AppleTV+ original film Killers of the Flower Moon was released October 20th, 2023.
#KillersoftheFlowerMoon hauled in $156.7M at the international box office.
rottentomatoes: 93%
metacritic: 89
imdb: 8.0
oscars: 10 nominations
golden globes: 1 win
SAG awards: 3 nominations
Ernest Burkhart
Ernest Burkhart murders several Native Americans at the behest of his superiors in rural Oklahoma.
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
1 nomination: 2024
“Yeah. Yeah. All right. Whose land is this, Henry? Brother. Thanks for writin’, huh? Some. Mm-hmm. Well, I was a– I was a cook in– in the infantry. I did. Yeah. Otis Griggs and the others, if… …if you remember. Well, saw more die from the flu but… my, my gut, it burst. They gave me a belt and told me not to do any heavy lifting. I know. Well, I do– I do love that money, sir. Call you ‘King?’ King. No. No. I’m sure, sir. I’m sure. Not that I know of. I did. I did. Mmm. As best I could.” — Ernest Burkhart
“Ah, you know I like women. That’s my weakness. Just white. just white, that I saw. Hmm. Red? You mean that kind of red? I like red. I like white. I like blue. I like all of ’em. Don’t matter to me. I’m greedy. I– I like the heavy ones. I like the heavy ones, pretty ones, soft, ones that smell good, you know. Oh. Oh, yeah, that’s good. That’s– that’s real good. No, sir. I w– I won’t. I won’t. No, sir. I won’t. Yes, sir. I won’t find that trouble. I won’t do stupid things. Course I do. I’m not– I’m not thick, sir. I’m– I’m– I’m strong.” — Ernest Burkhart
“Mmm. Read? Well, I can read. I– I can read, sir. Blackbird talk. Ma’am, you need a ride? That’s my bucket, right there. Gotta be careful. A lot of characters around here today. Hey, Kelsie Morrison! How you doing? You too. You too. Oh, pleased to meet you. Pleased to meet you. Sky People, right? Sky People? Oh. Whoo! No. No. Yep.” — Ernest Burkhart
“I know which one. Mollie. I know, Uncle, which one. I know her. I’ve bee– I’ve been driving her. Yeah. Oh. You want– you want me to see after her. She’s a regular customer of mine. I think she– she’s sweet on me too. Yeah. Full– full blood estate. Marrying kind? Uh, how do you mean?” — Ernest Burkhart
“They told me you was– you was going with Matt Williams for a time. Nah. Nah, I don’t talk too much. Just thinking who I gotta beat in this horse race, that’s all. Well, I’m a different kind of horse. What? What was that? I don’t know what you said, but it must’ve been Indian for ‘handsome devil.’ All right.” — Ernest Burkhart
“‘I am an Osage brave. A long time ago, we Osage took our name from Missouri and Osage Rivers. Ni-U-Kon-Ska, Children of the Middle Waters. ‘Move,’ said the Great White Father, from Missouri, from Arkansas, from Kansas. Finally, another strange land, Oklahoma, where famine walked by day and hungry wolves by night. Can you find the wolves in this picture? Osage weren’t ever part of the Five Civilized Tribes. Of the Five Civilized Tribes, the Cherokee, Chicasaw, Cohctaw, Creek and Seminole.’ Don’t move! Come on! Come on! Come on! I love money. I love money! Turn that card over! Boom! Come on! Do it! Take a chance! God! Shit!” — Ernest Burkhart
“‘Dawn was always a sacred time for prayers. They call the sun ‘Grandfather.’ The moon, ‘Mother.’ Fire, ‘Father.’ They call it the ‘Flower Moon’ when tiny flowers spread over the blackjack hills and the prairies. There are many. So many, it’s as if Wah-kon-tah looked down upon the earth, smiled, and sprinkled it with sugar candy. Wah-kon-tah means ‘God.’ You’re given your Osage name. It’s how you will be called into the next world. Your Osage name can never be taken away from you.'” — Ernest Burkhart
“Yeah. Don’t you want a bite of this? Can never be too sweet, now, can you? You live in this house just– just with your mother? Yes. Yes. You know him? Hmm. He’s a nice man. For what? Yes. Um, I– I live here. Oh. Uh, for my uncle. I work with him. Byron, that’s right. Byron. My brother? Who? Well, no. No, he’s– he’s the king of the Osage Hills. He’s the nicest man in the world. I know if you cross him what he could do. No, I’m– I’m my own man. I do my own work. I’m a businessman. Yeah, thanks. Here you go. Catholic. Oh, yes, um, I’ve been away. How come you don’t have a husband? I’m a man, and I want to know why a woman like you doesn’t have a husband. You know, you got– you got nice color skin. What– what color would you say that is? Well, I think it’s– I think it’s real pretty. You got nice color skin. You-you got– you got a nice house. I think you just pretend to be so severe. Bet you– I bet you got a soft belly on the inside there. Oh, you just called me a coyote, didn’t you? Coyote. Well, that money’s real nice. It’s real nice, especially if you’re lazy like me. I mean, I wanna sleep all day, and I wanna make a party when it’s dark. What’s so funny, hmm? Whiskey. I don’t like whiskey, I love whiskey. I think we should try some and find out. What? It’s good for the crops, that’s for sure.” — Ernest Burkhart
“Ernest. Ernest Burkhart. No, not again. Aw! You’re gonna marry me, Mollie. I want you to be my wife. Will you do that? I love this girl. Mollie. Uncle, I… I really do think she’s a lady.” — Ernest Burkhart
William Hale
Actor in a Supporting Role
1 nomination: 2024
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture – Drama
1 nomination: 2024
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
1 nomination: 2024
“Well, well, well. Our war hero has arrived. Welcome home, Ernest. Welcome home. It’s so good to see you again. I’m so glad you made it. Ernest, now, here’s your aunt Myrtle and your cousin, little Willie. Look how big she’s grown. Isn’t that something?”
