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[[Mick LaSalle]] of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' stated, "''Boogie Nights'' is the first great film about the 1970s to come out since the '70s ... It gets all the details right, nailing down the styles and the music. More impressive, it captures the decade's distinct, decadent glamour ... [It] also succeeds at something very difficult: re-creating the ethos and mentality of an era ... Paul Thomas Anderson ... has pulled off a wonderful, sprawling, sophisticated film ... With ''Boogie Nights'', we know we're not just watching episodes from disparate lives but a panorama of recent social history, rendered in bold, exuberant colors."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1997/10/17/DD67372.DTL |title='&#39;San Francisco Chronicle'&#39; review |publisher=SFGate.com |date=1997-10-17 |accessdate=2011-06-25 |first=Mick |last=LaSalle}}</ref>
[[Mick LaSalle]] of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' stated, "''Boogie Nights'' is the first great film about the 1970s to come out since the '70s ... It gets all the details right, nailing down the styles and the music. More impressive, it captures the decade's distinct, decadent glamour ... [It] also succeeds at something very difficult: re-creating the ethos and mentality of an era ... Paul Thomas Anderson ... has pulled off a wonderful, sprawling, sophisticated film ... With ''Boogie Nights'', we know we're not just watching episodes from disparate lives but a panorama of recent social history, rendered in bold, exuberant colors."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1997/10/17/DD67372.DTL |title='&#39;San Francisco Chronicle'&#39; review |publisher=SFGate.com |date=1997-10-17 |accessdate=2011-06-25 |first=Mick |last=LaSalle}}</ref>


[[Kenneth Turan]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called it "a startling film, but not for the obvious reasons. Yes, its decision to focus on the pornography business in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s and 1980s is nerviness itself, but more impressive is the film's sureness of touch, its ability to be empathetic, nonjudgmental and gently satirical, to understand what is going on beneath the surface of this raunchy ''Nashville''-esque universe and to deftly relate it to our own ... Perhaps the most exciting thing about ''Boogie Nights'' is the ease with which writer-director Anderson ... spins out this complex web. A true storyteller, able to easily mix and match moods in a playful and audacious manner, he is a filmmaker definitely worth watching, both now and in the future."{{Dead link|date=September 2011}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Boucher |first=Geoff |url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie971111-40,0,7782501.story |title=Los Angeles Times review |publisher=CalendarLive.com |accessdate=2011-06-25}}{{Dead link|date=September 2011}}</ref>
[[Kenneth Turan]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called it "a startling film, but not for the obvious reasons. Yes, its decision to focus on the pornography business in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s and 1980s is nerviness itself, but more impressive is the film's sureness of touch, its ability to be empathetic, nonjudgmental and gently satirical, to understand what is going on beneath the surface of this raunchy ''Nashville''-esque universe and to deftly relate it to our own ... Perhaps the most exciting thing about ''Boogie Nights'' is the ease with which writer-director Anderson ... spins out this complex web. A true storyteller, able to easily mix and match moods in a playful and audacious manner, he is a filmmaker definitely worth watching, both now and in the future."{{Dead link|date=September 2011}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Boucher |first=Geoff |url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie971111-40,0,7782501.story |title=Los Angeles Times review |publisher=CalendarLive.com |accessdate=2011-06-25 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/20081201084209/http://www.calendarlive.com:80/movies/reviews/cl-movie971111-40,0,7782501.story |archivedate=December 1, 2008 }}</ref>


[[Peter Travers]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' said, "[T]his chunk of movie dynamite is detonated by Mark Wahlberg ... who grabs a breakout role and runs with it ... Even when ''Boogie Nights'' flies off course as it tracks its bizarrely idealistic characters into the '80s ... you can sense the passionate commitment at the core of this hilarious and harrowing spectacle. For this, credit Paul Thomas Anderson ... who ... scores a personal triumph by finding glints of rude life in the ashes that remained after [[Watergate scandal|Watergate]]. For all the unbridled sex, what is significant, timely and, finally, hopeful about ''Boogie Nights'' is the way Anderson proves that a movie can be mercilessly honest and mercifully humane at the same time."<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/boogie-nights-19971010 "''Rolling Stone'' review"]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. Retrieved February 6, 2014.</ref>
[[Peter Travers]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' said, "[T]his chunk of movie dynamite is detonated by Mark Wahlberg ... who grabs a breakout role and runs with it ... Even when ''Boogie Nights'' flies off course as it tracks its bizarrely idealistic characters into the '80s ... you can sense the passionate commitment at the core of this hilarious and harrowing spectacle. For this, credit Paul Thomas Anderson ... who ... scores a personal triumph by finding glints of rude life in the ashes that remained after [[Watergate scandal|Watergate]]. For all the unbridled sex, what is significant, timely and, finally, hopeful about ''Boogie Nights'' is the way Anderson proves that a movie can be mercilessly honest and mercifully humane at the same time."<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/boogie-nights-19971010 "''Rolling Stone'' review"]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. Retrieved February 6, 2014.</ref>

Revision as of 07:00, 19 October 2015

This article is about the 1997 film. For the Heatwave song, see Boogie Nights (song). For the UK stage musical, see Boogie Nights (musical).

