Bowling for Columbine

Points for showing that people who legally own guns are usually not violence prone,deduction for taking advantage of & mocking an obviously senile Charlton Heston.

pure drivel. Another utterly false "documentary" which has been exposed over and over again. More of Michael Moore's hypocrisy on display. He's a multi-millionaire limosine liberal who constructs films based on his radical agenda. There is virtually no relation to reality in this insipid piece. I give it a one star rating because it was actually made with film. The only real part of the entire movie.

I'm a wee tad late joinining the fray (last "review" 11 months ago). Aren't documentaries journalistic pieces by producers pretending neutrality? Mike Moore is as neutral and truthful as Oliver Stone. I grew up in a labor Union - military oriented Democratic home. I still can't stomach Moore's drivel fed to us with the fervor as Albert Gore's now debunked myth piece. We like guns. Our only chance to save us from any government, primarily our own, is the right to bear arms.

Muchos puntos sobre muchas íes. Alguien tenía que decir algo.

like michael moore

?wat

Overdramatic as always, but makes a great point about America's sick relationship with guns.

Moore is a bafoon,the only ones responsible were the two kids

I think Michael Moore is a waste of sperm and air and won't watch anything this ignoramus puts out there.

R.I.P to all victims of Columbine. Another reason to hate America.

Michael is a fraud. He doesn't seek the truth, he has an opinion to start with and his purpose is to con you into agreeing with him. Columbine was a tragedy, I went to school with the parents of one of the victims. The 2nd amendment refers to a militia, guns should be more tightly controlled in the US. The filmmaker is a big fat liar.

More Moore Lies

This is one of Moore's screeds. I never take them too seriously. I think he has struck out since his movie about Flint, "Roger and Me." He has the loyal lefto lemmings leaping into the theaters, so he knows he can make money.

Its ok and the best Michael Moore movie out there, but he is such an ass that I don't watch anything he makes anymore....

It was at least shocking and surprising

I don't think this movie belongs on a list of documentaries. Moore makes use of highly selective research to make his points, which from a classical logic perspective diminishes his conclusions. While one may be in sympathy with some or all of those conclusions, his route to them is suspect at best. I despair both of those who praise this as an enlightening movie and those who damn it as a work of treason. Bluntly put, I think it belongs on a list with films like "Atomic Cafe" "This is Spinal Tap" and "A Mighty Wind." It is more mockumentary that documentary. Viewed in that light it is a mildly entertaining film. Viewed as a documentary it is specious claptrap.

This is a deeply disturbing documentary, one that stuck with me for a long time afterward. It drills down through many layers to ultimately look at, among other things, why the U.S. is far and away the most violent country in the world, with more than 11,000 murders a year, compared to Canada's 165 and countries such as Britain, Germany, Japan, etc. having less than 100. Made me wonder why that is so, which I'm sure is Moore's purpose. Moore doesn't announce his conclusion, so you're left on your own to come up with an analysis. Has corporate America subtly created a climate of fear that leads Americans to arm themselves? Have TV, movies, and video games made violence more abstract and easier to perpetrate or mimic? What do you think the answers are? And how can we possibly change the mindset? Moore obviously has his biases, but he succeeds in making us THINK about the issues he points out, which to my mind is one hallmark of a great documentary. Anything that makes us think about what... Read more

Man, was this movie disappointing. I finally got around to seeing it, and I just can't believe critical acclaim that this utterly one sided fake-umentory got. I lean left on some issues, and right on others. Gun Control is one of the areas that I diverge from my libertarian friends. I think more guns = more gun crime, and I don't think Americans should be allowed to have assault rifles. But even in this context, I despised this movie. It was so biased, so manipulative in its delivery, that I found myself cringing the whole time. Especially in the villification of the Kmart that sold the shells that killed so many kids. Blame your congressman, don't blame stores that aren't breaking any laws. Anyway, I despise idealogue-speak. Any review that talks about "Liberal Minds" and "Right Wing Zealots" or "those Dems" will get an automatic unhelpful for me. I think this sort of language puts our country backwards, and indicates an intellectual laziness that I find vile. I ... Read more

The movie did make some interesting points but then went off on some bad Socialistic tangents. His treatment of Heston was very wrong.

