DVD Reviews:  Bowling for Columbine

"Masterful storytelling about gun ownership gone beserk. Compulsive, entertaining and sickening, Moore comes out with both barrels blazing! (pun intended)"

Using the tragedy of the shootings at Columbine High School in the United States as a stepping point, Michael Moore illustrates the American infatuation with weapons and the gun culture. It is concise, witty and ultimately sad to the point of almost tears.

Interviews abound on this DVD, from the normal man on the street, through to the singer Marilyn Manson, whom some blame for the shootings at Columbine because of the inflammatory nature of his lyrics. Comparisons are done on the level of gun related homicides in the USA and around the world and the comparison is shocking, with the USA outnumbering every other country featured by many many thousand.

Why do Americans like to kill each other so much? Despite his best efforts, Moore can only come back to the same reason; the nation is kept in a state of fear where it is easier to react with force than reason. Add to that paranoia the fact that you can go to a bank, open an account and they'll hand you a weapon your choice. Then you can go to the local K Mart and buy bullets over the counter with no ID required whatsoever.

An interesting counterpoint to this tale is when Michael goes to Canada, a nation where gun ownership is just as high pro rata as the USA, however the homicide rate is virtually non existent by comparison. It's also great listening to the reasons why Canadians think that Americans are so prone to killing each other.

Cut to extremely chilling video footage inside Columbine High School during the actual shootings and we see the kids running in terror and panic as the two killers casually walk among them, dispensing death and injury at their whim. Over the top of this is audio of emergency calls being made during the actual attack that bring home the sense of loss that these poor people had to suffer.

A highlight for me is when two of the kids horribly injured by the Columbine shootings accompany Moore to K Mart headquarters as the shooters bought their bullets from a K Mart store. The irony is that they intended on getting a refund for those rounds! What actually occurs is something far greater and makes it worth the watch for that segment alone.

Moore manages to corner NRA spokesman and esteemed actor Charlton Heston about why he thought it was a good reason to attend gun rallies in Columbine shortly after the tragedy that happened there. What follows is amazing as Heston, rather than being the elegant man that I'd always thought him to be, starts on about the homicide problem being connected to mixed races in America.

This feature is two hours of pure entertainment that you have you riveted to the screen. If you like your humour to be clever, poignant and in your face, then this is the one for you. In fact this movie should be compulsory viewing in high schools and there are a number of lesson guides that can be used that are available both on the disc and www.michaelmoore.com

Bowling for Columbine scores a ten for it's subject matter and the way that Moore handles it with integrity and passion. It may not be the perfect documentary, however in a way it is if only for the simple fact that it is without doubt guaranteed to make you think about what you can do to make a difference. What you do next about it, is up to you. For some ideas, look around on the internet for lobby groups or even visit Moore's site (listed above).

Highest recommendation!

The disc is shown in 16:9 widescreen and it must be remembered that this is not a Hollywood blockbuster, far from it. Video ranges from clear to grainy when Moore is actually taping and then accesses archive footage. Everything works perfectly however and there is absolutely nothing to complain about in terms of visual quality.

I reviewed this film using a 5.1 setup and whilst it's a documentary, it still uses the full surround nicely, although a bit spare on the subwoofer. For the most part during interviews and dialogue, we mainly hear audio through the centre speaker and nothing else is used except for when needed. I guess the easiest way to put it is that it's not used for the sake of having a full surround mix.