IMDb RATING
7.6/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
A documentary of the decline of America. It features footage (most exclusive to this film) from race riots to serial killers and much, much more.A documentary of the decline of America. It features footage (most exclusive to this film) from race riots to serial killers and much, much more.A documentary of the decline of America. It features footage (most exclusive to this film) from race riots to serial killers and much, much more.
Susan Atkins
- Self
- (archive footage)
David Berkowitz
- Self
- (archive footage)
Kenneth Bianchi
- Self
- (archive footage)
Lawrence Bittaker
- Self
- (archive footage)
James Brady
- Self
- (archive footage)
Arthur Bremer
- Self
- (archive footage)
Louise Bundy
- Self - Ted Bundy's Mother
- (archive footage)
Angelo Buono Jr.
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Angelo Buono)
Dean Corll
- Self
- (archive footage)
Juan Corona
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film opened in one cinema in New York City, but was never commercially distributed in the USA until it finally received an official release in both DVD and Blu-ray formats by Severin Films on October 25, 2016.
- Alternate versionsThe Japanese version of this film runs 116 minutes long. It's called "Violence U.S.A." and is narrated in Japanese. Among the additional things featured in the Japanese version are shots of the Grand Canyon, footage of people surfing, skiing, and playing with Frisbees, and a long tribute to John Lennon.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Madness Is Real: An Interview with Sheldon Renan (2016)
- SoundtracksFor What It's Worth
Written by Stephen Stills
Performed by Buffalo Springfield
©1966 Cotillon Music, Inc
Ten East Music Springalo Toones
Used by permission. All rights reserved
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corporation
Featured review
The twilight of Pax Americana
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.
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.
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- Baroque
- Mar 13, 2004
- How long is The Killing of America?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- The Killing of America - våldets Amerika
- Filming locations
- Calico Ghost Town, Yermo, California, USA(Wild West reenactment)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $533
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By what name was The Killing of America (1981) officially released in India in English?
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