“Now, this is a cattle ranch. There’s no oil here. No oil? Yeah. No oil, no fear, so I’m settled with no fear. Time will run out. This wealth will run dry, drier than the seven years of famine that plagued the pharaohs of old. They’re a sick people. They’re kindly people, big-hearted people, but they’re sickly. What about you? You see bloodshed? Mm-hmm. You see Kelsie Morrison? He was over there. Soldiers have to eat. You fed the soldiers that won the war. Mmm. So what happened to your stomach? Mmm, mmm. You almost lost your life. Well, you made a good choice coming back here, ’cause here– money lows freely here, now. Don’t call me ‘sir.’ You call me ‘Uncle,’ or call me ‘King,’ like you used to. Remember? Yeah.”
“Now, you didn’t pick up any disease over there, did you? Sure? You keep that thing wrapped up over there? As best you could. Yeah. You like women? What kinds they got out there? Mm-hmm. You like red? Mm-hmm. Mmm. Well, we gotta keep an eye on you. You’re all over the place. Uh, speaking of that… hey, Byron. Yeah. Don’t get played out in the open with alcohol, you hear? ‘Cause then you’ll cause trouble. Right, Byron? Mmm. Now, most fellas out here are crooked. Some do things right, most do bad, so don’t be simple. Don’t make small trouble about nothing. You gonna make trouble, make it big. Get a big payoff for that, you hear? You see, I am officially reserve deputy sheriff in Fairfax. I don’t want to bring unwanted eyes. Yeah. And you got your head on straight after being over there?”
“Well, I got a place I’m gonna put you. That’ll be driving. ‘Cause you can’t do much else ’cause of your gut. You don’t read much, do you? Eh. Well, you smarten yourself up. Get him that book on the Osage, Byron. Yeah, that one. You smarten yourself up. The Osage. They have the worst land possible… …but the good Lord, he outsmarted everybody. The land had oil on it. Black gold. But they’re wise people. They worked it so as they had the say who gets the oil, who gets the headrights. The Osage are sharp. They don’t talk much, so that might make you feel like you’ve got to run your mouth to fill the space, especially you been drinking. Better you be quiet if you don’t got nothing smart to say. Don’t get caught on that. It’s what they call, ‘blackbird talk.’ Just ’cause they’re not talking, don’t mean they don’t know everything about everything. Yeah, Osage are the finest and most beautiful people on God’s earth.”
“You know who I mean when I say Mollie Kyle? You know the one, with the sisters. Yeah. Mollie. She lives with her mother, Lizzie. Driving her? Matt Williams used to go with her for a time. They’re not together in a way now, so that means you could have a proposition with that if that struck you. Yeah. That Mollie, she’s easy to like. Yeah. Full blood estate, at that, too. Full– full blood estate. Now, that’s something a man can work with, hmm? You got a good face, you know that? Think you can be the marrying kind? Mm-hmm. Well, we mix these families together, and that estate money flows the right direction, it’ll come to us. That’s a full blood estate. And she gets that money of the mother Lizzie. Now, that’s good business there. And legal, not against the law. That’s smart investment.”
“Can you stand her kind? Well, then you found a wife. I’ve known Mollie and her sisters since they were little girls running around, making a lot of trouble. Mollie’s dear departed father, Nah-kah-e-se-y, was a dear, dear friend of mine, a beloved friend of the heart. He always used to tell the white men just to call him Jimmy, but I always called him by his proper name, Nah-kah-e-se-y. We had a great respect for each other.”
Mollie Burkhart
Actress in a Leading Role
1 nomination: 2024
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
1 win: 2024
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1 nomination: 2024
“John Whitehair, age 23. No investigation. Bill Stepson, age 29. No investigation. Anna Sanford, age 41. No investigation. Rose Lewis… age 25. No investigation. And Sara Butler, age 21. Suicide. I’m Mollie Kyle. Incompetent. Two hundred eighty-five. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I have a prescription at Fairfax Drugs. I’ll send my help to fill twice monthly. Yes, Mr. Beaty. Yes. Middle Water. Middle Water. You got money on this race? Let’s go, then.”
