Three criminally aspiring friends bungle their way through a series of misadventures in this oddball comedy from Austin auteur Wes Anderson. Brothers Luke and Owen Wilson play best friends Anthony and Dignan, two good-hearted though confused misfits who, along with their friend Bob (Robert Musgrave), attempt to find purpose in their lives by starting criminal careers. Though they make rather unimpressive criminals, the three guys shine in their unwavering sense of honor, friendship, and loyalty. BOTTLE ROCKET is an endearing, funny, and unique comic gem, featuring James Caan's adept turn as the local crime boss.

The debut feature film for director Wes Anderson and actors Luke and Owen Wilson, BOTTLE ROCKET is a kind-hearted yet quirky tale about three friends who fashion themselves into modern-day robbers. After leaving his voluntary confinement in a mental home, Anthony (Luke Wilson) joins his friends Dignan (the film's co-writer, Owen Wilson) and Bob (Robert Musgrave) in a bookstore heist. In need of direction, more so than money, the three guys prove to be polite, but rather inept, criminals. Nevertheless the job is a success, and the trio head out to a remote hotel, planning to lay low until they can return to join a gang of supposed professional criminals lead by the infamous Mr. Henry (James Caan).

Based on the 1994 black-and-white short, the expanded film is part buddy picture, crime caper, and slacker comedy. First-time director Wes Anderson displays a sure hand, creating carefully composed scenes full of rich detail (shot on 27mm film, to ensure greater depth of field), schematic use of color, and amusing, irreverent music (including a score by Mark Mothersbaugh, founding member of the punk band Devo). Full of sure-footed performances, BOTTLE ROCKET is a charming meditation on friendship, love, and innocence, conveyed with great humor and refreshing goodwill.

Theatrical release: February 21, 1996.

The film was shot on various locations in Dallas, Texas, including at St. Marks High School, where Owen Wilson was expelled in the tenth grade.

Wes Anderson met his writing partner and friend, Owen Wilson, when they were both students at the University of Texas. Anderson even wrote a paper for Wilson when they were roommates, as part of a deal over who would get the better room. The paper, on Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," earned Wilson an A+.

While in college, Anderson asked Wilson to star in A NIGHT IN TUNISIA, a play which was a take on Sam Shepard's TRUE WEST. It was the first time Anderson and Wilson worked together.

BOTTLE ROCKET was inspired by Anderson and Wilson's experiences living in an apartment together in Austin, where they had windows that wouldn't shut, and a landlord that didn't care. To prove to the landlord the dangerousness of the situation, the two broke into their own apartment and reported it to the police. The landlord, unmoved, still did not fix the windows, saying the break-in looked like an "inside job."

BOTTLE ROCKET provided Luke Wilson's first onscreen kiss, with Lumi Cavazos, who is best known for her role in LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE.

The film also features Luke and Owen Wilson's brother, Andrew, who appears as Futureman.

The prison at the end of the movie is called Wasco State Penitentiary, after the production designer of the film, David Wasco.

James Caan's real-life teacher and master of karate, Takayuki Kubota, played Rowboat (Mr. Henry's karate instructor) in the film. The scene where Kubota is seen wearing only underwear was shot under Caan's protest, who said that it was inappropriate for a "holy man" to be shown in such a way.

BOTTLE ROCKET is named after the cheap, poorly made, and illegal fireworks that explode, but don't travel very far. As Anderson has said, "They are the kind of thing that could catch a garage on fire but a neighbor with a garden hose could put it out."

The film was based on Anderson's 13 minute short that was successfully screened at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. Writer L.M. Kit Karson brought the material to the attention of producer James L. Brooks, who made the project possible.

The film was shown out of competition at the 1996 Rotterdam Film Festival.

Wes Anderson was voted the 1996 Best New Filmmaker at the MTV Movie Awards for BOTTLE ROCKET.

The film is number seven on Martin Scorsese's list of the Top Ten films of the 1990s.

