Killers of the Flower Moon is based on the real-life Osage Nation murders, which occurred in the early 1920s in Osage County, Oklahoma. Fans can be able to watch the movie in theaters globally starting from the 20th of October, 2023. The movie will subsequently be released on Apple TV+ after the theatrical run.
Directed by Martin Scorsese and featuring the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro, Killers of the Flower Moon is already poised to be one of the most notable film releases in 2023.
What Is Killers of the Flower Moon About?
Killers of the Flower Moon centers on the federal investigations into the mysterious murder of several members of the Osage Nation (a Native American group) in the 1920s. Not less than 60 individuals were killed, but the local enforcement authorities in Osage County, Oklahoma, never pursued the investigation with the seriousness it deserved.
Local tribal chiefs then had to invite the BOI (Bureau of Investigation, which is the forerunner of the FBI) in, and what they uncovered showed that there was nothing random about the killings.
Killers of the Flower Moon was directed by the renowned Martin Scorsese and has been in deveopment since 2016. It premiered for select audiences at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023, and received an 11-minute ovation after screening. This shows that fans are in for a treat.
Is Killers of the Flower Moon Based on a True Story?
Killers of the Flower Moon is actually based on real-life occurrences, i.e., the mysterious murder of many Native Americans of the Osage Nation in the early 1920s and the investigations that eventually unearthed the killers. For some context, the Osage nation is a nation of Native Americans in Oklahoma. Back in 1987, crude oil was discovered on their land, and oil drilling started in earnest.
The U.S. Department of Interior managed the leases for the oil production activities and gave members of the Osage Nation head rights. They were thus paid handsomely for the oil exploration on their land. The money, running into tens of millions of dollars each year, was paid to the community. They then had the power to distribute it amongst themselves according to each person’s landholding.
By 1920, the Osage Nation were amongst the richest groups of people on earth thanks to their oil wealth. They were able to send their children to school. They were able to drive cars and embark on trips to Europe. They lived the good life and soon attracted the attention of several people. Amongst them were Caucasian men like William Hale.
Hale (portrayed by Robert DeNiro) and other white men knew that they could inherit the land holdings of some Osage people by either becoming their legal guardians or marrying into their family and then killing them off. They thus began doing this in earnest. In one of several plots, Hale convinced his nephew, Ernest Burkhart (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), to marry a Native American lady, Mollie Burkhart Cobb (played by Lily Gladstone).
He then set about killing her sisters, her brother-in-law, her mother, her cousin, etc. As each of these persons died, Mollie inherited their landholding rights. The plan between Ernest and Hale was to kill Mollie off so that they would get everything. They gave her poisoned alcohol, and she became quite weak. Her saving grace was that by then, federal investigation had commenced into the murder of several Osage people.
Mollie realized that she was being poisoned at home and stopped taking drinks given to her by her husband. She survived while he and his uncle and several others involved in the plot were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Killers of the Flower Moon Trailer
Killers of the Flower Moon has two official trailers. The first trailer is tagged a teaser trailer and was released on 18 May 2023. It is 1 minute 51 seconds long. It has many action sequences but little dialogue to go along with it. The second official trailer of Killers of the Flower Moon aired on 5 July 2023. It has much more dialogue to go with the action.
DeNiro’s voice can be heard narrating that the Osage Nation outsmarted others to claim land with oil known as black gold. DiCaprio his faithful disciple, can be seen taking in every word and getting ready to execute them after becoming romantically involved with Mollie. The second trailer is 2 minutes and 24 seconds long.
Killers of the Flower Moon Release Date
Killers of the Flower Moon will be released in theaters worldwide on the 20th of October, 2023. The initial plan by the production companies, Paramount and Apple TV was to first release it in select theaters in the U.S. on 6 October 2023, but they later decided against that.
Fans all over the world will now get the opportunity to see the film at the same time. Meanwhile, the first set of public audiences that saw Killers of the Flower Moon were attendees at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was screened there on the 20th of May 2023.
Killers of the Flower Moon Characters
- Ernest Burkhart – Leonardo DiCaprio
- William Hale – Robert De Niro
- Mollie Burkhart – Lily Gladstone
- Tom White (BOI investigating agent) – Jesse Plemons
- Lizzie Q (Mollie’s Mom) – Tantoo Cardinal
- Prosecutor Leaward – John Lithgow
- W.S. Hamilton (Hale’s lawyer) – Brendan Fraser
- Anna Brown (Mollie’s sister) – Cara Jade Myers
- Reta (Mollie’s cousin) – JaNae Collins
- Minnie (Mollie’s sister) – Jillian Dion
- Bill Smith – Jason Isbell
- Henry Roan (Mollie’s brother-in-law) – William Belleau
Where Can I Watch Killers of the Flower Moon?
Movie lovers can be able to watch Killers of the Flower Moon in theaters from the 20th of October, 2023. As pointed out above, the movie is getting a worldwide theatrical release that day. It will, therefore, not be a case of some people getting to watch it and others not getting to watch it.
Fans will also be able to watch Killers of the Flower Moon on the streaming platform Apple TV+. However, this will only be after the theatrical run of the movie. Movies typically have a theatrical run of about four weeks on average. Therefore, fans can look toward the end of November as the period when they can catch Killers of the Flower Moon online.
Will Killers of the Flower Moon Be On Netflix?
Killers of the Flower Moon won’t be on Netflix anytime in the near future. The streaming giants were actually asked to come in and put up some part of the production funds so as to be able to get production credits and distribution rights, but they turned it down. It was Apple TV that took it up, and as such, it is their platform that now has the rights to stream the movie after its theatrical run.
