Boogie Nights (1997)

The story of a young man's adventures in the Californian pornography industry of the 1970s and 1980s.

Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Writer:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars:

Luis Guzmán, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 27 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luis Guzmán	...	Maurice TT Rodriguez (as Luis Guzman)
Burt Reynolds	...	Jack Horner
Julianne Moore	...	Amber Waves
Rico Bueno	...	Hot Traxx Waiter
John C. Reilly	...	Reed Rothchild
Nicole Ari Parker	...	Becky Barnett
Don Cheadle	...	Buck Swope
Heather Graham	...	Rollergirl
Mark Wahlberg	...	Eddie Adams / Dirk Diggler
William H. Macy	...	Little Bill
Samson Barkhordarian	...	Hot Traxx Chef
Nina Hartley	...	Little Bill's Wife
Brad Braeden	...	Big Stud
Joanna Gleason	...	Dirk's Mother
Lawrence Hudd	...	Dirk's Father

Storyline

Eddie Adams would have been just another high-school drop-out had he not met the likes of adult film director Rick Horner. Horner transforms Eddie into Dirk Diggler, a rising-star actor with a special gift. Set in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the film is a tribute to the decor, style, culture, and social attitudes of the era.

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Plot Keywords:

1970s | 1980s | actor | porn industry | drugs | 

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Taglines:

Everyone has one special thing

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sex scenes with explicit dialogue, nudity, drug use, language and violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pushing Thirteen

Filming Locations:

Gourmet Video, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

DEM 265,943 (Germany) (5 June 1998)

Gross:

DEM 265,943 (Germany) (5 June 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Lawrence Gordon Productions, Ghoulardi Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character William H. Macy portrays is loosely based on porn actor Cal Jammer, since Macy's character catches his wife having sex with several different men at various parties and/or porn shoots. In real life Jammer was very jealous--his girlfriend Adrien (aka Jill Kelly) was having a secret relationship with actress P.J. Sparxx and another with a male porn actor. Jammer later shot himself in the head on Kelly's front lawn.

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Goofs

When Amber and her ex-husband met with the judge over custody in September of 1983, there were portraits of President Ronald Reagan and Governor Jerry Brown on the wall. Brown was governor from January 1975 to January 1983, and George Deukmejian had been governor for several months by the time this scene took place.

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Quotes

Dirk: I wanna fuck. It's my fucking big dick. Who wants to fuck?

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Crazy Credits

Towards the end of the credits, Mark Wahlberg's character speaks.

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Connections

References Goodfellas (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Silent Night"
(1818) (uncredited)
Music by Franz Gruber
Background music at Christmas

User Reviews

Another Academy snub!

This is not so much of a review as it is a testament that it has been proven, yet again, that the Academy rewards money, not artistic accomplishment. And I must say I am saddened that this usually artistic and intelligent band of imbd members have left this off the top 250. Boogie Nights is powerful, raw, and gutsy through script, direction and acting. Very few movies can claim this triple crown.