Excerpt: "Hey Anthony, don't try to save everybody okay?"--Dr. Nichols (Ned Dowd) to Anthony (Luke Wilson)

"So did you enjoy your first visit to the nuthouse?"--Anthony
"Hey, hey...shh, shh, shh. Come on. Be sensitive to the fact that other people are not comfortable talking about emotional disturbances. Um, you know, I am...I'm fine with that, but other people..."--Dignan (Owen Wilson)

"You haven't worked a day in your life, how could you be exhausted?"--Grace (Shea Fowler) to Anthony

"On the run from Johnny Law, it ain't no trip to Cleveland."--Dignan

"Why is there tape on your nose?"--Bob (Robert Musgrave)
"Exactly!"--Dignan

"It's amazing how close you can get to a girl when you're not allowed to talk to her."--Anthony

"Man, I blew it. I blew it, man."--Kumar (Kumar Pallana)
"Kumar, what were you doing in the freezer?"--Anthony
"I don't know, man, I lose my touch, man."--Kumar
"Did you ever have a touch to lose, man?"--Dignan

DVD Features:

2-Disc Set
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes (11)
Documentary: THE MAKING OF BOTTLE ROCKET
Audio Commentary: Wes Anderson, Co-Writer; Owen Wilson
Featurette:
1. BOTTLE ROCKET Short film From 1992
2. MURITA CYCLES - 1978 Short Film by Braverman
Text/Photo Galleries:
Anamorphic Screen Test
Art Work - Original Artwork by Ian Dingman
Photo - Behind The Scenes / Location Photos by Laura Wilson
Storyboards
The Shafrazi Lectures, no. 1: Bottle Rocket
Additional Products:
Booklet - Appreciation by Martin Scorsese
Booklet - Essay by James L. Brooks, Executive Producer

Distributor Notes: Wes Anderson first illustrated his lovingly detailed, slightly surreal cinematic vision in this witty and warm portrait of three young middle-class misfits. Fresh out of a mental hospital, gentle Anthony (Luke Wilson) finds himself once again embroiled in the machinations of his best friend, elaborate schemer Dignan (Owen Wilson). With the aid of getaway driver Bob (Robert Musgrave), they develop a needlessly complex, mildly successful plan to rob a small bookstore--then go "on the lam." Also featuring Lumi Cavazos as Inez, the South American housekeeper Anthony falls in love with, and James Caan as local thief extraordinaire Mr. Henry, Bottle Rocket is a charming, hilarious, affectionate look at the folly of dreamers. Shot against radiant southwestern backdrops, it's the film that put Anderson and the Wilson brothers on the map.

Source: Image Entertainment Inc.

Luke Wilson: Actor
Owen Wilson: Actor, screenwriter, THE WEDDING CRASHERS, MEET THE PARENTS
Robert Musgrave: Actor
James Caan: American Director, actor, THE GODFATHER (1972)
Andrew Wilson: Star, brother of Luke and Owen Wilson (of RUSHMORE fame)
Lumi Cavazos: Mexican Actress, LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE
Jim Ponds: ACTOR

Wes Anderson: Director/Screenwriter

Polly Platt: Designer/Producer/Writer
Cynthia Hargrave: PRODUCER

Wes Anderson: Director/Screenwriter
Owen Wilson: Actor, screenwriter, THE WEDDING CRASHERS, MEET THE PARENTS

Mark Mothersbaugh: Film and TV Composer, RUSHMORE (1998)

David Moritz: EDITOR\"SLEEP WITH ME"

"...[A] funny, low-budget sleeper....This movie is like a bottle rocket itself: a big bang for the money..." -- 3 out of 4 stars
"...Entertaining....The big-sky minimalism of the film's visual style is attractively spare....Mr. Anderson has chosen the right actors..."
"Wes Anderson's comic tale of wannabe criminals still seems fresh..." -- Grade: A-
"...A sharply funny and touching first feature that tests the bonds of buddyhood..."
"...A confident, eccentric debut....BOTTLE ROCKET is wryly amusing from beginning to end..."
"...Full of surprising warmth and charm, unexpected plot turns and droll characters that bounce off each other in refreshing ways..."