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 35 wins & 55 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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

In 1977, sex was safe, pleasure was a business, and business was booming.

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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

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, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$26,400,640

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,700,954

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:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vincent Gallo turned down the role of Dirk.

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Goofs

(around 1:09:45) During the New Years Eve scene, Todd Parker can be clearly seen walking directly in front of the couple having a discussion at the table, holding a beer and without his jacket socializing like he's been there awhile. Fast forward to 1:12:00, Todd enters the scene and recognizes Reed and they start talking, and it's obvious that he had just arrived, wearing a different shirt and a jacket.

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Quotes

Dirk: Yeah, well this is imported Italian nylon.

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Crazy Credits

The title is shown on a movie theater marquee in the opening shot.

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Alternate Versions

The scene where Becky Barnett calls Dirk when her husband abuses her and Dirk smashes his car in an accident has been included on the new 2-disc DVD set.

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Connections

Referenced in Honest Trailers: Transformers: The Last Knight (2018)

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Soundtracks

Craft Service Theme
Written by Jon Brion (as J. Brion)
Performed by Jon Brion, Brian Kehew, Robin Sharp and Audrey Wiechman

User Reviews

Fantastic use of camerawork and of pop culture, get ready for a movie that will make you laugh, tense, cry, and make you squeamish

Boogie Nights is an excellent picture. You don't have to have be a part of the whole 70's scene either to appreciate it. The title is very misleading to some who do not generally read reviews beforehand. This movie is an exhilerating piece on a late 70's-early 80's porn star. Yes, it sounds like a very simple plot and much gratutious sex. But it's so much more. While you may be thrown off by the violence and the sexuality Boogie Nights is nowhere near pointless. It features great acting all across the board-even Reynolds is very sympathetic. Some advice though, seeing this movie more than once is a good idea. It grows on you. This movie takes you to the deep down threshold of your heart. It shows you the rise of a porn star and the downhill spiral that follows it. Even in some of the sleaziest of characters can a human being be reached out to. Rent this one tonight - and who cares about all that talk about the use of prosthetics anyway. This is the pulp fiction of the 70's porn industry, "a low class subject made in a high class way".