Boogie Nights
File:Boogie nights ver1.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaul Thomas Anderson
Written byPaul Thomas Anderson
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRobert Elswit
Edited byDylan Tichenor
Music byMichael Penn
Production
companies
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release date
  • October 10, 1997 (1997-10-10)
Running time
155 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[2]
Box office$43.1 million[2]

Boogie Nights is a 1997 American drama film written, produced and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher, Eddie Adams, who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, chronicling his rise in the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s through to his fall during the excesses of the '80s. The film is an expansion of Anderson's mockumentary short film The Dirk Diggler Story (1988).[3][4][5][6]

Plot

In 1977, Eddie Adams is a high school dropout who lives with his stepfather and emotionally abusive alcoholic mother in Torrance, California. He works at a Reseda nightclub owned by Maurice Rodriguez, where he is discovered by porn director Jack Horner, who auditions him by watching him have sex with Rollergirl, a porn starlet who always wears skates. After a heated argument with his mother about his girlfriend and sex life, Adams moves in with Horner at his San Fernando Valley home.

Adams gives himself the screen name "Dirk Diggler" and becomes a star because of his good looks, youthful charisma and unusually large penis. His success allows him to buy a new house, an extensive wardrobe and a "competition orange" 1976 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. He and his friend, porn star Reed Rothchild, pitch and star in a series of successful action-themed porn films.

Ostensibly, Dirk and the other characters he works and socializes with from the porn industry are all living carefree lifestyles in the late 70s disco era. However that changes at a New Year's Eve party at Horner's house marking the year 1980, when assistant director Little Bill Thompson discovers his porn star wife having sex with another man, shoots them with a gun and kills himself. Shortly afterward, Dirk and Reed begin using cocaine. Due to his drug habit, Dirk finds it increasingly difficult to achieve an erection, falls into violent mood swings, and becomes jealous of a new leading man whom Jack has recruited. After having an argument with Jack during a film shoot, Dirk is fired by Jack and he and Reed leave to pursue their dream of rock and roll stardom along with Scotty, a boom operator who is in love with Dirk.

Jack has previously rejected business overtures from Floyd Gondolli, a "theater" magnate in San Diego and San Francisco, who insists on cutting costs by shooting on videotape, because Jack believes videotape will diminish the quality of his films. However, after his main source of funding, Colonel James, is imprisoned for child pornography, Jack begins working with Floyd. Jack subsequently becomes disillusioned with the lack of scripts and character development in the projects Gondolli expects him to churn out. One of these projects involves him and Rollergirl riding in a limousine searching for random men for her to have sex with while a crew tapes it. When a man recognizes Rollergirl as a former high school student, he insults both her and Jack, who then beat him up and leave him bleeding and half-conscious on the street. Leading lady Amber Waves, who took Dirk under her wing when he joined Jack's stable of actors, finds herself in a custody battle with her former husband. The court determines she is an unfit mother, due to her involvement in the porn industry, prior criminal record and cocaine addiction. Buck Swope marries fellow porn star Jessie St. Vincent, who shortly thereafter becomes pregnant. Because of his past, Buck is disqualified from a bank loan which he needs to open his own stereo equipment store. One night, after stopping at a donut shop, Buck finds himself in the middle of a holdup during which the clerk, the robber and an armed customer are killed in the resulting shootout. Buck escapes with the money that the robber demanded.

Meanwhile, Dirk and Reed have become addicted to cocaine. Having squandered their money on drugs, they are unable to pay a recording studio for the demo tapes they believe will enable them to become music stars. Desperate for money, Dirk resorts to prostitution, but he is assaulted and robbed by a gang of thugs. Dirk, Reed and their friend Todd attempt to scam drug dealer Rahad Jackson by selling him a half-kilo of baking soda disguised as cocaine. Dirk and Reed wish to leave quickly before Rahad's bodyguard inspects the product, but Todd tries to rob Rahad and is killed in the ensuing gunfight. Frightened by his brush with death, Dirk reconciles with Jack. In 1984, Buck opens his own store and his son has been born, Amber shoots the TV commercial for Buck's store opening, Reed practices a successful magic act at a topless bar, Colonel James is the victim of beatings in prison and Rollergirl now lives at home with Jack. Dirk and Amber prepare to start filming again.

