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| Big Sky Video (Australia). Region 4, PAL. 4:3. English DD 2.0. 91 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Sheldon
Renan
Starring:Chuck Riley
(Narrator), Ed Kemper, Sirhan Sirhan
Written by: Chieko Schrader,
Leonard Schrader |
The Killing of America was the
film that every fifteen year old in 1984 wanted
to see. When hiring any Roadshow release, the two
films that stuck out in our minds from the trailers
were The Never Dead and The
Killing of America.
The Killing of America wants
to be a mondo film or an exploitation film but
never reaches such lofty heights. This film leads
us on a trail from the assassination of JFK and
Martin Luther King, through to the Vietnam War,
to Charles Manson and Ed Kemper, and eventually
the demise of John Lennon at the hands of Mark
David Chapman. At times this film revels in its
explicit violence and other times, barrages you
with facts and figures. Full of obscure footage
such as Ted Bundy at his trial, and new interviews
with infamous characters like Sirhan Sirhan, the
murderer of Robert Kennedy.
Producer Leonard Schrader (writer of Kiss
of the Spider Woman) co-directed (not
credited, with Sheldon Reman) and co-wrote this
'shockumentary' with his wife, Cheiko.
He first came upon the idea when he read an article
stating that in the first sixty years of the 20th
century, the murder rate in the USA was fairly
constant, but after the death of President Kennedy,
steadily increased every year. This film is presented
very matter-of-factly by co-director Sheldon Reman
(Aids: What Everyone Needs to Know). This film
is mainly a collage of news footage, with some
new interviews added and an informative voice-over.
This film is no Faces of Death or Mondo Cane, it is however
a genuine documentary about the fall of American
standards and morality and the violence that reflects
that. There appears to be no staged sequences
and the deaths are all too real. |
| Video |
| Due to the fact it is mainly made up of news footage,
the picture quality is quite poor. The 4:3 image
is never unclear, but the film has various blemishes
through the entire film. This is not necessarily
a bad thing; the grittiness of the subject matter
suits the film perfectly. If anything, digital restoration
would probably destroy the legitimacy of this film. |
| Audio |
| Narrated clearly by Chuck Riley, the stereo treatment
is all this film needs. As with the video, it is
mainly made up of poor quality news footage, and
the sound reflects that. |
| Extra Features |
| Not much in the way of extras here. Two Big Sky
trailers: one for Evil Dead and one for The Beastmaster.
The other extra, titled 'Punishment'
is a text feature, a 'Where Are They Now'
article featuring the current whereabouts of the
real villains incarcerated and how long they will
stay there. |
| The Verdict |
The Killing of America is an
interesting document of violence from the early
sixties to the end of the seventies. Does this documentary
hold its own today however? Unfortunately the answer
is no. Its bare style cannot hold it's own
against the glossy productions of gonzo documentarians
like Mike Moore and his ilk. The effects of a post-911
world and our own desensitization to violence have
dulled the sharp edge of this film.
Got something else to say? Spill your guts on the
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