Sliver (film)

Sliver
Directed by	Phillip Noyce
Produced by	Robert Evans
Screenplay by	Joe Eszterhas
Based on	Sliver by Ira Levin
Starring	Sharon Stone William Baldwin Tom Berenger Polly Walker C. C. H. Pounder Martin Landau Colleen Camp Nina Foch
Music by	Howard Shore
Cinematography	Vilmos Zsigmond
Editing by	Richard Francis-Bruce William Hoy
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	May 21, 1993
Running time	107 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Box office	$116,300,000

Sliver is a 1993 film based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York highrise apartment building. Phillip Noyce directed the film, from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas. Because of a major battle with the MPAA (which originally gave the film an NC-17 rating), the filmmakers were forced to make extensive reshoots before release. These reshoots actually necessitated changing the killer's identity. The film stars Sharon Stone, William Baldwin and Tom Berenger.

According to the movie, the tall and narrow sliver building is located at 113 East 38th Street in Manhattan, placing it at 38th Street and Park Avenue. The actual building used in the film is known as Morgan Court, located at 211 Madison Avenue New York, one block west and two blocks south of the fictional address. The building has since become a condominium development. It was built in 1985 and has 32 floors. While the movie made use of the building's courtyard, the lobby was a Los Angeles film set.

Synopsis

Carly Norris (Stone), 35, a book editor, moves into an exclusive New York residential building, not long after the previous tenant, Naomi Singer, falls to her death from her balcony. Soon she crosses paths with other tenants including the handsome Zeke (Baldwin).

A habitual masturbator, who climaxes when showering, Carly goes to a workout gym with Zeke, who begins to turn her on by grabbing her hips while doing exercise. They embark on a passionate affair, after which she discovers Zeke's secret, that he is the owner of the building. Carly is also being romantically pursued by Jack (Berenger), a novelist who is another resident of her building.

Two of Carly's neighbors (Keene Curtis, Polly Walker) die under suspicious circumstances. As she discovers more about Zeke and Jack, she begins to distrust both and also uncovers shocking secrets about other people who live around her. Carly eventually finds out that Jack killed Naomi due to his jealousy towards Zeke, whom she was dating. Zeke knew that Jack was the killer, but chose to ignore it, because it would expose his other secret -- that he has surveillance cameras allowing him to spy on every apartment, including hers.

The end credits shows that Carly destroys his surveillance room and all the videos are destroyed leaving him alone.

Principal cast

Actor/Actress	Role
Sharon Stone	Carly Norris
William Baldwin	Zeke Hawkins
Tom Berenger	Jack Landsford
Polly Walker	Vida Warren
Colleen Camp	Judy Marks
Amanda Foreman	Samantha Moore
Martin Landau	Alex Parsons
Nicholas Pryor	Peter Farrell
C. C. H. Pounder	Lt. Victoria Hendrix
Nina Foch	Evelyn McEvoy
Keene Curtis	Gus Hale
Allison Mackie	Naomi Singer

MPAA ratings issues

According to a Showtime special about the film prior to the late-night premier showing of the original NC-17 version, the debate over the NC-17 vs R rating was linked solely to the display of male frontal nudity. However, when Paramount released the unrated version to video there was no male frontal nudity included, though the sex scenes were considerably more graphic.

Home video releases

When originally released on VHS, the film was released in both an R-rated and an unrated version (the original NC-17 version). In March 2006, to coincide with the theatrical release of Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct sequel, Sliver was released on DVD, this time unrated only. There are no special features and although the film was presented theatrically in the 2.35 aspect ratio, the DVD features a matted, 2.10 aspect ratio transfer. The release also contained what some reviewers^{[citation needed]} have noted as an unusual amount of dirt and scratches for a film print that is only a little over a dozen years old, though the casual viewer is unlikely to detect anything errant. In May 2006 an R-rated for-rent-only version was released to rental outlets.

Reception

The film was heavily panned by critics and scores only 12% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also nominated for seven Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor (William Baldwin), Worst Actress (Sharon Stone), Worst Supporting Actor (Tom Berenger), Worst Supporting Actress (Colleen Camp) and Worst Screenplay, but failed to "win" any.

Box office

The movie debuted at No. 1 at the box office. By the second week the box office taking dropped to No.6. Sliver eventually grossed $36.3 million domestically and $80 million around the world to a total of $116.3 million worldwide.

References in other media

• The film was referenced in The Simpsons episode "Burns' Heir", as Mr. Burns has cameras in everyone's home in Springfield, and he claims, "I got the idea from that movie Sliver, what a delightful romp!"
• The film is referenced in rapper Nas' song "Take It in Blood" from his album It Was Written: "I told the judge snakes Sliver like Sharon Stone, but like Capone I'm thrown."
• The film is also referenced in Das EFX's (1995) song "Real Hip Hop": "When I get stoned like Sharon from Sliver".
• This film was referenced in the show I Shouldn't Be Alive - Escape From The Volcano. Two film crew members & their pilot nearly lost their lives shooting footage for this film which was ultimately never used.

See also

• Sliver (soundtrack)
• List of films featuring surveillance

External links

• Sliver at the Internet Movie Database
• Sliver at Box Office Mojo
• Purtell, Tim (1993-06-04). "All About the Watchtower". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2013-03-07.