Cast

Production

Boogie Nights is based off a mockumentary short film that Anderson made, while he was still in high school called The Dirk Diggler Story.[3] He originally wanted the role of Eddie to be played by Leonardo DiCaprio, after seeing him in The Basketball Diaries. DiCaprio enjoyed the screenplay, but had to turn it down because he signed on to star in Titanic. DiCaprio recommended Mark Wahlberg for the role.[7] Joaquin Phoenix was also offered the role of Eddie, but turned it down due to concerns about playing a porn star. Phoenix would later collaborate with Anderson in the films, The Master and Inherent Vice.[8] Bill Murray, Harvey Keitel, Warren Beatty, Albert Brooks and Sydney Pollack declined or were passed up on the role of Jack Horner, which went to Burt Reynolds.[9] Star of Anderson's previous film Hard Eight, Samuel L. Jackson was initially offered the role of Buck Swope, but after reading the script, but turned it down because according to Anderson, "he didn't get it". The role was given to Don Cheadle. Anderson initially did not consider Heather Graham for the role of Rollergirl, because he had never seen her do nudity in a film. Graham's agent called Anderson asking if she could read for the part, which she won. Drew Barrymore and Tatum O'Neal were also up for the role.[9][7]

After having a very difficult time getting his previous film, Hard Eight released, Anderson laid down a hard law when getting Boogie Nights made. He initially wanted the film to be over three hours long and be rated NC-17. The film's producers, particularly Michael De Luca, said that the film had to be either under three hours or rated R. Anderson fought with them, saying that the film would not have a mainstream appeal no matter what. They did not change their minds, and Anderson chose the R rating as a challenge. Despite this, the film was still twenty minutes shorter than promised.[7]

Boogie Nights helped establish Wahlberg as a film actor; he was previously only known as the frontman of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch

Real life pornographic actresses Nina Hartley and Veronica Hart have cameos in the film. Hartley plays Little Bill's promiscuous wife and Hart plays the judge for Amber Waves' child custody case. Amber Waves custodial problems in the film were inspired by Hart's real life custodial problems over her son.[10]

Anderson and star Burt Reynolds did not get along while filming. After filming, Anderson considered Reynolds to star in his next film, Magnolia, but Reynolds became so angry with Anderson during the film's promotional tour, he turned it down.[11] After seeing a rough cut of the film, Reynolds became so upset that he fired his agent who recommended the film to him. Despite this, Reynolds won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.[12]

In his audio commentary on the New Line DVD release of his film, Anderson cites reporter Mike Sager’s article from Rolling Stone, “The Devil and John Holmes”, as a major influence.[13]

Reception

Reynolds received over ten accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. In addition, he won the Golden Globe Award for his performance

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was shown at the New York Film Festival, before opening on two screens in the U.S. on October 10, 1997. It grossed $50,168 on its opening weekend. Three weeks later, it expanded to 907 theaters and grossed $4,681,934, ranking #4 for the week. It eventually earned $26,400,640 in the U.S. and $16,700,954 in foreign markets for a worldwide box office total of $43,101,594.[14]

The film currently has 92% positive reviews on film review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, with 60 of 65 counted reviews giving it a "fresh" rating and an average rating of 8.1 out of 10.[15] On Metacritic, the film holds an average score of 85 out of 100, based on 28 reviews.[16]

Janet Maslin of The New York Times said, "Everything about Boogie Nights is interestingly unexpected," although "the film's extravagant 2-hour 32-minute length amounts to a slight tactical mistake ... [it] has no trouble holding interest ... but the length promises larger ideas than the film finally delivers." She praised Burt Reynolds for "his best and most suavely funny performance in many years" and added, "The movie's special gift happens to be Mark Wahlberg, who gives a terrifically appealing performance."[17]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times observed, "Few films have been more matter-of-fact, even disenchanted, about sexuality. Adult films are a business here, not a dalliance or a pastime, and one of the charms of Boogie Nights is the way it shows the everyday backstage humdrum life of porno filmmaking ... The sweep and variety of the characters have brought the movie comparisons to Robert Altman's Nashville and The Player. There is also some of the same appeal as Pulp Fiction in scenes that balance precariously between comedy and violence ... Through all the characters and all the action, Anderson's screenplay centers on the human qualities of the players ... Boogie Nights has the quality of many great films, in that it always seems alive."[18]

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle stated, "Boogie Nights is the first great film about the 1970s to come out since the '70s ... It gets all the details right, nailing down the styles and the music. More impressive, it captures the decade's distinct, decadent glamour ... [It] also succeeds at something very difficult: re-creating the ethos and mentality of an era ... Paul Thomas Anderson ... has pulled off a wonderful, sprawling, sophisticated film ... With Boogie Nights, we know we're not just watching episodes from disparate lives but a panorama of recent social history, rendered in bold, exuberant colors."[19]