“You know, Father, just as stubborn as ever. Thank you, Father.”
“You talk too much. I didn’t realize this was a race. I don’t care for watching horses. That’s how you are.”
“Here. Put this on. Hmm. You want dinner? I got too much sugar. It makes me sickly. I take care for her. And you live with your uncle? Mmm. Since I can remember. Why did you come here? To live here. Why? Mmm. And your brother is Bryan? You scared of him? Your uncle. Mmm. What’s your religion? Mmm. You don’t come to church. Hmm. My color. Coyote wants money. Mmm. You like peh-tseh nee? Mmm. I have good whiskey, not bad whiskey. No, no. No. No, don’t close it. Uh, we– we need to be quiet for a while. The storm, it’s, uh… well, it’s powerful. So we need to be quiet for a while. Just be still.”
“He’s not that smart… …but he’s handsome. No, he looks like Coyote. Those Blue Eyes. Oh! Of course he wants money… …but he wants to be settled. He’s not restless.”
“Slow down. Your hand looks on my skin…”
Byron Burkhart
“Good to have you back, brother. That’s right, King. This one?”
“All right, let’s go. Come on. You remember Blackie Thompson? You like these? Goddamn!”
Henry Roan
“Ernest! Ernest Burkhart? Henry. Henry Roan. I’m taking you to your uncle Hale. Come on. Let’s go. This is us, right here. My land. My land.”
“How much? $40? All right. I got $35 cash for you right now. Take it or leave it.”
Osage County
“Tomorrow we will bury this one This Pipe Person. Our messenger to Wah-kon-tah. It is time to bury this Pipe with dignity… …and put away its teachings. The children outside listening… …they will learn another language. They will be taught by white people. They will learn new ways… …and will not know our ways.”
“There we go.”
“We’ll take one. In that color.”
“Your name is Sun Hawk Woman.”
“He looks like a snake. His brother is handsome, too. I like the brother more. That red haired rat? Better than your possum playing dead… …and lazing around the house. He’s a possum around you… …he’s like a rabbit to me. Be quiet…! …Coyote’s watching. He wants our money. His Uncle has money… …it’s not money he wants… … he loves you.”
“Mollie. Ernest.”
Oklahoma
“Phillips Oil workmne, right here. Kraceon Oil pipeline crew, over here. Burbank Oil Field, over here. Marland Oil! Rock hounds for Phillips Oil, this truck. Make it rich. You can make it rich. Make it rich. You can make it rich. Make it rich. Right here. Phillips Oil workmen! Come on, stop!”
“Welcome. It’s so good to see you.”
“State your name. What is your allotment number? You’ve asked for addition moneys for $752 to pay a medical bill for an abscess. Was the operation successful? And the diabetes? You gotta look out for that, you know. Now, Mollie, it’s your mother. You know she’s restricted too, so we have to account for every penny. It says here she spent $319 and 05 cents for meat at the grocery. Don’t you think that’s an awful lot of meat for what she needs? Well, you’ll look after that, won’t you?”
“All right, people. Let’s form a line here for allotment payments. Unrestricted only. Restricted, take your guardian. He has to be with you to sign your checks. You need to find your guardian. Nothing new this time, folks. Thirty-dollar photo for posterity. Don’t you wanna preserve your family history? Come on. How about you, sir? You– now, don’t go after him. He don’t know nothing. He’s an amateur. You need a proper photo for you and your family. For you, sir? $40. For you, sir? $40. $40. Thirty-five’s a deal. Let’s have it, get it done. Y’all are gonna make a pretty picture. Y’all, come on this way, over here.”
“My wife’s been feeling poorly. The doctor says it’s her constitution. The boy’s got asthma. His asthma’s holding him back. He just needs a chance. You’ve got your checks. You’re unrestricted. Please. Thank you. Thank you! I’ll tell you what, you run out of gas, you get a flat tire, you come right on back and buy another. Thank you. Hey, Ernest! We were at the front together in France. Hey! Great to see you! My wife, Catherine Cole. Full blood. Lot of money on this.”
“I’m sorry to hear she’s not doing good. Tell your mom I’m praying for her, okay? Take care. Yeah.”
“Howdy, boys! Ooh, that rock still shines in the dark, boys. Give me that. Just take the car. Don’t take my ring. My father gave it to me. Don’t want the car. Just want the jewels. Y’all didn’t do nothing to earn this anyway. Got some rich Indians, boys!”
“I’m going all in, boys! What are you thinking, Ernest? No. That’s crazy, Ernest! Yeah! Hell yeah! Fairfax horseshit right there, boy. Queen gets the jewels.”
“Bill Smith. Bill Smith. Good to meet you, Ernest. I’m Minnie’s husband. It might make you feel a little better if you eat something.”