Bowling for Columbine
Directed by	Michael Moore
Produced by	Michael Moore
Written by	Michael Moore
Starring	Michael Moore Matt Stone Charlton Heston Marilyn Manson
Distributed by	MGM Distribution Co.
Release date(s)	October 11, 2002  United States
Running time	120 min.
Language	English
Budget	$4.3 million
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Bowling for Columbine is a 2002 American documentary film written, directed, produced by, and starring Michael Moore. It brought Moore international attention as a rising film director and won numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature, and the César Award for Best Foreign Film.^[1] Bowling For Columbine Poster. ... Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American political-activist, a film director, author, social commentator, and political humorist. ... Matthew Richard Matt Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice actor, musician and actor. ... Charlton Heston (born October 4, 1924) is an US-american film actor, known for playing larger-than-life heroic roles such as Moses in The Ten Commandments, Colonel George Taylor in Planet of the Apes, and Judah Ben-Hur in Ben-Hur. ... This article is about the person. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American political-activist, a film director, author, social commentator, and political humorist. ... The Academy Award for Documentary Feature is one of the most prestigious awards for documentary films. ... César Award for Best Foreign Film: 1976: Scent of a Woman (Italy), directed by Dino Risi 1977: We All Loved Each Other So Much (Italy), directed by Ettore Scola 1978: A Special Day (Italy), directed by Ettore Scola 1979: The Tree with the Wooden Clogs (Italy), directed by Ermanno...

Film content

The film explores what Moore suggests are the causes for the Columbine High School massacre and other acts of violence with guns. Moore focuses on the background and environment in which the massacre took place and some common public opinions and assumptions about related issues. The film looks into the nature of violence in the United States, The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado (the CDP of Columbine) near Denver and Littleton. ... For other uses, see Violence (disambiguation). ... This article is about the video game. ...

In Moore's discussions with various people – including South Park co-creator Matt Stone, the National Rifle Association's then-president Charlton Heston, and musician Marilyn Manson – he seeks to explain why the Columbine massacre occurred and why the United States has a high violent crime rate (especially crimes involving guns), and promotes the fact that such crime in the U.S. is relatively higher than in other developed nations. This article is about the TV series. ... Matthew Richard Matt Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice actor, musician and actor. ... This article concerns the National Rifle Association of the USA. For the UK organisation, see National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is a non-profit group for the promotion of marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and personal protection firearm rights... Charlton Heston (born October 4, 1924) is an US-american film actor, known for playing larger-than-life heroic roles such as Moses in The Ten Commandments, Colonel George Taylor in Planet of the Apes, and Judah Ben-Hur in Ben-Hur. ... This article is about the person. ... 1901 assassination of President William McKinley by Leon Czolgosz, using a concealed revolver, at the Pan-American Exposition reception in Buffalo, New York. ...

Bowling

The film title originates from the story that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold – the two students responsible for the Columbine High School massacre – attended a school bowling class early that morning, at 6:00 a.m., before they committed the attacks at school starting at 11:19 a.m. Later investigation showed that this was based on mistaken recollections, and Glenn Moore of the Golden Police Department concluded that they were absent from school on the day of the attack.^[2] Eric David Harris (April 9, 1981 – April 20, 1999) and Dylan Bennet Klebold (September 11, 1981 – April 20, 1999) were the high school seniors who committed the Columbine High School massacre. ... the sport of cricket|Bowling (cricket)}} For other uses, see Bowling (disambiguation). ...

Moore incorporates the concept of bowling in other ways as well. For example, a Michigan militia uses bowling pins for their target practice. When interviewing former classmates of the two boys, Moore notes that the students took a bowling class in place of physical education. Moore notes this might have very little educational value; the girls he interviews generally agree. They note how Harris and Klebold had a very introverted lifestyle and a very careless attitude towards the game, and that nobody thought twice about it. Moore asks if the school system is responding to the real needs of their students or if they are reinforcing fear. Moore also interviews two young residents of Oscoda, Michigan, in a local bowling alley, and learns that guns are relatively easy to come by in the small town. Eric Harris spent some of his early years in Oscoda while his father was serving in the U.S. Air Force. Lebanese Kataeb militia The term Militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary [1] citizens to provide defense, emergency, law enforcement, or paramilitary service, and those engaged in such activity, without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. ... Physical education (PE) is the interdisciplinary study of all area of science relating to the transmission of physical knowledge and skills to an individual or a group, the application of these skills, and their results. ... USAF redirects here. ...