Shrewed guy this Michael Moore, makes millions selling lies. What's allarming is that many buy the "facts" in his "documentaries".

Michael Moore can kiss my republican ass.

I was reading through some of the comments below and they said things along the lines of "Oh this was a terrible movie because it was just Michael Moore's opinion and it is wrong and he lied." News flash: It is SUPPOSED to be Michael Moore's opinion. Which is why he made the movie. As much as you say that he lied and presented biased information, it is just balancing out for the media which is in my opinion, more biased than Moore. I turn on Fox news for a good laugh. And about the part of him comparing deaths by gunfire in the US to other countries, maybe it would have been more afective if he had done it in percentage to population, but if you havn't already figured it out. 11,000 something deaths in the US is a higher percentage than 20 something in Japan. In this documentary he presented excellent points, and I agreed with him on most of what he said. Not only that but it was a nice movie to watch, at times it was incredibly funny, and others were very emotional. And if he ma... Read more

I love the commentary. I like how he suggests that US government is responsible for promoting violence as a means to solve problems rather than Marilyn Manson. I like how he uses Canada. Much better than Farnhiet 9-11. No matter how many guns go off in Toronto, it will never be Detroit.

Carp all you want about the man and his movies--but Moore DID try to warn America. Yet more than half voted for the sh*thead Bush even after this not-seen-broadly-enough movie. And now you see how true the film portriat was--a pompous, stupid, clueless, uncaring man is dragging us down, and we "get" three more miserable years of it... Thanks for trying, Michael...

This movie is kind of entertaining but also quite annoying. It's not presented in a straightforward style at all; it's sensationalistic to a ridiculous degree, and perhaps that was necessary to make it appealing to a wider audience, but it sure doesn't appeal to me.

it hits the mark, it is right about everything,America wake up!!

I think those kids in CO needed to get laid. That would have given them something to live for and love for. It is a shame - I feel sorry for anyone who could do that. Hmmm...the KKK was banned in 1871, the NRA was formed in 1871, very interesting. patriotism is the virtue of the viscous.

High quality, well editted documentary. Moore should come back to Canada to examine our good example. Gun mmurders and gunfights in Toronto are at an all-time high, Mike. Gun control? Say hello to my little 9mm!

Burn in Hell, you pig.

I am an Australian and hvae juts watched 'Bowlinf for Columbine. I think that Moore has done a fantastic job of this documentary. I was shocked. Aboslutely stunned and disgusted. The way Americans go around with guns is very wrong. I found it very emotional, and right fully so. The scene from inside Columbine High were enough to make me cry. how disgraceful tat such a hting could happen! Whjat is America doing to make this happen?! I know many Americas are angry at being portayed in a negative way, but please deal with it. Most of you are decent people, BUT anyone who agrees with what Charles Heston did, going to Columbine to promote guns a day after the shooting and also where the six yera old innocent girl was shot, to be all happy, hahaa, own a gun, its so great blah blah blah ITS TOTALLY UNACCPETABLE! how disrespectful! What a waste of life that man is! I was also shocked at how America gave money to Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. Well whats happening now?!?!? oh we hate Husse... Read more

The weakest of Moore's films, but still quite good, as the life-long member of the NRA takes aim at perhaps the most irresponsible U.S. industry of them all, namely, the death-dealers who supply firearms to the carnage-worshipping and threatened pathetic men in this country who feel they have to arm themselves to the teeth. This film, because it deals with such a disconcerting issue that most people tend to sublimate, is less memorable than his other efforts, but nonetheless makes its points. One of the major problems with this nation is that so many so-called men are so frightened by the changing world, so beset with feelings of inadequately and inferiority, that they feel a quick-fix means to even the playing field is to go out and get a gun to serve as their Freudian extension. Usually, they cite the need to protect themselves, their families and their homes, but don't indicate precisely what unforeseen enemy they're defending themselves against. And of course, the totally irres... Read more

What a great documentary!!! This film is insightful, provocative, funny, and profound all at the same time. I love how Moore makes the connection between guns and fear in the US and this fear is based on history, lack of a social safety net, and propaganda that fans the flames. I respect him for having the courage to come out and say the things that need to be said and the genius to do it in a way that combines investigative reporting, political activism, and prankster trickery.

