The Killing of America

This movie was hard to find. reading about it, I read it wasn't ever released in America. I have currently found it as a Region 2 (United Kningdom/Europe) DVD release.

that being said, this is one great documentary. I'm sure it was very shocking to anyone who saw it in 1982, it was shocking to me today. In today's world, the media- television, movies, music etc. There is a lot of violence. There is a lot of glamorization of violence. Some people like violence, some don't. That is not the point.

This documentary deals with murder rate in America. Its not just another documentary covering a few statistics here and there, this has excellent footage. You will hear surprising statistics, you will see serial killers, you will see actual people being shot.

It IS shocking. I have seen so much shocking stuff, that I am numb to a lot now, but this was shocking. I for one, never saw the entire JFK footage. Its on here. The Robert F Kennedy assassination is on here. A few other actual footages, or assassinations and assassination attempts are on here.

Serial killers are covered in depth in this documentary. You see actual footage of notorious killers such as Ted Bundy, and Charles Manson. You hear about others you may have heard of- Charles Whitman, John Wayne Gacy etc.

There were also some serial killers and incidents I never even heard of in this movie. There was one incident where a guy who gives out bank loans was taken hostage and paraded around the city for 3 days in front of the media and everyone. There is another incident where a guy takes over a TV station.

Today we have documentaries such as Bowling for Columbine, or Fahrenheit 911. These are trash. they do not show good legit footage, and the truth and statistics in these documentaries are twisted. I have no reason to believe anything in this Killing of America documentary is false. First of all, the footage is right there. The only thing that would be made up is the statistics, which I doubt.

This documentary is graphic. This documentary is shocking. It is also a great history lesson. You will learn more about killers and incidents you know. If you have not seen this film, and know a lot of the subject, you are still guaranteed to learn something.

I would say this is a must see for anyone interested in shocking real events, or interested in well made documentaries. It will shock you.

Despite having been made back in 1982, this film has not lost any of it's impact...and living in the country where it was filmed, it hits incredibly close to home.

Before you dismiss this as another "Faces of Death" clone, complete with re-enacted scenes, be forewarned. This is real. 100% of the footage came from either TV news departments across the country, or from private collectors! You WILL see newsreel footage of people being shot to death (including one man being shot by police before the opening credits!), and disturbingly graphic descriptions of murders. There is even footage where people leave a courtroom to vomit after hearing a recording made by Lawrence "Pliers" Bittaker during the slow torture death of one of his victims.

Leonard Schrader, the older brother of director Paul Schrader, produced this film for the Japanese film market, where "death films" bring in big money. But instead of an exploitative "shockumentary" as normally expected, this is a detailed examination of how Western Civilization is slowly falling apart.

The assassinations of John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the attempted assassination of George Wallace, and a number of other people (Charles Whitman, David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, John Wayne Gacey, Jim Jones, Charles Manson, Ed Kemper, Brenda "I Don't Like Mondays" Spencer, etc.) who, in their own twisted logic, saw the need to kill people, and acted upon it; all are reported here in great detail.

The film ends with a report on the murder of John Lennon, and a blunt statement that during the public memorial held in his memory, two people were shot.

No, this isn't a gross-out "video nasty", it's a hard examination of how the USA is in a slow collapse before our very eyes.

Michael Moore must have seen this movie. This is Bowling for Columbine, dark and hopeless early 80s style. No humour here, just a dystopia view of an ugly, violent, dysfunctional America going down in flames, loosely connected through a sprawling narrative, and fueled by amazing archive footage.

Sensitive viewers be warned. There are plenty of ghastly sequences and photographs here. Some, no, lots of completely horrible stuff that will make you cringe.

While Moore aims at amusing us as he hammers away on his message, The Killing of America goes straight for shock value. The narrative seems to exist primarily as an excuse for showing a lot of violent images. The message never goes beyond "Look at all the violence. Something must be wrong with America". While true enough, this is hardly Pulitzer stuff.

But it is not message that makes this movie interesting. It is the fantastic collection of archive footage that the filmmakers have managed to scrape together. With the risk of appearing warped, I must admit that this is truly fascinating stuff. You'll find news footage here of riots, assassinations of political figures, sniper mass murderers etc. that is rarely shown anywhere.

