the co-creator of TV's "South Park"), and NRA spokesman Charlton Heston, "Bowling for Columbine" is a constantly riveting, never boring, look into some subject matter that I don't think has ever been presented like this before. It's certainly a very powerful piece, and contains a lot of half-serious, half-amusing coverage on everything from American history to violent influential sources to Canada by comparison...and of course, to the film's centerpiece: the tragic massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado on April 20th, 1999.
I admire Michael Moore very much for this inspired presentation, its creative interaction, and its bevy of interesting (albeit sometimes exaggerated) "facts" on various issues. Say what you will about its credibility now, but there's no denying that this man can make a film with a rich scope and a thought-provoking atmosphere. Always a ripe topic for discussion, "Bowling for Columbine" is a flawed masterpiece of voyeuristic filmmaking, and undoubtedly one of the funniest, saddest, and most heart-wrenching pictures I have ever seen.
However, as flawed as this film clearly is in some respects, one must give Mr. Moore a lot of credit for having the gusto to put together such a fascinating collage of biting social commentary - biased or not - on the U.S.' current obsessive state in gun culture and violence.
Featuring an impressive number of different interviews and celebrity run-ins with the likes of rock icon Marilyn Manson, Matt Stone (the co-creator of TV's "South Park"), and NRA spokesman Charlton Heston, "Bowling for Columbine" is a constantly riveting, never boring, look into some subject matter that I don't think has ever been presented like this before. It's certainly a very powerful piece, and contains a lot of half-serious, half-amusing coverage on everything from American history to violent influential sources to Canada by comparison...and of course, to the film's centerpiece: the tragic massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado on April 20th, 1999.
I admire Michael Moore very much for this inspired presentation, its creative interaction, and its bevy of interesting (albeit sometimes exaggerated) "facts" on various issues. Say what you will about its credibility now, but there's no denying that this man can make a film with a rich scope and a thought-provoking atmosphere. Always a ripe topic for discussion, "Bowling for Columbine" is a flawed masterpiece of voyeuristic filmmaking, and undoubtedly one of the funniest, saddest, and most heart-wrenching pictures I have ever seen.