Moore suggests sarcastically that bowling could have been just as responsible for the attacks on the school as Marilyn Manson or even Bill Clinton, who launched bombing attacks on several countries around that time.^[3] This article is about the person. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...

Free gun for opening a bank account

Michael Moore upon receiving his free gun at the bank.

An early scene narrates how Moore discovered a bank in Michigan that would give customers a free hunting rifle when they made a deposit of a certain size into a time deposit account. The film follows Moore as he goes to the bank, makes his deposit, fills out the forms, and awaits the result of a background check before walking out of the bank carrying a brand new Weatherby hunting rifle. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A time deposit (also known as a term deposit, particularly in Australia and New Zealand) is a money deposit at a bank that cannot be withdrawn for a certain term or period of time. ... Weatherby, Inc. ...

Just before leaving the bank, Moore asks if it is not dangerous to hand out guns in a bank.

"Happiness Is a Warm Gun" montage

About 20 minutes into the film, the song Happiness Is a Warm Gun plays during a violent montage in which the following footage is shown: Happiness Is a Warm Gun is a song by The Beatles featured on the double-disc album The Beatles (also known as The White Album). ... Look up montage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

• people buying guns
• residents of Virgin, Utah, a town that passed a law requiring all residents to own guns
• people firing rifles at carnivals and shooting ranges
• footage of Denise Ames firing an Assault rifle while wearing a bikini bottom
• footage of Carey McWilliams, a blind man who is a gun enthusiast
• footage of Gary Plauche shooting Jeff Doucett, a man who had kidnapped his son and molested him.
• the suicide of Budd Dwyer
• the suicide of Daniel V. Jones
• a 1993 murder where Emilio Nuñez shot his ex-wife Maritza Martin to death during an interview on the Telemundo program Ocurrio Asi
• a man who takes his shirt off and is shot during a riot

Virgin is a town located in Washington County, Utah. ... For other uses, see Carnival (disambiguation). ... An outdoor shooting range with a sheltered shooting stand and several other unsheltered stands. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ... This article is about the womens bathing suit. ... Carey McWilliams, born on July 5, 1973 in Fargo, North Dakota, is a US-American author, marksman and skydiver. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other persons of the same name, see Robert Dwyer. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Telemundo is an American television network based in Hialeah, Florida. ... Teamsters, armed with pipes, riot in a clash with riot police in the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934. ...

Weapons of mass destruction

Early in the film, Moore links the violent behavior of the Columbine shooters to the presence in Littleton of a large defense establishment, manufacturing rocket technology. It is implied that the presence of this facility within the community, and the acceptance of institutionalized violence as a solution to conflict, contributed to the mindset that led to the massacre. Wikinews has related news: Interview with U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo The City of Littleton is a Home Rule Municipality in Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, and Douglas County in the U.S. state of Colorado. ... Structural violence, a term which was first used in the 1970s and which has commonly been ascribed to Johan Galtung, denotes a form of violence which corresponds with the systematic ways in which a given social structure or social institution kills people slowly by preventing them from meeting their basic...

Moore conducts an interview with Evan McCollum, Director of Communications at a Lockheed Martin plant near Columbine, and asks him: Lockheed/BAE/Northrop F-35 Lockheed Trident missile C-130 Hercules; in production since the 1950s, now as the C-130J Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is an aerospace manufacturer formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. ...

"So you don't think our kids say to themselves, 'Dad goes off to the factory every day, he builds missiles of mass destruction. What's the difference between that mass destruction and the mass destruction over at Columbine High School?'"

McCollum responded: For the Xzibit album, see Weapons of Mass Destruction (album). ...

"I guess I don't see that specific connection because the missiles that you're talking about were built and designed to defend us from somebody else who would be aggressors against us."

"What a Wonderful World" montage

The film then cuts to a montage of American foreign policy decisions, with the intent to contradict McCollum's statement by citing examples of how the United States has frequently been the aggressor nation. This montage is set to the song "What a Wonderful World" performed by Louis Armstrong. For other uses of the word montage, see Montage. ... A countrys foreign policy is a set of political goals that seeks to outline how that particular country will interact with other countries of the world and, to a lesser extent, non-state actors. ... What a Wonderful World was written by songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, first performed by Louis Armstrong, and released as a single in early fall 1967. ... Louis[1] Armstrong[2] (4 August 1901[3] – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo[4] and Pops, was an American jazz musician. ...

