The political climate notwithstanding, Natural Born Killers: 15th Anniversary Director's Cut carries a message as valid today as it was 15 years ago. Violence in movies and television is still arbitrary at best and stylized at worst, becoming a Scylla and Charybdis that teaches us on one hand that wanton destruction is "no big deal" and on the other that it is something incredibly cool. Quentin Tarantino's script for Natural Born Killers was only a starting point for Stone, who talks in several special features about the decision to move away from Tarantino's noir vision into more symbolic and purely abstract territory. Tarantino obviously went on to stake out territory as the king of cool violence, but Stone says that portraying real violence didn't interest him after depicting the horrors of war in Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. The completely over-the-top violence of Natural Born Killers obviously influenced scenes like the ear removal from Reservoir Dogs, but Stone himself was influenced by avant-garde films like Un Chien Andalou and likely by the cut/juxtapose style of directors like Stan Brakhage. The depth and complexity of Stone's vision really shows through in Natural Born Killers: 15th Anniversary Director's Cut since the scenes forced out by the film board are now restored. A second disk filled with special features takes you deeper into the decisions Stone made to cast the actors he did and to establish the particular creative environment from which Natural Born Killers sprung. Rather than the usual trite blathering one usually hears from actors and directors stroking their mutual egos, this collection of special features actually helps dedicated fans learn more about the film.
All you want in a release like this is satisfied by Natural Born Killers: 15th Anniversary Director's Cut. It's bigger and better than the version we saw in the theaters or that was released previously, and the special features and commentary make for a unique viewing experience. It is easy to see why Natural Born Killers spawned the controversy it did back then, and easy to imagine parents and critics now finding the same areas to fault. You'll be hard pressed to say that you've seen most of the actors here turn in better performances, especially in the case of Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis. Considering the relatively thin resumes those two had at the time, Oliver Stone took a huge risk that paid off. Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Downey, Jr., and Tom Sizemore play their roles well, but the dynamic between Harrelson and Lewis is something special. Stone claims that a significant message in Natural Born Killers, largely missed by critics, was the love story. There's no question that the love angle is clearly established, but Stone's obsession is the love story between the media and the spectacle of a world eating itself. The so-called Natural Born Killers are really just star-crossed lovers with the misfortune of being born into this quagmire, and Stone says several times that the greatest discomfit for some audiences was the notion that Mickey and Mallory go free at the end of the film. Some see the depravity around us today as created by the likes of Mickey and Mallory, while Stone's point is that we're ensuring a future of depravity by doing nothing to address our societal ills. You don't need to take a side in the debate to enjoy Natural Born Killers: 15th Anniversary Director's Cut, just have an appreciation for the art and craft of Oliver Stone at the height of his directorial powers.