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called it "a startling film, but not for the obvious reasons. Yes, its decision to focus on the pornography business in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s and 1980s is nerviness itself, but more impressive is the film's sureness of touch, its ability to be empathetic, nonjudgmental and gently satirical, to understand what is going on beneath the surface of this raunchy Nashville-esque universe and to deftly relate it to our own ... Perhaps the most exciting thing about Boogie Nights is the ease with which writer-director Anderson ... spins out this complex web. A true storyteller, able to easily mix and match moods in a playful and audacious manner, he is a filmmaker definitely worth watching, both now and in the future."[dead link][20]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said, "[T]his chunk of movie dynamite is detonated by Mark Wahlberg ... who grabs a breakout role and runs with it ... Even when Boogie Nights flies off course as it tracks its bizarrely idealistic characters into the '80s ... you can sense the passionate commitment at the core of this hilarious and harrowing spectacle. For this, credit Paul Thomas Anderson ... who ... scores a personal triumph by finding glints of rude life in the ashes that remained after Watergate. For all the unbridled sex, what is significant, timely and, finally, hopeful about Boogie Nights is the way Anderson proves that a movie can be mercilessly honest and mercifully humane at the same time."[21]

Soundtrack

Main article: Boogie Nights (soundtrack)

Two Boogie Nights soundtracks were released, the first at the time of the film's initial release and the second the following year.

Awards and nominations

The film received box success with Reynolds' depiction of Jack Horner garnered him twelve awards and three nominations, and Moore's depiction of Amber Waves garnered her six awards and nominations.

Moore received nominations for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance
Organization Category Nominee(s) Result
70th Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Burt Reynolds Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Julianne Moore Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
55th Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Burt Reynolds Won
Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Julianne Moore Nominated
51st British Academy Film Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role Burt Reynolds Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
4th Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, Luis Guzmán, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Thomas Jane, Ricky Jay, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Julianne Moore, Nicole Ari Parker, John C. Reilly, Burt Reynolds, Robert Ridgely, Mark Wahlberg, and Melora Walters Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Burt Reynolds Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Julianne Moore Nominated
2nd Golden Satellite Awards Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble Won
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Drama Burt Reynolds Won
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Drama Julianne Moore Won
Best Motion Picture – Drama Nominated
Best Director of a Motion Picture Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Best Motion Picture Screenplay – Original Nominated
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Mark Wahlberg Nominated
Outstanding Film Editing Dylan Tichenor Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best New Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson Won
British Independent Film Awards Best Foreign Independent Film – English Language Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Burt Reynolds Won
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards Best Cast Won
Best Supporting Actress Julianne Moore Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor Burt Reynolds Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
Best Supporting Actress Julianne Moore Won
New Generation Award Paul Thomas Anderson Won
National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actor Burt Reynolds Won
Best Supporting Actress Julianne Moore Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actor Burt Reynolds Won
Writers Guild of America Awards Best Original Screenplay Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated

See also

References

  1. ^ "BOOGIE NIGHTS (18)". British Board of Film Classification. October 28, 1997. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Box Office Mojo: Boogie Nights
  3. ^ a b McKenna, Kristine (October 12, 1997). "Knows It When He Sees It". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  4. ^ Waxman, Sharon R. (2005). Rebels on the backlot: six maverick directors and how they conquered the Hollywood studio system. HarperCollins. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-06-054017-3.
  5. ^ Hirshberg, Lynn (December 19, 1999). "His Way". NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  6. ^ Mottram, James (2006). The Sundance Kids : how the mavericks took back Hollywood. NY: Faber & Faber, Inc. p. 129. ISBN 9780865479678.
  7. ^ a b c Kirk, Jeremy. "37 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM THE 'BOOGIE NIGHTS' COMMENTARY". Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  8. ^ Brooks, Xan. "Joaquin Phoenix set to star in Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice". Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Zakarin, Jordan. "5 Things We Just Learned About 'Boogie Nights'". Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  10. ^ "Boogie Nights Trivia". Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  11. ^ Rowles, Dustin. "Paul Thomas Anderson Just Told the Most Amazing 'Boogie Nights' Story About Burt Reynolds". Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  12. ^ Brew, Simon. "10 actors who turned against their own films". Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  13. ^ Steven Lemons. "Return to Wonderland". Salon. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  14. ^ "Box Office Mojo". IMDb. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  15. ^ "Boogie Nights". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  16. ^ "Boogie Nights". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  17. ^ "''New York Times'' review". NYTimes.com. October 8, 1997. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  18. ^ "''Chicago Sun-Times'' review". RogerEbert.SunTimes.com. October 17, 1997. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  19. ^ LaSalle, Mick (October 17, 1997). "''San Francisco Chronicle'' review". SFGate.com. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  20. ^ Boucher, Geoff. "Los Angeles Times review". CalendarLive.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
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