The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

A computer scientist running a virtual reality simulation of 1937 becomes the primary suspect when his colleague and mentor is murdered.

Director:

Josef Rusnak

Writers:

Daniel F. Galouye (book) (as Daniel Galouye), Josef Rusnak (screenplay)

Stars:

Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Armin Mueller-Stahl

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Craig Bierko	...	Douglas Hall / John Ferguson / David
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Hannon Fuller / Grierson
Gretchen Mol	...	Jane Fuller / Natasha Molinaro
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Jason Whitney / Jerry Ashton
Dennis Haysbert	...	Detective Larry McBain
Steven Schub	...	Detective Zev Bernstein
Jeremy Roberts	...	Tom Jones
Rif Hutton	...	Joe
Leon Rippy	...	Jane's Lawyer
Janet MacLachlan	...	Ellen
Brad William Henke	...	Cop #1 (as Brad Henke)
Burt Bulos	...	Bellhop
Venessia Valentino	...	Concierge
Howard S. Miller	...	Chauffeur
Tia Texada	...	Natasha's Roommate

Storyline

Computer scientist Hannon Fuller has discovered something extremely important. He's about to tell the discovery to his colleague, Douglas Hall, but knowing someone is after him, the old man leaves a letter in the computer generated parallel world his company has created (which looks like the 30's with seemingly real people with real emotions). Fuller is murdered in our real world the same night, and his colleague is suspected. Douglas discovers a bloody shirt in his bathroom and he cannot recall what he was doing the night Fuller was murdered. He logs into the system in order to find the letter, but has to confront the unexpected. The truth is harsher than he could ever imagine...

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Plot Keywords:

virtual reality | neo noir | hologram | lovecraftian | reference to rene descartes | 

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Taglines:

Question reality. You can go there even though it doesn't exist.

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Genres:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 May 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

The 13th Floor

Filming Locations:

777 S. Figueroa Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,322,416, 30 May 1999

Gross USA:

$11,916,661

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,564,088

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Centropolis Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are several references that the song "Timewave Zero" by Grendel used from this movie. One example is the quote "They think, they work, they eat.";"They fuck." in the dialogue between Whitney and detective McBain. Also, in the dialogue between Ashton and Douglas near the end, when Ashton switched with Whitney: Ashton said: "What did you do to the world?" "Turned it off." "Then put it back!". These are the same lines as in the beginning of Timewave Zero.

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Goofs

In the first scene of the film, Fuller writes the letter with a fountain pen. This is clear in the close-up where the "feed" is visible under the nib. It also has a cap. The pen is dipped into a desk inkwell. Fountain pens are never dipped into an inkwell. It is set down in a grove on the desk set, which would be a correct action for a dip pen, which it was not.

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Quotes

Jason Whitney/Jerry Ashton: So who's in control?
Douglas Hall: *Not* us.

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Crazy Credits

Before the opening credits, this René Descartes quote is seen on screen: "I think, therefore I am".

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Connections

References Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

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Soundtracks

Erase/Rewind
Written by Peter Svensson and Nina Persson
Performed by The Cardigans
Courtesy of Stockholm Records
Under License from Univeral Music Special Markets

User Reviews

A retro Gem

I am a child of the 50's, and spent my preteen years feasting on all the classic sifi gems, such as " The day the earth stood still", "Forbidden Planet' etc. The 13th floor reminds me of those movies. This movie has been compared to the matrix, and that is unfair, Special effects are fine, but when they become the focal point of the movie, I think film suffers because of it. I liked the 13th floor because it didn't get caught up in all that technology and reallied on a great script, and a wonderful ensemble cast. I would highly recommend this movie to all, especially if you prefer the old "War of the Worlds" over the new one.