The following is an exact transcript of the onscreen text in the Wonderful World segment:

1. 1953: U.S. overthrows Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq of Iran. U.S. installs Shah as dictator.
2. 1954: U.S. overthrows democratically-elected President Arbenz of Guatemala. 200,000 civilians killed.
3. 1963: U.S. backs assassination of South Vietnamese President Diem.
4. 1963-1975: American military kills 4 million people in Southeast Asia.
5. September 11, 1973: U.S. stages coup in Chile. Democratically-elected President Salvador Allende assassinated. Dictator Augusto Pinochet installed. 5,000 Chileans murdered.
6. 1977: U.S. backs military rulers of El Salvador. 70,000 Salvadorans and four American nuns killed.
7. 1980s: U.S. trains Osama bin Laden and fellow terrorists to kill Soviets. CIA gives them $3 billion.
8. 1981: Reagan administration trains and funds "contras." 30,000 Nicaraguans die.
9. 1982: U.S. provides billions of dollars in aid to Saddam Hussein for weapons to kill Iranians.
10. 1983: The White House secretly gives Iran weapons to kill Iraqis.
11. 1989: CIA agent Manuel Noriega (also serving as President of Panama) disobeys orders from Washington. U.S. invades Panama and removes Noriega. 3,000 Panamanian civilian casualties.
12. 1990: Iraq invades Kuwait with weapons from U.S.
13. 1991: U.S. enters Iraq. Bush reinstates dictator of Kuwait.
14. 1998: Clinton bombs "weapons factory" in Sudan. Factory turns out to be making aspirin.
15. 1991 to present: American planes bomb Iraq on a weekly basis. U.N. estimates 500,000 Iraqi children die from bombing and sanctions.
16. 2000-2001: U.S. gives Taliban-ruled Afghanistan $245 million in "aid."
17. Sept. 11, 2001: Osama bin Laden uses his expert CIA training to murder 3,000 people.

On the website accompanying the film, Moore provides additional background information.^[4] Mohammad Mosaddeq ( ) (Persian: Moḥammad Moá¹£addeq, also Mosaddegh or Mossadegh) (16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was a major figure in modern Iranian history who served as the Prime Minister of Iran [1][2] from 1951 to 1953 when he was removed from power by a coup détat. ... As the result of an amendment to the Constitution of Iran in 1989, there is no longer a post titled Prime Minister of Iran, but Iran has had many prime ministers since the Qajar era, when the country was internationally known as Persia. ... Mohammad Mosaddeq ( ) (Persian: Moḥammad Moá¹£addeq, also Mosaddegh or Mossadegh) (16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was a major figure in modern Iranian history who served as the Prime Minister of Iran [1][2] from 1951 to 1953 when he was removed from power by a coup détat. ... Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, GCB (Persian: ) (October 26, 1919, Tehran – July 27, 1980, Cairo), styled His Imperial Majesty, and holding the imperial titles of Shahanshah (King of Kings), and Aryamehr (Light of the Aryans) until his overthrow by the Islamic Revolution, was the monarch of Iran from September... Former president Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán on the cover of TIME magazine in June 1954 after his overthrow Operation PBSUCCESS was a CIA-organized covert operation that overthrew the democratically-elected President of Guatemala, Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán in 1954. ... The title of President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1851, when that title was assumed by José Rafael Carrera, who had been acting as head of government as general and caudillo since 1840. ... Colonel Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán (September 14, 1913 – January 27, 1971) was the president of Guatemala from 1951 to 1954, when he was ousted in a coup détat organized by the US Central Intelligence Agency, known as Operation PBSUCCESS, and was replaced by a military junta, headed by Colonel... Anthem Thanh niên Hành Khúc (Call to the Citizens) Capital Saigon Language(s) Vietnamese Government Republic Last President¹ Duong Van Minh Last Prime minister Vu Van Mau Historical era Cold War  - Regime change June 14, 1955  - Dissolution April 30, 1975 Area  - 1973 173,809 km² 67,108... // Republic of Cochin China (1 June 1946 – 14 June 1949) President of Cochin China Provisional Central Government of Vietnam (27 May 1948 – 14 June 1949) President (Pre-Vietnam) State of Vietnam (14 June 1949 - 26 October 1955) Chief (Quoc Truong) Prime Ministers of the Republic of Vietnam Republic of Vietnam...   «ngoh dihn zih-ehm» (January 3, 1901 – November 2, 1963) was the first President of South Vietnam (1955–1963). ... The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... Prisoners outside the La Moneda Palace after their surrender during the coup (1973). ... Salvador Isabelino Allende Gossens[1] (June 26, 1908 – September 11, 1973) was President of Chile from November 1970 until his death during the coup détat of September 11, 1973. ... Allendes last photograph alive Salvador Allende, President of Chile, died during the Chilean coup of 1973. ... Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte[1] (November 25, 1915 – December 10, 2006) was President of Chile from 1974 to 1990, and was the President of the military junta from 1973 to 1981. ... Original members of the Government Junta (1977). ... Before the Spanish conquest, the area that now is El Salvador was composed of three great indigenous states and several principalities. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ... This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... CCCP redirects here. ... Reagan redirects here. ... For other uses, see Contra. ... Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq and Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council from 1979 until his overthrow by US forces in 2003. ... For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ... The Iran-Contra affair was a political scandal which was revealed in 1986 as a result of earlier events during the Reagan administration. ... For other persons named Noriega, see Noriega (disambiguation). ... // List This page lists presidents of Panama since both independences, in 1840 and in 1903. ... For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... This article is about the drug. ... UN redirects here. ... The Taliban (Pashto: - , also anglicised as Taleban) are a Sunni Islamist and Pashtun nationalist movement[2] that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, when their leaders were removed from power by a cooperative military effort between the Northern Alliance and NATO countries. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ... CIA redirects here. ...

