Strange Days (1995)

A former cop turned street-hustler accidentally uncovers a police conspiracy in 1999 Los Angeles.

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Writers:

James Cameron (story), James Cameron (screenplay),

Stars:

Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Fiennes	...	Lenny Nero
Angela Bassett	...	Lornette 'Mace' Mason
Juliette Lewis	...	Faith Justin
Tom Sizemore	...	Max Peltier
Michael Wincott	...	Philo Gant
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Burton Steckler
Glenn Plummer	...	Jeriko One
Brigitte Bako	...	Iris
Richard Edson	...	Tick
William Fichtner	...	Dwayne Engelman
Josef Sommer	...	Palmer Strickland
Joe Urla	...	Keith
Nicky Katt	...	Joey Corto
Michael Jace	...	Wade Beemer
Louise LeCavalier	...	Cindy 'Vita' Minh

Storyline

Set in the year 1999 during the last days of the old millennium, the movie tells the story of Lenny Nero, an ex-cop who now deals with data-discs containing recorded memories and emotions. One day he receives a disc which contains the memories of a murderer killing a prostitute. Lenny investigates and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of blackmail, murder and rape. Will he survive and solve the case?

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Plot Keywords:

murder | police | prostitute | memory | rape | 

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Taglines:

An extreme taste of reality.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for intense disturbing violence, sexuality and pervasive strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Días extraños

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$42,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$7,919,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lightstorm Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to DP Matthew F. Leonetti, the vast majority of the movie was shot at night, 77 nights of an 80-day shooting schedule, to be precise.

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Goofs

After Lenny and Max fight in the hotel room, and the glass doors are shattered, all the shattered glass appears to be swept neatly off to the side as Lenny is walking away,.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tick:

• you ready?

Lenny Nero: Yeah, boot it.

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Connections

Referenced in Nirvana (1997)

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Soundtracks

"New Eyes of Old"
Written by Eric Peterson, Chuck Billy
Performed by Testament
Courtesy of Antler-Subway

User Reviews

Engaging, but Uneven

Strange Days is an interesting film, with a great premise. It also happens to be well-executed, for the most part. The LA of the future (well, future back when it was released in 1995) is quite dystopian in nature, and Strange Days manages to present all facets of that using Taxi Driver-influenced car rides through the city while observing the chaos on the streets. In many ways, Strange Days manages to create a real-life and convincing future, and it feels like a true place, with things going on independently of the events in the movie, rather than feeling like a movie set.

Atmosphere aside, though, the movie has many strengths. The plot is intriguing, and it flows quite smoothly. A lot of the dialogue is really quite interesting and gives the movie a nice feel (not to mention the actors do a pretty good job with the material). The characters are three-dimension and interesting. While the beginning parts were somewhat disjointed (at least in terms of plot), they did serve as an excellent setup. When the movie was its best (during the middle parts) there is a frantic sense of urgency that really drives the picture along. It's a very entertaining movie, and it managed to form an emotional link with me - always a good sign.

Unfortunately, it kind of goes downhill after that. Strange Days ends up resorting to awfully cliche ideas, complete with plot elements seen a million times in movies before. All of this mars what could have been a real classic film. It's too bad that Cameron and Cocks had to resort back to this, since the movie has so many strengths and so many great things that it could have built on. While the movie is still above average, it just isn't as superb as it could have been. Nonetheless, Strange Days succeeds on many levels and is well worth watching.