Boogie Nights (1997)

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

Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Writer:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars:

Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 36 wins & 61 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luis Guzmán	...	Maurice t.t. 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

Adult film director Jack Horner is always on the lookout for new talent and it's only by chance that he meets Eddie Adams who is working as a busboy in a restaurant. Eddie is young, good looking and plenty of libido to spare. Using the screen name Dirk Diggler, he quickly rises to the top of his industry winning awards year after year. Drugs and ego however come between Dirk and those around him and he soon finds that fame is fleeting.

---

Plot Keywords:

porn industry | 1970s | adult entertainment industry | adult filmmaking | pornography | 

---

Taglines:

The life of a dreamer, the days of a business, and the nights in between.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Dirk" oil painting, originally sold in 2001 for $500, was re-sold by the owner, Ben Hove of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2017 for $3,000. This is the painting of the shirtless Dirk, with the blue background. The other Dirk painting from the movie, that shows Dirk with the colorful background, and wearing jeans, sold on the Heritage Auctions website in 2013 for $2,750.

---

Goofs

When Rahad is explaining that he likes to make mix tapes, he asks Cosmo which one they're listening to right now. They both agree that it's #11. The tape runs out, and when the camera shows a closeup of the tape auto-reversing, it's clearly labeled #6.

---

Quotes

Jack Horner: If it looks like shit, and it sounds like shit, than it must be shit.

---

Crazy Credits

End-credits are listed alphabetically

---

Alternate Versions

Network television version cut the last scene short before Dirk pulls out his penis.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: The Burning Hell (2016)

---

Soundtracks

Silent Night
(uncredited)
Music by Franz Xaver Gruber

User Reviews

Get Past The Theme And Watch It

Being Saturday evening (comedy night in our house),my wife and I sat down to watch a supposedly funny movie called "Boogie Nights". The only thing I had heard about it was that my sister-in-law told us not to see it because it was bawdy and she walked out, so right away I knew it was worth watching. This movie was nothing like we thought it was going to be like--it was a fantastic and quite involving drama, which deserved a few Oscars. The time frames from the early 70's to the mid 80's were flawless, and the "glamor" of the porn industry was effectively dispelled by the portrayal of the stars. One of the most memorable scenes of all times, in my opinion was the drug deal gone bad, the firecrackers, the guy in the bathrobe and the utter uneasiness of the deposed porn stars as we listened to "Jessie's Girl" and "Sister Christian". Burt Reynolds was great as Jack Horner, the director who made money with young energy and the coming trends, but realized he had to be "father" to all those aging stars who had nowhere else to go once the bright lights began to flicker and the money was getting thin.

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pushing Thirteen

Filming Locations:

16801 Encino Hills Drive, Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$50,168, 12 October 1997

Gross USA:

$26,400,640

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,101,594

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Lawrence Gordon Productions, Ghoulardi Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White (one shot) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1