Moore is great! He's less a great filmmaker than he is someone who exposes things for what they are. He may be America's most valuable citizen because he cares enough to make his case. And in a culture that has a 48-hour memory span, he documents our world for all time.

I thought this movie was funny. He actually had 3 teams of fact checkers and 2 teams of lawyors go through the whole movie to assert everything was fact. I do however agree with he uses his biased opinion to present his information. But that's what biased film makers do. I don't agree with everything he says, but we need someone like this to oppose the common belief and to open minds in our society. And hey, it won an Oscar, it can't have been that bad. I thought the film was very entertaining. No it's not about guns ultimately, it's about the US being a culture of fear, and guess what guys. I'm from Australia and I've lived in the US for 3 years now. It is a culture of fear. He was right.

Everyone who rated this movie as great must really be truly blind. Shroomwoman is exactly correct. In the movie, Mr. Moore expresses how he cares for the victims of Columbine. About how scary the whole incident was. Mr. Moore made millions of dollars from this documentary. And how much do you think went to the poor victims of this terrible tragedy? $0. Suprised? Shouldn't be. Especially when he balmes all wealthy and rich people in America for the poor people's problems. Yet, he was the man who made millions and didn't give a single dime of it to anyone but himself. God, I hate hypocrisy. Anyway, this film, if you can really call it that, is nothing but Moore's own opinion mixed together with political views. And lies, of course. Mr. Moore visits a weapons of mass destruction facility as it is described in the film. In reality, it was not making any weapons, but satellites. He compares US gun violence to the gun violence in Australia, as well as other countries. About how Australia onl... Read more

I agree with everything Shroomwoman and BIG BABY said. Michael Moore presents an interesting problem: gun violence in America, and turns it into an illogical, immature, and destructive mockumentary. He lies, reports false information and uses deceipt on other human beings to promote his twisted view of our country. This film is dangrous to young minds.

Although statistics may be misleading, this film was nonetheless entertaining, I second that Michael Moore's tactics with Charlton Heston were disrespectville and devious.

This whole fake documentary was all made up by Michael Moore. Check out this website! bowlingfortruth.com

A powerful film, and a useful corrective to the bombastic garbage heard all the time from the other side (for instance, that nauseating Rush Limbaugh show). This is a documentary which makes as its primary theme how America is ruled by FEAR, and how this is useful and profitable to those in charge. Moore is often accused of only showing one side --and not only is this his right, but this accusation is about as sensible as accusing Jesus of not also representing the Devil's point of view. I am amused more than anything else by the venomous hatred of right-wing commentators--strong evidence that Moore MUST have scored with this one.

I saw Bowling for Columbine last night. Michael Moore really seems to rely more on appeals to emotions and just downright negativity to get his points across. He belongs in the blame America crowd and I have little use for those types. Most of his research is hyped and shown for dramatic affect. The narrative is spotty at best. His conclusions about gun violence is definitely exagerrated; Moore's research is designed to support a particular viewpoint about gun control rather than doing a empirical analysis of the evidence. However, I agree with some of his conclusions. Today we live in a culture of fear. The media, our leaders, and corporate America all use fear tactics to make people do their bidding. Unbridled fear creates mass hysteria. Sometimes it comes in the form of buying that car that you can't afford or politicians lying about government budgets and war or even those gory images that come to us each day into our homes as a result of the media. The newspeople need to keep peo... Read more

More of a propoganda film that anything else. I'm a liberal, but I hate when my fellow liberals churn out false propoganda to brainwash the masses. Same for republicans and other politicians. Michael Moore may be a smart man, but he doesn't depict himself properly when all he does is piss and moan about one problem instead of adressing every aspect of it. FOR ONE THING, Michael Moore only adresses 4 countries in the world about gun violence. Look at some places in the middle east. Gun violence is worse there than America. We ought to go there and try and help those poor kids there. Michael Moore also spins some things out of control. SOme of the links he makes between gun violence and what causes it.......Jeez. In my opinion, What causes gun violence is poverty and overcrowding which also causes mental instability among many.