Climate of fear

Moore attempts to contrast this with the attitude prevailing in Canada, where he states that gun ownership is at similar levels to the U.S. He illustrates his thesis by visiting neighborhoods in Canada near the Canada-U.S. border, where he finds front doors unlocked and much less concern over crime and security. The Peace Arch border between Surrey, British Columbia and Blaine, Washington Canada and the United States of America share the longest common border in the world. ... For other uses, see Security (disambiguation). ...

In this section, a montage of possible causes for gun violence are stated by television persona. Many claim links with violence in television, cinema and computer games; towards the end of the montage, however, a series of statements all claim Marilyn Manson's responsibility. Following this is an interview between Moore and Marilyn Manson. Manson shares his ideas about America's climate with Moore, stating that he believes U.S. society is based on "fear and consumption", citing Colgate commercials that promise "if you have bad breath, [people] are not going to talk to you" and other commercials containing fear-based messages; "if you have pimples, the girls [are] not going to fuck you." When Moore asks Manson what he would say to the killers if he could have spoken to them on the day of the shooting, Manson replies, "I wouldn't say a single word to them; I would listen to what they have to say, and that's what no one did." This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

K-Mart refund

Moore takes two Columbine victims to the American superstore K-Mart headquarters in Troy, Michigan, ostensibly to claim a refund on the bullets still lodged in their bodies. After a number of attempts to evade the issue, a K-Mart spokesperson says that the firm will change its policy and phase out the sale of handgun ammunition; this comes after Moore and the victims go to the nearest K-Mart store, purchase all of their ammunition, and return the next day with several members of the media. "We've won," says Moore, in disbelief. "That was more than we asked for." new Kmart logo Kmart Corporation was a US based corporation until it merged with Sears Holdings in November 2004. ... Troy is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. ...

Reception

Reviews for the film were overwhelmingly positive, with a 96% rating on rottentomatoes.com, thus earning a "certified fresh" award. Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "It's unnerving, stimulating, likely to provoke anger and sorrow on both political sides—and, above all, it's extremely funny."^[5] // The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois and owned by the Tribune Company. ...

Some reviews were not as unequivocally glowing. A.O. Scott of the New York Times warned, "The slippery logic, tendentious grandstanding and outright demagoguery on display in Bowling for Columbine should be enough to give pause to its most ardent partisans, while its disquieting insights into the culture of violence in America should occasion sober reflection from those who would prefer to stop their ears."^[6] Desson Thomson of the Washington Post thought that the film lacked a coherent message, asking "A lot of this is amusing and somehow telling. But what does it all add up to?"^[7] The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... A demagogue (sometimes spelled demagog) is a leader who obtains power by appealing to the gut feelings of the public, usually by powerful use of rhetoric and propaganda. ... The Washington Post is the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C.. It is also one of the citys oldest papers, having been founded in 1877. ...

