Killer of the flower Moon is a 2023 American epic crime film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese, who co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth, based on the 2017 book of the same name by David Grann. The plot revolves around a series of murders in Oklahoma on the Osage Nation in the 1920s, committed after oil was discovered on tribal lands.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone, and stars Jesse Plemons, Trent Cardinal, John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser. It is the sixth film collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio and the tenth between Scorsese and De Niro.
Development of the film began in March 2016, when Imperative Entertainment won the film rights to the book. Scorsese and DiCaprio were attached to the film in 2017, with production initially scheduled to begin in early 2018. After several setbacks and delays in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, production was scheduled to begin in February 2021, with Apple TV+ confirming to finance and distribute the film together with Paramount Pictures.
Principal photography took place in Osage County and Washington County between spring and fall of 2021. The film is produced by Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions and DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions and has a budget of $200 million, reportedly the largest amount ever spent on a film shot in Oklahoma.
Killers of the Flower Moon Info
Director: Martin Scorsese
Genre: Drama, Crime, History
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Writers: David Grann, Eric Roth
Killers of the Flower Moon Release Date
Killers of the flower Moon was scheduled to hit theaters in North America on October 20, 2023. The film will also be released in IMAX format. Killers of the flower Moon was previously scheduled to be released in limited edition on October 6, 2023, before hitting theaters across North America on October 20. The film had its world premiere on May 20, 2023 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened out of competition.
Killers of the Flower Moon Plot
Killer of the Flower Moon tells the story of the conspiracy to kill almost sixty members of the Osage tribe from 1921 to 1925. In the second half of the 19th century, the Osage Indian tribe of Oklahoma received the right to benefit from the huge oil deposits on Earth. The tens of millions of dollars earned by the Osage people alone meant that the Osage nation was considered one of the richest nations in the world.
The wealth made the federal government nervous enough to appoint Caucasian guardians to “help” with financial management, and caused murderous envy among other communities that did not consider him wealthy. And in 1921, these bad feelings soon led to violence, when the body of a rich woman from Osage was found in the forest. By 1925, at least sixty wealthy members of the Osage tribe had died.
The FBI was involved in the investigation and was led by Agent Tom White, who uncovers a complex conspiracy of local rancher William Hale to gain control of Osage Oil. Hale had even convinced his nephew Ernest Burkhart to marry Mollie Kile, an Osage-born woman, to improve his claim to the land. Probably, it is safe to say that this story of racism, murder, betrayal and greed under Scorsese’s direction will become a gloomy, exciting film.
Will Killers of the Flower Moon be in Theaters or on Streaming?
Since Apple is involved, you wouldn’t be too outlandish to expect the movie to be released in theaters and on Apple TV+ day and date. Fortunately, the tech giant is working with Paramount to give the film an exclusive theatrical release on October 20th. As many may remember, Netflix distributed Martin Scorsese’s latest film The Irishman in November 2019 and gave the film a limited theatrical release a few weeks before its release on the streaming service.
Apple and Paramount want to give Killers of the Flower Moon a much longer theatrical window, and it will probably be much easier to find it in theaters than The Irishman. Paramount was originally willing to distribute the film itself, but budget concerns prompted Scorsese and the studio to seek a partnership with a streamer, with the two main competitors being Netflix and Apple, with the latter acquiring the film.
Killers of the Flower Moon Official Trailer
This is the line of dialogue that Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart repeats in the first teaser trailer for Killers of the flower Moon, which Apple TV released on its YouTube channel on May 18, 2023. The teaser trailer lasts just under two minutes and is narrated by DiCaprio with a southern accent, who tells about the origins of the Osage tribe.
The full trailer for Killers of the flower Moon was released on the Apple TV YouTube channel on July 5, 2023. The trailer is much more rich in dialogue than previous trailers and highlights the intrigues of Ernest Burkhart and William Hale, who form a conspiracy with murder to steal money from the Osage Nation.
The second full trailer for Killers of the flower Moon offers even more details about the plot of the film and gives us an insight into some of the most dramatic moments.
On September 25, a new feature Killers of the flower Moon was released, which takes a look behind the scenes of film history with Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese. See it right here:
Killers of the Flower Moon Cast
With Scorsese signed on to direct, he brought some familiar faces on board-most notably, his longtime muses and collaborators on projects, Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
- Leonardo DiCaprioas Ernest Burkhart
- Robert De Niroas William Hale
- Lily Gladstoneas Mollie Burkhart
- Tantoo Cardinalas Lizzie Q
- John Lithgowas Prosecutor Leaward
- Brendan Fraseras W. S. Hamilton
- Jesse Plemonsas Tom White
When and Where Did Killers of the Flower Moon Film?
Filming of Killers of the flower Moon began in Oklahoma in April 2021. Scorsese released the following statement about the beginning of filming:
How Runtime Is Killers of the Flower Moon?
Many of Scorsese’s films had epic runtime, for example, the Irishman ran for 3 hours and 29 minutes, and the Wolf of Wall Street ran for 3 hours. Killer of the flower Moon will be Scorsese’s second longest film to date with a runtime of 3 hours and 26 minutes.
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