Blue in the Face (1995)

Brooklyn Cigar Store is a neighborhood hangout in Brooklyn with Auggie Wren/H.Keitel as center. Some people are interviewed about Brooklyn, spiced up with statistics on Brooklyn.

Directors:

Paul Auster, Wayne Wang

Writers:

Paul Auster (situations), Wayne Wang (situations)

Stars:

Harvey Keitel, Lou Reed, Michael J. Fox

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lou Reed	...	Man with Strange Glasses
Michael J. Fox	...	Pete Maloney
Roseanne Barr	...	Dot (as Roseanne)
Mel Gorham	...	Violet
Jim Jarmusch	...	Bob
Lily Tomlin	...	Waffle Eater
Jared Harris	...	Jimmy Rose
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Tommy Finelli
Malik Yoba	...	Watch Man
José Zúñiga	...	Jerry (as Jose Zuniga)
Victor Argo	...	Vinnie
Stephen Gevedon	...	Dennis
The John Lurie National Orchestra	...	Street Band
Madonna	...	Singing Telegram
Sharif Rashed	...	Purse Snatcher

Storyline

Wayne Wang's follow-up movie to Smoke (1995) presents a series of improvisational situations strung together to form a pastiche of Brooklyn's diverse ethnicity, offbeat humor, and essential humanity. Many of the same characters inhabiting Auggie Wren's Brooklyn Cigar Store in Smoke (1995) return here to expound on their philosophy of smoking, relationships, baseball, New York City, and Belgian Waffles. Most of all, this is a movie about living life, off-the-cuff.

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Plot Keywords:

bare breasts | topless female nudity | husband wife relationship | cigar smoking | cigarette smoking | 

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Taglines:

Welcome to the planet Brooklyn.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and a scene of nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Every scene was filmed in ten-minute uninterrupted takes. The directors would hold up signs reading "Keep it up" or "Boring" for the actors and actresses instead of stopping the filming.

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Goofs

Dot bolts the store door to talk with Auggie, then leaves without unlocking it.

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Quotes

Man with Strange Glasses: Yes, I am smoking cigarettes and some of my friends have died of them, but I am not downing a quart of Scotch in fifteen minutes. Looked at that way, cigarettes are actually a health tool!

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Crazy Credits

Situations Created in collaboration with THE ACTORS

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Scarlet Letter/The Celluloid Closet/Jade/Blue in the Face/Les Miserables (1995)

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Soundtracks

God's Child
Performed by David Byrne and Selena
Written by David Byrne
Published by Moldy Fig Music (BMI)
David Byrne appears courtesy of Luaka Bop/Warner Brothers Records Inc.
Selena appears courtesy of EMI Latin Records

User Reviews

An understated, but brilliant film

Blue in the face is a follow up to 'Smoke' a film which I saw recently and very much enjoyed. I thought I'd give this one a try as well.

Like the first film (even more so) this is a collection of beautifully acted, largely improvised vignettes, involving the customers and general passers-by of the Brooklyn based cigar shop run by Auggie (Harvey Keitel). There is a lose storyline involving the relationship between Auggie and his girlfriend Violetta (brilliantly played by Mel Gorham) and the troubled marriage of Vinnie the storeowner and his wife. The store has been a part of the local community for years and when Vinnie gets a very good offer to sell up, it's bound to badly affect a lot of people.

The best moments of the film lie in the documentary style rambling of Brooklyn residents (including Lou Reed) as they describe what it means to them being part of the city, and also the brilliant monologues that some of the characters perform. There are moments of genius in this film. It is very funny in a very understated way, the assembled characters are all eccentric in their own way but totally believable. The dialogue is natural and you get to know and feel for the characters very quickly in to the movie.

I loved this film; I thought it was better than 'Smoke' a film I also liked. 'Blue in the Face' might be harder to get in to for some people, it's improvisational style and lack of structured story might put people off or make them think it's hard to follow, but it isn't. Don't try to make too much sense of what's going on you don't need to. Treat it as a series of snapshots in to the lives of a collection of colourful New Yorkers. Just sit back and watch the characters play out their lives, you'll very soon be engrossed by it.

It was an absolute delight to watch. Not for everyone maybe but definitely for me!

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blue in the Face

Filming Locations:

209 Prospect Park West and 16th Street, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$104,365, 15 October 1995

Gross USA:

$1,268,636

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,268,636

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, InterAL

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1