Tonight on Amazon: Oliver Stone’s Misunderstood Masterpiece, Still Powerful After 32 Years!

Mickey and Mallory Knox are a dynamic young couple, deeply in love and also America’s most notorious killers. Eluding the police, they rise to fame through relentless media coverage, becoming household names across radio, press, and particularly television. Their notoriety, fueled by a TV show host obsessed with ratings and sensational scoops, paves the way for a new, bloody chapter in American history.

You might recognize this description from Oliver Stone’s brilliant film, “Natural Born Killers,” now streaming on Prime Video. Released 32 years ago, the film sparked controversy not only in the United States but also internationally, even facing temporary bans in places like Ireland.

Completely devoid of morals, this acidic denouncement of ubiquitous media coverage in 1994 was groundbreaking. Admirers of Oliver Stone readily admit that while the message may be debatable, the film’s execution is undeniably genius, featuring between 2500 and 3000 cuts, compared to the average film’s 600-700.

Although Quentin Tarantino, the original screenwriter, never forgave Stone for rewriting his script—to the point of refusing to watch the film in its entirety as he mentioned in 2009—the film remains a potent grenade thrown at an audience stunned by its fiery content, securing its place as one of Oliver Stone’s finest works.

Still shocking today with its grim violence and raw depiction of the media’s obsession with murder and death, “Natural Born Killers” anticipated the surge of crime and serial killer stories that now flood our screens, especially on streaming platforms.

“In 1990, I sensed that the media landscape was shifting, especially regarding the coverage of violence,” Stone explained in a 2019 interview with IndiWire. “It always existed, but it became more profit-driven during the O.J. Simpson trial. I had never seen anything like it. Growing up, I had witnessed a lot of sensationalism.

We live in a world where sensationalism is a daily occurrence, but it is more prevalent than ever, and television is to blame. The O.J. trial was covered at the expense of nearly all other news. It was ubiquitous. I don’t think television has ever generated so much revenue, nor do I think it’s ever gone back to how it was. It’s been like this ever since, [although the coverage] has shifted from murders to politics as entertainment.”

A clear-eyed assessment that underscores the importance of revisiting (or discovering) this masterpiece immediately.

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