8MM (1999)

A private investigator is hired to discover if a "snuff film" is authentic or not.

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writer:

Andrew Kevin Walker

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Tom Welles
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Max California
James Gandolfini	...	Eddie Poole
Peter Stormare	...	Dino Velvet
Anthony Heald	...	Longdale
Chris Bauer	...	Machine
Catherine Keener	...	Amy Welles
Myra Carter	...	Mrs. Christian
Amy Morton	...	Janet Mathews
Jenny Powell	...	Mary Ann Mathews
Anne Gee Byrd	...	Senator
Jack Betts	...	Butler
Luis Oropeza	...	Archive Director
Rachel Singer	...	Neighbor
Don Creech	...	Mr. Anderson

Storyline

A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, Welles relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate of a complete stranger. As his work turns into obsession, he drifts farther and farther away from his wife, family and simple life as a small-town private eye.

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Plot Keywords:

male full frontal nudity | sexual sadism | snuff film | male frontal nudity | female full frontal nudity | 

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Taglines:

You can't prepare for where the truth will take you.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong perverse sexuality and violence, and for strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Joel Schumacher states that "He is still proud of this film" two decades later.

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Goofs

To ascertain Machine's identity, Tom calls several emergency rooms, pretending to be a police officer, asking for Machine's real name, insurance information, and home address. Even in 1999, no hospital would ever give this information out over the phone and would need an in-person request with a court order to be in compliance with HIPAA laws (which were first passed in 1996).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Airport Announcer: Welcome to Miami. While in the airport, please observe Florida and local laws which prohibit any smoking in the terminal. Thank you for not smoking.

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Alternate Versions

The German theatrical version is allegedly 9 seconds longer. Additional footage shows more of Poole being beaten to death by Tom Welles.

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Connections

References North by Northwest (1959)

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Soundtracks

Come To Daddy
Written by Richard James
Performed by Aphex Twin
Courtesy of Sire Records Group/Warp Records Ltd.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

A solid thriller!

Some sensitive-minded people may surely be disturbed by the dark revenge and self-justice in this film, but "Se7en"-author Andrew Kevin Walker has done another fine work with his script! Although the storyline is obviously taken from Paul Schrader´s "Hardcore" (1974,?) the film is suspense-packed, violent and endowed with good performances of its actors, especially Peter Stormare did a brilliant job with playing the weird bondage-porn director Dino Velvet! I also was truly surprised how good director Joel Schumacher had created a morbid atmosphere, just in unhappy memory of his disastrous "Batman & Robin"-flick..! Another pleasant fact is, that "8MM" doesn´t deal with the Hollywood-typical stereotypes and clichés, so finally we´ve got something we could really call a dirty mainstream production - or at least a nice try of it!

Details

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 February 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

8 Millimeter

Filming Locations:

Buena Vista Avenue, Yonkers, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,252,888, 28 February 1999

Gross USA:

$36,663,315

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$96,618,699

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Hofflund/Polone, Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Company Medien KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1