Although it has it's good points, Bowling for Columbine is not one of Michael Moore's better movies.

This film made me think and made me want to move to Canada. It's good someone is out there taking such a critical view of our country. Maybe he's not 100% correct, but he made a lot of ppl think and become more aware who we really are. But I have a couple problmes with the movie. 1) Moore should have reported per-capita violent homicides because of the US's high population. 2) Moore was a hostile jerk in his interview with Charton Heston. (My problem has nothing to do with Heston having Alzheimers. He behaved normally.) In the first part of the interview Moore was nice. He got Heston to express his views on guns. But then Moore got too aggressive when talking about taking the NRA to Denver. If Moore had continued being civil he would've been able to draw out more of Heston's intentions behind taking the NRA to Denver right after Columbine and we would've been able to see some of the twisted thinking behind the NRA. Moore shouldn't've become hostile after Heston welcomed him ... Read more

To be honest, the facts that were raised does not surprise me at all considering some of the comments I have read about gun control on this very website..... I thought the film was very well presented and definately thought provoking. To BIGBABY, yes Michael Moore is making money out of things like this, but the fact that he is bringing attention to subjects like this should mean that your government should sort it out and pump money where its needed. Why should Michael Moore? He didn't create this awful situation.

I guess anyone who is familiar with my political beliefs is probably expecting me to praise this film as the single greatest work of expository journalism in the history of motion pictures. Well, it's not. There certainly was a lot to like about it, but it made me kind of angry (I know that was the point, but I mean I was a little angry with the film-makers). I think that Michael Moore has a lot of really important things to say, and we need more people to say the things he says, but I have a problem with the way he says them. I found BFC to be exceptionally manipulative. And I don't like Moore's interviewing style. He is not interested in discussion or debate, he only wants to lull the subject into a complacent sense of comfort and then blindside them with a barrage of loaded questions. He also likes to carefully edit things to make his opponents look even more ridiculous. These are GOP tactics, and Moore has enough material that can speak for itself without having to resort t... Read more

My Opinion is: I live in Canada, I totaly agree with Mr.Moore on the gun control use, their ethics compared to Canadains, how people live in fear,ect. I blame most of it on Their Media (Everytime you turn around their talking about guns,killings,stabings, and to be prepared for things that are slim to happing,I'm not saying they wont just that they take it out of control)And Bush.... Well he puts the fear in GOD!!! What the hell does he think he's doing??? He trys to make things worse then they really are. anyways..I loved the movie and it rocks!!GO MOORE!!!

It may be shocking at times, but I believe it is people like Michael Moore who keep America thinking. We NEED extreme, shamelessly curious people like Mr. Moore to balance the mega-conservative right-wing in this country. How WONDERFUL it was to see "crusaders" like Charleton Heston SQUIRMING with discomfort at Moore's in-your-face, can't-get-away questioning. QUESTIONS. That's what's so important about this movie. It makes us THINK. It confronts us with subjects we may often deny thinking about. Moore shows the danger of not examining even the most unpleasant aspects of our American society.

Simply put, "Bowling for Columbine" is a disaster of a movie. I thought it would be at least somewhat thought-provoking, and instead I found it disjointed, uninspiring, and too slanted to be taken seriously. The movie jumped around from one issue to another with such a heavy hand that it seemed like a joke (and perhaps it was). Michael Moore's interactions along the way were extremely annoying, and I kept asking myself why he didn't ask more intelligent questions. He certainly had some interesting ideas to work with. To top it off, the movie seemed to go on forever. When I see how much acclaim this movie received, I'm baffled. Perhaps it's the "Emperor's-New-Clothes" phenomenon...