Sliver (1993)

A woman moves into an exclusive New York City apartment building, which she soon discovers houses tenants with all manner of shocking secrets.

Director:

Phillip Noyce

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel), Joe Eszterhas (screenplay)

Stars:

Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, Tom Berenger

4 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
CCH Pounder	...	Lt. Victoria Hendrix
Nina Foch	...	Evelyn McEvoy
Keene Curtis	...	Gus Hale
Nicholas Pryor	...	Peter Farrell
Anne Betancourt	...	Jackie Kinsella
Tony Peck	...	Martin Kinsella
Frantz Turner	...	Doorman #1
Melvyn Kinder	...	Dr. Palme (as Dr. Melvyn Kinder)

Storyline

In a daring attempt to start afresh after a dead-end marriage, the successful book editor, Carly Norris, moves into her elegant new apartment on the twentieth floor of a high-tech Manhattan apartment building. Unbeknownst to her that the luxurious "sliver" building comes with a terrible history of unsolved grisly murders, Carly catches the eye of both the burned-out crime novelist, Jack Landsford, and the shyly charming video-game designer, Zeke Hawkins. However, as a mysterious voyeur watches the tenants' every move, yet another female neighbour dies. Could Norris be next?

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Plot Keywords:

masturbation | voyeurism | hidden camera | erotic thriller | spying on couple having sex | 

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Taglines:

You like to watch... don't you

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, and for language and violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was released 22 years before the dark erotic thriller Fifty Shades of Grey (2005) which is adapted from the novel by E.L. James. The film is about literature student (Dakota Johnson) whom interviews a mysterious handsome billionaire (Jamie Dornan) whom falls in love with her and they begin a torrid sexual affair and soon uncovers his dark secret. In this film, Carly, a book editor has a passionate and seductive love affair with the handsome Zeke whom is revealed as the apartment building's owner which he inherited a lot of money from his wealthy father and uncovers his shocking secrets.

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Goofs

In the dinner party scene, Jack Landsford, played by Tom Berenger, arrives at the party with slightly shorter hair than when he leaves. When he enters, his hair is trimmed tighter to his head, while when he leaves, his hair is definitely a tad longer on the sides, back, and bangs, enough to notice that this much hair would not grow in a matter of hours. This scene likely had a re-shoot.

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Quotes

Jack Landsford: You're a peeper! A peeper!

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Alternate Versions

European version features approx. four minutes of sex footage not present in R-rated US release (total running time 108 minutes) The longer version is available in the US as an unrated video.

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Connections

Referenced in Private Film 20: Tower (1995)

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Soundtracks

Slid
Performed by Fluke
Written by Michael Bryant, Michael Tournier & Jonathan Fugler
Courtesy of Circa Records Ltd./Virgin Records America, Inc.

User Reviews

At least it keeps you guessing....

"Sliver" was not nearly as bad as most reviewers have suggested, in my opinion. It may be true that Joe Eszterhas rehashes his basic formula one more time here - "Is the person with whom the hero/heroine gets sexually involved a murdered or an innocent victim, framed by someone else?" - but it's a formula that works, that grabs your attention instinctively. The plot is flimsy, yet inherently interesting. Maybe this thriller would've been tighter if the gratuitously protracted (and not very erotic) sex scenes had been trimmed down in length, but Baldwin is magnetic in his role and Sharon Stone, great to look at as always, also gives a decent performance; they both overshadow Tom Berenger who doesn't make even the slightest impression. (**)

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 May 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sliver

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,138,283, 23 May 1993

Gross USA:

$36,300,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$116,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Robert Evans Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (as Dolby Stereo SR)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1