I have long been fascinated by American contemporary history and politics, and in that vein, I find this movie unmissable. The three segments showing the JFK assassination from different angles alone make it worth watching. I have never really doubted that Oswald was the only assassin before, but now...let's just say I'll leave a little room for speculation. Just a tiny little bit.

Those interested in the phenomena of mass or serial killers will also get their fill of material here. A large segment of the film is dedicated to this, including court footage of Ted Bundy and an interview with Edward Kemper. Both seem earily "normal". Isn't that more scary than if they were ranting lunatics? An audio tape, seemingly real, of Jim Jones admonishing his disciples to take their own lives more willingly, without complaining so much, is another complete hairraiser.

While obviously taken out of context and thrown together in order to create a slanted image of what was going on during the 1960s and 1970s, many of the scenes in this movie rightly show us a different America than the one we recognize from mainstream media.

This is not the whole truth. But it is a small part, an evil, shadowy part. The Killing of America desensitizes recent history. And as such, it is essential.

Take the "Happiness is a Warm Gun" two minute shocking segment presented in "Bowling for Columbine" and multiply for almost two hours, then you have this excellent documentary named "The Killing of America". It reminds of what Michael Moore did in his powerful masterpiece, but this film haven't reach the impact of the Oscar winning documentary since it wasn't released in the U.S. back in 1982 and not even now (but it's easy to find on the internet). Leonard Schrader's film touched a deep wound of America and of course this couldn't be released in there, it would be misinterpreted and still can be depending of how one view this documentary. Strangely, this was made for the Japan market, another reason of why this wasn't shown in U.S. not even for home video.

What we have here is a look at some of the most horrendous figures and crimes that ever appeared in U.S. between 1950's and 1980's, most of them captured on camera, broadcasted on TV, followed by an haunting voice over from Chuck Riley. There you'll see the Kennedy's assassination, John Lennon's murder, Jim Jones, Ted Bundy, Charles Whitman, Sirhan Sirhan, Charles Manson, Brenda Spencer and other bigger and minor criminal and tragical events recorded on film that took place in America.

The intelligence of this documentary is to provoke a debate on why there was so much violent crimes in America in all the images presented here without reaching the sensationalism of things like "Faces of Death". It intrigues its viewers by exploring a dark past of one the most powerful countries of the world showing a unflattering and sad side of it. It gives us numbers, facts, informations and impressive things to make its audience think about possible reasons behind this enormous stream of crimes and violence.

The images are haunting and quite depressive, but it should never be viewed as an attack to a country's past, it's just a critical piece that exposes its great arguments over a current critical situation of that period. It could happen at any place, and it happens indeed. I'm hoping to find such a brutal and honest film like this concerning the violent facts and images of my country, someday in a future until we have someone with the guts like the creators of this powerful media. 10/10

This is one doco I wouldn't hurry to watch again. There were a few moments of this old, riveting, eye opening pic (that I viewed for the first time last week) that absolutely chilled me. Amongst some images of sick, abhorrent violence, we come face to face with those notorious few, who've earned their names in history, as the worst serial killers, and I need not spell em' out for you. Every frame of this pic is real, no dramatization or reenactment by capable actors, it's the real deal, a true shocking slice of America. It really goes into the Kennedy Assassination, which I liked, the two shooter theories, and CU shots of the actual point of impact. We even see Reagan get it, up close. Some of the interviews with those cold sadistic sons of bitches, is what's most affecting, the easily disturbed should steer clear of this one. We are totally repelled by these monsters. Bundy is what true nightmares are made of, I would of loved to be the one frying him. The final words from that Judge left a lasting memory. Starting with a police shootout, and ending with John's Lennon's vigil, TKOA is that truly one time shockomentary pic, where age in no way has dampened it's impact. Like a scar, it never gets smaller, or goes away. It's there for life. This is the lasting impact has. This well made doco, is not one I'd opt to watch again. It's too confronting and morbidly chilling. I'm better watching the new horror film, something this great, 'in your face, real life, can't get out of your head' pic is more than, and I give weight to the latter of that description.