NaturalBornKillers Tagged Articles at Cinematical

In the last several weeks, "Shelf Life" columns have examined venerated films from different genres or filmographies that were tangentially if not directly related to the week's new releases: Carrie in anticipation of Jennifer's Body, Dawn of the Dead before Zombieland, and so on. This week, we're looking ahead at a future Blu-ray release, next week's Natural Born Killers, because, quite frankly, who's seen this thing in the last decade?

That of course isn't to say it's not still an incendiary classic, but in retrospect, Oliver Stone's treatise on media savagery feels like both a product of its time and a random blitz of imagery that has since dulled our perceptions of (and reactions to) the film's overall effect. But then again, it just might have been ahead of its time, or maybe just a misunderstood romance, or some other unholy beast that looks a lot different 15 years after it debuted in theaters. As such, Stone's Natural Born Killers is the subject of this week's "Shelf Life."

Although it seems as if I've been hired exclusively to write articles about or concerning Tarantino-themed projects, I assure you it's merely a private obsession. That said, it feels necessary to announce that on August 25, 2009, Warner Home Video will release the Natural Born Killers Director's Cut on Blu-ray and DVD. The forthcoming set features a collection of all-new bonus materials and a 44-page booklet on the production and its cultural significance.

Perhaps even moreso than director Oliver Stone's theatrical version, The Director's Cut has something of a storied history; rather than the director's or extended cuts that DVD and Blu-ray producers churn out purely as a cash-in, this was in fact the original incarnation of the film that was truly Stone's vision, and was changed because the MPAA balked at the inclusion of some four minutes of material, including images such as a horrifically comic point of view shot through the bullet hole in a character's hand. On the other hand (no pun intended), it remains subjective which version is truly better than the other; once you've succumbed to the visual onslaught that Stone unleashes, it's tough to determine what additional impact such shots and sequences really effect.

The single disc Blu-ray will be available for the MSRP of $28.99, while the two-disc DVD set will retail for $20.97. Both sets will feature the following extras (located after the jump):

I have a confession to make. I used to be a rabid fangirl of Quentin Tarantino -- so much so that I went all sorts of nuts when introduced to my first college poster sale. My poor roommate ... she had to deal with one half of a room adorned with posters of John Travolta, Tim Roth, Samuel L. Jackson, and more. My guns and bad guys were balanced by her posters of funky black and white photos and art prints.

It wasn't that I was a huge fan of ultra-violent films; I just couldn't get enough of a film laden with insanely catchy conversations and even catchier music. I especially loved Pumpkin, and Honey Bunny. So, in honor of bad girls and guys who love each other while wreaking havoc on the world, I give you two Tarantino flicks from 1994 -- Pulp Fiction and Natural Born Killers. (Well, to be fair -- he disowned the latter, but he's still a part of it.)

This is Tarantino we're talking about, so these clips might not be suitable for wee young things and work environments.