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 & 60 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:

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

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film cast includes two Oscar winners: Julianne Moore and Philip Seymour Hoffman; and five Oscar nominees: John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle, Burt Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg, and William H. Macy.

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Goofs

Just after the scene in which Dirk Diggler is acting on the film set for the first time (with Amber Waves), there is a brief take in which a turntable plays a record. The turntable stylus and cartridge follow the "P-mount" standard, also known as "T4P", a technology that Technics invented in 1980 and which was adopted by other manufacturers. Yet, the scene happens in the late '70s, when such standard did not exist yet.

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Quotes

[Little Bill discovers his wife having sex for a group of spectators]
Little Bill: What the fuck are you doing?
Little Bill's wife: Go away, Bill, you're embarrassing me.

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Crazy Credits

Towards the end of the credits, Mark Wahlberg's character speaks.

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Alternate Versions

New Line Platinum Edition, released on DVD, features 9 additional scenes not included in the original theatrical version. The sell through widescreen VHS tape also has the deleted scenes.

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Connections

Referenced in NYPD Blue: Loogie Nights (2000)

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Soundtracks

Brand New Key
Written by Melanie (as M. Safka)
Performed by Melanie
Courtesy of MCA Records / BMG Entertainment International
Under License from Universal Music Special Markets and by arrangement with BMG Entertainment

User Reviews

Brilliant, Bold, Powerful!

Director Paul Thomas Anderson has created a fascinating account of a family of pornographers in the late 1970s. It is a frank, compelling, and disturbing vignette of unforgettable characters. Mark Whalberg (in his best performance to date) plays a well-endowed 17 year old who begins working in the porn industry under porn director Burt Reynolds (in an Oscar nominated performance). John C. Reilly plays a fellow porn star, Julianne Moore (never better) as a famous porn queen, Philip Seymour Hoffman as a timid homosexual porn crew member, William H. Macy as a fatalistic loser who's wife is always cheating on him, and Heather Graham (Reynolds daughter) as a rising porn star. Everybody does a fine job. The best scenes belong to former porn star couple Don Cheadle and Nicole Parker who add some of the comic relief to the film. What's intriguing is the way the actors interact with each other and the way they struggle to find their self-identity, plus a bravura script, colorful and startling cinematography, and a rousing rocking 70s soundtrack that make Boogie Nights one of the best films of 1997. It is a touching, humorous, and shocking film bursting with originality with an overall message of: redemption and forgiveness.

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