Bottle Rocket

Wes Anderson's first film was this short film which he co-wrote with Owen Wilson. It was also Owen's first film as well as his brother, Luke's, first film. Apparently the reaction to this short was positive, as only two years later a full-length version was made and all three have gone on to exceptional careers since.

The short is really not a complete film--more like a snippet to show potential investors the type film it could become. And, you have many of the story elements you'll see in the later film--as well as a meandering style which both films possess. However, due to costs, the short is only about 13 minutes long, is in black & white and uses inappropriate music (such as a cheap sax piece as well as Vince Guaraldi's song from "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown"!). This isn't really a complaint--just an observation about the cost-cutting done to create this little film.

It's really very hard to rate this, as I mentioned it is quite incomplete. My advice is see it and then see the full-length version--otherwise you might not appreciate the short.

This 20 minute short served as the trailer for and basis of "Bottle Rocket" the feature, which in turn launched Wes Anderson's long career as one of our most critically admired directors.

I remember how talked about the short was in film circles, and how it inspired Polly Platt (long time James Brooks partner) to get behind Anderson and champion his getting a shot at doing a feature version. There were many envious young film-makers and film students out there!

While the short is rough, it already has the odd, intelligent wit and strong comic acting along with the surprisingly complex characters that marks all Anderson's work. Visually it's nothing special, lacking the specific and idiosyncratic film language Anderson would make his own in films to come, but it tells it's enjoyable shaggy dog story just fine.

Luke and Owen Wilson are both very good, and amazingly young.

The short is available as an extra on the Criterion release of 'Bottle Rocket' and is well worth seeing - both as a piece of modern film history, and as an entertaining film in it's own right.

This is the FIRST Bottle Rocket, not the full length. This version begins after the breakout in th '96 version, and ends after the boys RECAP the bookstore robbery to Bob. This is interesting to watch for hardcore Wes fans, and if Criterion loves us, they will release a DVD including this original on it. Especially worth seeing is the "I bought the gun" scene, where Dignan flips out in a vulgar rage which only Owen Wilson could have executed the way he did.

The Bottle Rocket '96 trailer includes a shot of Anthony breaking into a car to steal a wallet, but the scene is cut from the actual movie. That scene is present in the short version.

The owner of our local video store was nice enough to let me borrow his copy of the short when I rented Bottle Rocket. It's very clever but honestly nothing to write home about. Witty dialog with a lot of pop culture references and a certain charm, but it just doesn't have that endearing quality that Anderson and Wilson's longer films have. It actually seems more like something Quentin Tarantino would do than Anderson and Wilson. If you're a fan of Bottle Rocket and you get a chance to see this it's probably worth it. If nothing else it's interesting to see how it started. On the other hand if you never see it you shouldn't feel like you're missing too much.

'Bottle Rocket' is the first project written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, starring Owen and his brother Luke. This short, shown at Sundance, made sure they got to make the feature film 'Bottle Rocket' (1996). Of course they came with 'Rushmore', 'The Royal Tenenbaums' and 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' next.

This short, shot in black and white, is sort of the same as the first fifteen minutes of the feature film version. It shows three friends named Dignan (Owen Wilson), Anthony (Luke) and Bob (Robert Musgrave) preparing for a heist, not much more. Before the real deal they practice once, buy guns, and then it's show time.

The dialogue and natural acting makes this an above average short film. The writing is pretty clever and most moments will make you smile. Most of the time it is quite exciting to see one of those "first films" from established directors; 'Bottle Rocket' is no exception.