Specific criticisms

Free gun for opening a bank account

In March 2003, John Fund reported in a Wall Street Journal diary page that the bank employee who handled Moore's account, Jan Jacobson, said that Moore had arranged the transaction weeks in advance, and that customers have "a week to 10 days waiting period" before collecting their guns.^[8] John Fund Born 1957 in Tucson, Arizona. ... The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is an international daily newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company in New York City, New York, USA, with Asian and European editions, and a worldwide daily circulation of more than 2 million as of 2006, with 931,000 paying online subscribers. ...

Moore later responded to these criticisms, writing,"Nothing was done out of the ordinary other than to phone ahead and ask permission to let me bring a camera in to film me opening up my account." He also states that the background check took less than ten minutes and he was handed the rifle five minutes later. Moore posted a compilation of out-takes from the documentary to support his version of events. This video shows Jacobson explaining the process to Moore, including that the rifles are held in the bank's vault.^[9] The footage in which an employee states that the guns are stored in the bank's vault appears in televised broadcasts of the film.

Gun ownership

Moore argues that high gun ownership is not responsible for violence in America, and instead that there must be something about the structure of American society, the American psyche or the media that makes the nation uniquely prone to high rates of murder and shootings. In support of his claims, Moore argues that Canadian gun ownership levels are comparable to those of the U.S. In the online blog Spinsanity, Ben Fritz asserts that "Moore ignores the fact that Canada has significantly fewer handguns and a much stricter gun licensing system."^[10] Brendan Nyhan Brendan Nyhan (born 1978) is an American liberal to moderate political blogger, author, and political columnist. ...

Ignoring the role of municipal governance

The American Prospect published a piece by Garance Franke-Ruta criticizing the film for ignoring the role that municipal governance plays in crime in America, and ignoring African American urban victims of violence while focusing on the unusual events of Columbine. "A decline in murders in New York City alone—from 1,927 in 1993 to 643 in 2001—had, for example, a considerable impact on the declining national rate. Not a lot of those killers or victims were the sort of sports-hunters or militiamen Moore goes out of his way to interview and make fun of."^[11] The American Prospect is a monthly American political magazine dedicated to liberalism. ... Garance Franke-Ruta is a senior editor at the American Prospect. ... Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state or province. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...

Weapons of mass destruction

After the release of the film, McCollum has clarified that the plant no longer produces missiles (the plant manufactured parts for intercontinental ballistic missiles with a nuclear warhead in the mid-1980s), but rockets used for launching satellites. The plant was also used to take former nuclear missiles out of service, converting decommissioned Titan missiles into launch vehicles for satellites.^[12] ICBM redirects here. ... This article is about artificial satellites. ...

As of 2005, Lockheed Martin was still the world's largest defense contractor by revenue, which Moore states in the film.^[13] Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Charlton Heston Interview

Moore was later criticized for his perceived ambush of the actor.^[14][15][16]

"What a Wonderful World"

In the "What a Wonderful World" sequence, Moore claims that the United States trained and gave money to Osama bin Laden's terrorist groups. The official position of the U.S. Department of State is that the United States never trained, armed or funded bin Laden, or the Arab mujahedin group of which he was a founding member, the Maktab al-Khidamat, or M.A.K.^[17] State Department asserts that military aid went exclusively to Afghan combatants, and that there was no relationship whatsoever with Osama bin Laden. The bipartisan 9/11 Commission concluded in chapter 2 of its final report that the CIA had little or nothing to do with bin Laden, because the CIA regarded his Arab group as having been "militarily insignificant".^[18] They cite a passage from Ayman al-Zawahiri's biography Knights Under the Prophet's Banner in which Al-Zawahiri denies accepting any money from the United States^[19] This is not accepted universally. Former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook believed the CIA had provided arms to the Arab mujahedin including bin Laden,^[20] and in an interview with CNN's Larry King, Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia divulged that Osama bin Laden was appreciative of his personal efforts in bringing the United States to Afghanistan to help him fight the Soviets.^[21] Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ... Department of State redirects here. ... The Maktab al-Khidamat, also Maktab Khadamāt al-Mujāhidīn al-Arab (Arabic: مكتب الخدمات or مكتب خدمات المجاهدين العرب, MAK), also known as the Afghan Services Bureau, is reliably believed to have been founded in 1984 by Dr. Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden to raise funds and recruit foreign mujahidin for the... The Commissions seal The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up in late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response... Ayman Muhammad Rabaie al-Zawahiri (Arabic: ) or closer to the original Arabic pronunciation al-Zawahri (born June 19, 1951) is an extremist Muslim leader and prominent member of al-Qaeda, and was the second and last emir of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zummar in the latter role... The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (commonly referred to as Foreign Secretary) is a member of the British Government responsible for relations with foreign countries, heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (often called simply the Foreign Office). ... Robert Finlayson Cook (28 February 1946 – 6 August 2005) was a politician in the British Labour Party. ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... This article is about the television host. ... Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud (Arabic: ‎, born March 2, 1949) is a highly influential Saudi politician and was Saudi ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005. ...

