Rent Bottle Rocket (1996)
3.2 of 5 from 185 ratings
1h 28min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Best friends Anthony (Luke Wilson), Dignan (Owen Wilson), and Bob (Robert Musgrave) stage a wildly complex, mildly successful robbery of a small bookstore, then go "on the lam". During their adventures, Anthony falls in love with a South American housekeeper, Inez (Lumi Cavazos), and they befriend local thief extraordinaire Mr. Henry (James Caan). 'Bottle Rocket' is a charming, hilarious, affectionate look at the folly of dreamers, shot against radiant southwestern backdrops, and the film that put Anderson and the Wilson brothers on the map.
- Actors:
- Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Ned Dowd, Shea Fowler, Haley Miller, Robert Musgrave, Andrew Wilson, Brian Tenenbaum, Jenni Tooley, Temple Nash, Dipak Pallana, Darryl Cox, Stephen Dignan, Lumi Cavazos, Julie Mayfield, Don Phillips Jr., Anna Cifuentes, Donny Caicedo, Melinda Renna, Richard Reyes
- Directors:
- Wes Anderson
- Producers:
- Cynthia Hargrave, Polly Platt
- Writers:
- Owen Wilson, Wes Anderson
- Studio:
- Sony
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Comedy, Drama
- Collections:
- Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Bill Murray, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Wes Anderson, Top 10 Bookshop Scenes, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 04/12/2017
- Run Time:
- 91 minutes
- Languages:
- English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio Commentary by director/co-writer Anderson and co-writer/star Owen Wilson
- The Making of "Bottle Rocket": an original documentary by filmmaker Barry Braverman featuring Anderson, James L. Brooks, James Caan, Temple Nash Jr., Kumar Pallana, Polly Platt, Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Musgrave, Richard Sakai, David and Sandy Wasco, Andrew, Luke, and Owen Wilson, and Robert Yeoman
- The original thirteen-minute black-and-white Bottle Rocket short film from 1992
- Eleven Deleted Scenes
- Anamorphic screen test, storyboards, location photos, and behind-the-scenes photographs by Laura Wilson
- The Shafrazi Lectures, no. 1: Bottle Rocket
- Murita Cycles, a 1978 short film by Braverman
- Original Artwork by Ian Dingman
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Reviews (2) of Bottle Rocket
Muted Fireworks - Bottle Rocket review by Count Otto Black
Imagine how "Reservoir Dogs" would have played out if the protagonists had been the cast of "Slackers", and you'll get the general idea of what goes on in "Bottle Rocket". Three rather pleasant and utterly clueless young men attempt to pull off an armed robbery for reasons which have absolutely nothing to do with the reality of serious crime, or indeed any other aspect of reality. It is not a spoiler to reveal that the big heist they spend most of the film working their way up to doesn't go too well, because it was never under any conceivable circumstances going to, and watching the robbery fall apart in every way you can imagine and then some is a lot of fun.
Unfortunately the journey to that point is a bit slow and meandering. The amiably feckless hero's romance with an immigrant girl who doesn't speak English aided by an increasingly embarrassed translator, the gulf between his fantasy-prone best buddy's vision of himself as a criminal mastermind and the obvious reality of the situation, and the all-round inability of any of them to do anything entirely successfully raise lots of smiles but are very seldom laugh-out-loud funny. And since this was Wes Anderson's first feature and his budget was limited, his trademark style of pausing the action to let us soak up the detail isn't as effective as it later became, since it's not the Grand Budapest Hotel in the background, just some crappy motel in Nowheresville, New Mexico.
However, he's already proficient with his other trademark directorial flourish of giving all his characters, even very minor ones, as much personality as he possibly can. James Caan deserves a special mention in this respect, although he makes barely more than a cameo appearance, as the gleefully amoral small-time crook who is nevertheless the only person in the entire film who knows what he's doing, and effortlessly conveys what an ill-advised idea it is for these naïve wasters to trust him any further than they could throw a diplodocus. Then again, this lot could probably have been outfoxed by an actual fox.
Fun in a gentle way, and very engaging if you don't mind some slow patches. Worth seeing as an early work from a director still developing his extremely distinctive style, but already showing promise of greater things.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
A charming tale of the dim witted - Bottle Rocket review by Tommy
This is a must see. This is not a perfect film and it's not a thrilling watch the whole way through. It's not particularly original or an inventive story. But this is Wes Anderson's first feature. That alone should be reason to watch, it is worth it for a fan of his or not. It's Wes Anderson, not everyone, naturally is going to be a fan but he is an important director. This is a charming story of some idiots who have a plan to make money, although the main motivation is probably an immature one to become criminals, but this ends up as a quirky, kinda coming of age story.
Most people i think, like myself, would have seen Anderson's later work before this, so it is interesting to watch, to see how he has developed his career and style that he is so famous for. To see where he started, if he always began with the same quirky style in story, characters and visually too. Naturally this being his first is lower budget so it doesn't have the production design that is so eccentrically Anderson - the bold colours in particular. This has the photography though. The symmetry and framing is there. So too Owen and Luke Wilson. Bottle Rocket is certainly Anderson as we know him, just a smaller scale version.
Importantly the characters and themes are quintessential Anderson. This is a well meaning, funny story of two, at times three, ultimately troubled and sad friends trying to make more for themselves and each other. They are idiots so it doesn't go well. One finds love, it's arguably soppy but it's likable and sweet, just like all his films. This is a focused story, if a little slow and it slightly drags during the characters laid back period at a cross roads, do they go back or gamble to carry on the "plan". The Texas setting is a great pairing for the unsure decisions they have to make to get out of the whole they have found themselves, during the middle of the film. There isn't much to fill the screen at times, fields and sandy roads around a typical, basic American motel but it is beautifully filmed for a low budget, representing their empty lives, possibly, or the thrill they need. Both, different for each character. There are classic Anderson action moments too - a few heist/robberies and a chase, which again in it's low budget, is effective and efficient. The drama and comedy is both light but with meaning to the characters.
This isn't rock solid throughout, you may have to stick with it but it has clever moments that are expertly created and handled by Anderson. A story similar to the Coens, both whose films never let me down.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.