Natural Born Killers (1994)
75%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: 5 wins & 11 nominations
Natural Born Killers explodes off the screen with style, but its satire is too blunt to offer any fresh insight into celebrity or crime — pummeling the audience with depravity until the effect becomes deadening
If you’re looking for a movie that’s a wild ride, then Natural Born Killers is the one for you. It’s got everything from crazy characters to over-the-top visuals that will leave you wondering what you just watched. Some critics might say it’s excessive and self-indulgent, but we say it’s just plain fun. Plus, who doesn’t love a good anti-hero? Give it a watch and see for yourself.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Gallup, New Mexico, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for extreme violence and graphic carnage, for shocking images, and for strong language and sexuality
Year of Release
1994
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 59m
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Language(s):English, Navajo, Japanese
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 26, 1994 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 15, 2007
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Sizemore, Rodney Dangerfield, directed by Oliver Stone, written by Quentin Tarantino, David Veloz, Richard Rutowski, Oliver Stone, crime, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Ansen, Owen Gleiberman, Janet Maslin, Peter Travers, James Berardinelli, MPAA rating R, produced by Jane Hamsher, Don Murphy, Clayton Townsend, media portrayal, serial killers, tabloid-TV, sensationalistic press, 52 people killing spree, satire, celebrity, depravity, violence, sexuality, shocking images, strong language, Dolby SR, DTS, Stereo, Surround, Dolby A, Dolby Digital, Flat (1.85:1), Warner Bros Pictures
Worldwide gross: $50,283,563
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $101,729,952
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,011
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 11,093,779
US/Canada gross: $50,282,766
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $101,728,340
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 743
US/Canada opening weekend: $11,166,687
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $22,591,608
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 598
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $34,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $68,786,263
Production budget ranking: 613
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $37,041,403
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$4,097,713
ROI to date (est.): -4%
ROI ranking: 1,418
Juliette Lewis – Mallory Wilson Knox
Robert Downey Jr. – Wayne Gale
Tommy Lee Jones – Dwight McClusky
Tom Sizemore – Det. Jack Scagnetti
Rodney Dangerfield – Ed Wilson
Director(s)
Oliver Stone
Writer(s)
Quentin Tarantino, David Veloz, Richard Rutowski, Oliver Stone
Producer(s)
Jane Hamsher, Don Murphy, Clayton Townsend
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
5 wins & 11 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (40) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (21)
The movie is enlightening, not because it transmits new information, but in the way that movies enlighten, through a synergy of images and rhythms that makes us sense the world in a new way.
March 4, 2019
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: A
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Natural Born Killers finds Stone throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks.
October 27, 2009 | Rating: .5/4
Matt Noller
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
As a satirist, [Stone’s] an elephant ballerina.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 2.5/5
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
This is one of my all time favorite movies, and it put Oliver Stone on my list of ‘Best Directors Ever,’ right along with Stanley [Kubrick].
May 12, 2001 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
Stone…doesn’t know the meaning of moderation or subtlety, and opts instead for something that is excessive and self-indulgent. It’s as if he wants to shout out the statement: ‘Look at what I can do! I’m an artist!’
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 1.5/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
Depending on your sensibilities, this controversial 1994 crime drama was either Oliver Stone’s magnum opus, or the moment he crossed a line. Either way, it was certainly designed to be provocative.
September 27, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
James Croot
Stuff.co.nz
A visionary film because it sees the truth of our society and where we are headed.
September 18, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
More than 25 years after it was released, this poor excuse of a movie remains pretty annoying. [Full review in Spanish].
May 4, 2020 | Rating: 1/4
Federico Furzan
Cinelipsis
They are anti-heroes of the tallest order, yet some of the most riveting and dementedly sympathetic characters ever created
December 2, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Robert Kojder
Flickering Myth
It’s an interminable farrago of slogans and pyrotechnics. It has the scathing exaggeration of satire, without the point and bite which make us recognise the real world. It flies off into its own realm of sadistic fantasy.
December 1, 2017
Quentin Curtis
Independent on Sunday
It can easily be said that “Natural Born Killers” ranks among the worst films in Oliver Stone’s filmography. It’s an incompetently-made attempt at drilling home an incredibly simplistic point that anyone can learn from turning on the news.
December 11, 2014 | Rating: 1/5
Jeff Beck
Examiner.com…
Plot
Mickey Knox and Mallory Wilson aren’t your typical lovers – after killing her abusive father, they go on a road trip where, every time they stop somewhere, they kill pretty well everyone around them. They do however leave one person alive at every shootout to tell the story and they soon become a media sensation thanks to sensationalized reporting. Told in a highly visual style.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Robert Downey Jr. plays a sensationalistic TV reporter in the film.
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