The CIA also denies staging the Chilean coup, though there is considerable evidence for their involvement, and some dispute whether Allende's death was a suicide or homicide.^[22] See also: United States intervention in Chile. Meeting between General A. Pinochet and US Secretary of State H. Kissinger (1974). ...

MPAA rating

The film is rated "R" (restricted) by the Motion Pictures Association of America, which means children under the age 17 would not be able to view the film unless under supervision. Prominent film critic Roger Ebert chastised MPAA for this move as "banning teenagers from those films they most need to see."^[23] Ebert has criticized the MPAA rating system in the past at other occasions. Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ...

Awards and nominations

• 2002 Winner, 55th Anniversary Prize, Cannes Film Festival
• 2003 Winner, César Award, Best Foreign Film
• 2003 Winner, International Documentary Association (IDA), - Best Documentary of All Time
• 2003 Winner, Academy Award, Best Documentary Features

During the screening at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival the film received a 13-minute standing ovation.^[24] It also won "Most Popular International Film" at the 2002 Vancouver International Film Festival. Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes), founded in 1939, is one of the worlds oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The César Award is the national film award of France first given out in 1975. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes), founded in 1939, is one of the worlds oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals. ... The Vancouver International Film Festival is a film festival held in Vancouver, Canada for two weeks in late September and early October. ...

Moore was both applauded and booed at Academy Awards on March 23, 2003 when he used his acceptance speech as an opportunity to proclaim his opposition to the United States led invasion of Iraq, which had begun just a few days prior, stating, "We do not want this war, Mr. Bush."^[25] Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...

Gross income

With a budget of only $4,000,000, Bowling for Columbine grossed $40,000,000 worldwide, including $21,575,207 in the United States. The documentary also broke box office records internationally, becoming the highest-grossing documentary in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Austria. These records were later eclipsed by another Moore documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11.^[26] Fahrenheit 9/11 is a controversial, award-winning documentary film by American left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore which presents a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terrorism, and its coverage in the American news media. ...

See also

• Moore's other documentaries:
  • Roger & Me
  • The Big One
  • Fahrenheit 9/11
  • Sicko
• List of documentaries
• Columbine High School massacre

Roger & Me is a 1989 American documentary film directed by independent filmmaker/author Michael Moore. ... The Big One is a movie filmed in 1996 -- and released in 1998 by Miramax Films -- by Michael Moore during his promotion tour around the United States for his book Downsize This!. Through the 47 towns he visits, Moore discovers and describes American economic failings and the fear of unemployment... Fahrenheit 9/11 is a controversial, award-winning documentary film by American left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore which presents a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terrorism, and its coverage in the American news media. ... For other uses, see Sicko (disambiguation). ... 14 Up in America (1998, Phil Joanou) 14 Up Born in the USSR (1998, Sergei Miroshnichenko) 16 Days in Afghanistan (2007 Mithaq Kazimi) 4 Little Girls (1997, Spike Lee) 7 Up in South Africa (1992, Angus Gibson) 21 Up (1977, Michael Apted) 28 Up (1985, Michael Apted) 35 Up (1991... The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado (the CDP of Columbine) near Denver and Littleton. ...

References

is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... The American Prospect is a monthly American political magazine dedicated to liberalism. ... The Boston Globe is the most widely-circulated daily newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts and in the greater New England region. ... The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Commissions seal The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up in late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response... The Commissions seal The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up in late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN. The show debuted in 1985, and is CNNs most watched program, with over one million viewers nightly. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

External links

• Bowling for Columbine Film site
  • Bowling for Columbine library and sources
• Bowling for Columbine at the Internet Movie Database
• United Nations International Study on Firearm Regulation Country-by-country statistics
• Banks use gifts to target depositors original report from Chicago Sun-Times
• "Bowl-o-Drama" Forbes Magazine charges that several claims in the film are misleading
• "The Truth About Bowling for Columbine: Documentary or Fiction?" by David Hardy
  • "A defense of Michael Moore and Bowling for Columbine". An open letter to David Hardy by Erik Möller