Boogie Nights (1997)

The story of a young man's adventures in the Californian 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 | nightclub | pornography | masturbation | 

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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

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

Dirk's first character is named John, a reference to real-life porn legend John Holmes, upon whom Dirk's character was based. Dirk mentioned that he had just came back from the Marines; Holmes spent some time in the Army.

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Goofs

When Jack Horner walks through the kitchen, a 5-gallon white bucket has a warning label on the side that first appeared in the early 1990s.

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Quotes

Little Bill: [while shooting a scene, Dirk ejaculated inside Amber] We missed the cum shot. He came inside her. Maybe we could go to stock footage, or...
Jack Horner: Are you crazy? It won't match!
Dirk: Jack? I can do it again if you need a closeup.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Referenced in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

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Soundtracks

It's Just a Matter of Time
Written by Clyde Otis, Brook Benton and Belford Hendricks
Performed by Brook Benton
Courtesy of Mercury Records
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing

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".