Snake Eyes (1998)

A shady police detective finds himself in the middle of a murder conspiracy at an important boxing match in an Atlantic City casino.

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers:

Brian De Palma (story), David Koepp (story)

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinise, John Heard

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Rick Santoro
Gary Sinise	...	Commander Kevin Dunne
John Heard	...	Gilbert Powell
Carla Gugino	...	Julia Costello
Stan Shaw	...	Lincoln Tyler
Kevin Dunn	...	Lou Logan
Michael Rispoli	...	Jimmy George
Joel Fabiani	...	Charles Kirkland
Luis Guzmán	...	Cyrus (as Luis Guzman)
David Anthony Higgins	...	Ned Campbell
Mike Starr	...	Walt McGahn
Tamara Tunie	...	Anthea
Chip Zien	...	Mickey Alter
Michaella Bassey	...	Tyler's Party Girl #2
Paul Joseph Bernardo	...	Casino Security #1

Storyline

Ricky Santoro is a flamboyant and corrupt Atlantic City cop with a dream: become so well connected that he can become mayor. In lieu of that, he'll settle for keeping his comfortable lifestyle. On the night of the heavyweight boxing championship, Rick becomes mixed up in the assassination of the Secretary of Defense, an assassination involving his best friend. Becoming the investigating officer in the case, Rick soon uncovers a conspiracy to kill the Secretary and a mysterious woman in white. The conspiracy was shocking, but not half as shocking as the identity of its mastermind.

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Plot Keywords:

long take | boxing | conspiracy | assassination | casino | 

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Taglines:

He's got 14,000 eyewitnesses and no one saw a thing.

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 August 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ojos de serpiente

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$73,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,310,373, 9 August 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$55,585,389, 20 December 1998

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$103,891,409

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, DeBart, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brian De Palma told Charlie Rose in an interview that Snake Eyes had a budget of $72,000,000 dollars. De Palma said Snake Eyes was completed for $68,000,000 dollars.

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Goofs

When the shooter falls down dead, his rifle is clearly a rubber prop, as it clearly bends when it hits the ground.

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Quotes

Rick Santoro: You know they say, back two, three hundred years ago, pirates put phony lighthouses right out by those big rocks, right out there. Ships would set a course by the lights, crash on the rocks; then everybody'd go out and rob 'em blind. Only one thing's changed since then: lights are brighter.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits scroll over a construction site scene (presumably the new casino), closing in tighter and tighter until the final shot is of a bright red jewel embedded in a concrete pillar that the workmen are installing. Most of the time the jewel is hidden under the hand of one of the workers. The ring was worn by the red-haired woman/Navy agent who was part of Commander Kevin Dunn's scheme.

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Connections

Referenced in 22 (2000)

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Soundtracks

Shortest Route
Performed by Xysma
Courtesy of Release Records
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

Nicely assembled thriller.

Snake Eyes is not very original as a premise, yet the material feels engaging and fresh as it unfolds on the screen. It is also well shot, well edited, and while the story is kind of silly, it never gets too convoluted and it says linear and focused. It's not a great movie, but as it stands, it makes a pretty fun thriller.

It is fight night in Altantic City, and the Secretary of Defence is attending. Unfortunately for him (and the nation I supposed) he is gunned down in the middle of the match. Panic erupts, and the police lock down the arena, leaving fourteen thousand possible suspects and/or eye witnesses inside. It is up to detective Rick Santoro to gets some answers.

If I am gonna make any complains about the film, it would be the following two. Nicholas Cage (as usual) over-acts BIG TIME!!! I MEAN HE REALLY OVER DOES HIS PERFORMANCE!!!!!!! WHAT THE HECK??!!! ............excuse me. I also find the Climactic finale a bit over directed. Any who knows movies, knows that Brian de Palma likes to stage his adrenaline like an opera, with bold assertive scoring, and slow motion, plus an emphasis on physical acting. Sometimes it feels right, sometimes not. One thing he always gets right though, is his integration of a long sweeping shot. Snake Eyes begins with one, and it takes up most of the first scene in fact, that's pretty good.

Snake Eyes despite its flaws is crafted skillfully enough to sustain a viewer for a hundred minutes. It is not a film that needs to be seen but it is a good one to watch if you catch it on the box one night.