Natural Born Killers: The Original Screenplay
by Quentin Tarantino
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Book Summary Information
Author: Quentin TarantinoEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-06
ISBN: 0802134483
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Grove Press
Book Reviews of Natural Born Killers: The Original Screenplay
Book Review: "I Used To Be You...Then I Evolved", Stinging Black Humor
Summary: 4 Stars
Tarantino's original script for 'Natural Born Killers' is vastly superior to the movie. Oliver Stone's film version (while still entertaining and transgressive)is meandering and extreme for the sake of extremity (in everything from the jarring editing to unnecessary scenes-like the young woman-Scagnetti murder scene to Mickey hinting at the rape of his hostage and Mallory's subsequent seduction of the gas station attendant). To his credit, I understand what Stone is trying to achieve: a statement about media culture and an increasingly amoral American psyche, but he doesn't quite succeed, in my opinion. The result is an uneven movie with a bit too much padding.
Unlike the original script, the film provides the background stories for Mickey and Mallory so that the audience can empathize with why they are the way they are. There is also a scene in which the killer couple have a spiritual epiphany after encountering a Native American shaman. Despite their respect for the shaman, Mickey accidentally kills him after a bad dream. The movie is effectively commenting on several things: The hypocrisy of a 50's American ideal of family and it's disillusioning affect upon our serial killing antiheroes, in addition, the shaman scene also screams of American hypocrisy-the history between the colonists and Native Americans and also an insincere, self-righteous idea of spirituality on the part of Mickey and Mallory. But these things are lost in translation-what exactly is the movie trying to be, a psychological profile of the American serial killer and how American history and culture shaped such human beings? Or, is it a satire of the 'serial killer' and the (media) culture surrounding him/her? Because Stone's film tries to do both at once, the film feels shallow (even if impassioned) since it cannot satisfy both topics completely.
Tarantino's script, on the other hand, is much more focused. It knows exactly what it is-a black satire of serial killer culture in America. Mickey and Mallory are much more absent in Tarantino's version. Instead, the two are more of a symbol or driving force for the real story, that of the journalists and policemen whom are after them. The hypocrisy of this story is in the characterization of the policemen and journalists because they are less concerned with the welfare of the people than they are with furthering their careers, social status and so forth.
The biggest change, however, is with Mickey and Mallory themselves, who are much more mythical here than in the movie. In the film we understand why they are so extreme (what with their backgrounds and all), not so with this script, where they are ambiguous-they serve more as moderators of the unjust (the corrupt policemen and the opportunist paparazzi), which heightens the satire because the roles of the just and the unjust have been reversed (Mickey and Mallory, although killers, represent love and are the only truly honest characters).
The script has far less unnecessary story bits. As I said earlier, the Stone version has a scene in which Scagnetti kills a young woman. Why is this important? We already knew that he was an opportunist and a corrupt police officer. In the script, Scagnetti's corruption is hinted at several times but doesn't include the murder/rape scene, which would've been overkill. The script is much more subtle in this regard.
Simpler and more focused than the film (not to mention much more fun), I highly recommend this original script. Get it with the flick and compare for yourself!
Summary of Natural Born Killers: The Original Screenplay
Natural Born Killers is a disturbing and brilliant indictment of violence in the media and American celebrity culture. Mickey and Mallory Knox, outlaw lovers on the run, go on a killing spree of startling viciousness -- and find themselves transformed into cult celebrities by the tabloid media. The film, directed by Oliver Stone, departed significantly from Tarantino's original screenplay, so much so that Tarantino removed his name from the screenplay credits. Now available in America for the first time, the original screenplay offers fans and film buffs of all stripes the opportunity to compare Tarantino's original vision with Stone's version of the story of Mickey and Mallory.
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