Kids (film)

Kids
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLarry Clark
Written byHarmony Korine
Produced byCary Woods
Starring
CinematographyEric Edwards
Edited byChristopher Tellefsen
Music by
Production
companies
  • Independent Pictures
  • The Guys Upstairs
  • Killer Films
  • Shining Excalibur Films
  • Kids NY Limited
Distributed byShining Excalibur Films
Release dates
  • May 17, 1995 (1995-05-17) (Cannes)
  • September 1, 1995 (1995-09-01) (United States)
Running time
91 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million[2]
Box office$20.4 million[3]

Kids is a 1995 American drama film directed by Larry Clark in his directorial debut and written by Harmony Korine in his screenwriting debut.[4] It stars Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce and Chloë Sevigny in their film debuts. Fitzpatrick, Pierce, Sevigny, and other newcomers including Rosario Dawson portray a group of teenagers in New York City. They are characterized as hedonists, who engage in sexual acts and substance abuse, over the course of a single day.

Ben Detrick of the New York Times has described the film as "Lord of the Flies with skateboards, nitrous oxide and hip-hop... There is no thunderous moral reckoning, only observational detachment."[5] The film caused controversy upon its release in 1995 over its treatment of the subject matter. It received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, but was released without a rating. Critical response was mixed, and the film grossed $20.4 million on a $1.5 million budget. It is now considered a cult classic.[6]

  1. ^ "Kids (18)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  2. ^ "Kids (1995)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  3. ^ "Kids (1995) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  4. ^ "Kids". Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved January 12, 2007 – via Harmony-Korine.com.
  5. ^ Detrick, Ben (July 21, 2015). "'Kids,' Then and Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  6. ^ Kramer, Gary M. (June 12, 2021). "Revisiting the ethics of cult favorite "Kids" 26 years later through a new documentary". Salon. Retrieved March 11, 2024.