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:

neo noir | hologram | lovecraftian | reference to rene descartes | barricade | 

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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:

Germany USA

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:

$4,278,452, 30 May 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$15,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,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

When Douglas is in the 1930 reality and in the pool of the hotel he grabs the revolver and he can be seen to check if it is cocked, which it already is. Then he places the barrel in the bartender's mouth and threatens to shoot him. It's believed that when the bartender pushes the barrel of the revolver out of his mouth and Douglas pushes it back in that he is re-cocking the already-cocked gun. However, if you watch after the bartender pushes the gun from his mouth, Douglas moves the hammer of the gun back into place (because he believes he's going to get his answer from the bartender). This makes re-cocking the gun necessary when the bartender doesn't answer after all.

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Quotes

Jason Whitney/Jerry Ashton: Why are you fucking with our lives?

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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 Dark City (1998)

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Soundtracks

Caravan
Written by Irving Mills, Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol
Performed by Johnny Crawford and his Dance Orchestra

User Reviews

Sci-Fi Film Noir

This movie is clever and fun, and relies on less action and more thought to drive it along than, say, The Matrix.

I am not a fan of martial arts films, and while I don't mind action films, I tend to find them to be a bit boring.

This is a real thinker, a sci-fi film quite unlike any other I have seen. I've always been fond of this movie, with actors who are not well-known but still manage to shine on their own. With relatively unknown actors in the film, it made it much easier to accept the reality of the story than if there were stars all over this film.

Also, there are actions scenes but they do not require unrealistic kung fu moves that go on and on for twenty minutes. Instead, there is a nod to the film noir genre, with its tough-guy characters, shady dames, and guns and fists.

If you enjoy detective films, sci fi, or just like to be entertained, this will definitely serve well.

If you are looking for some run of the mill sci-fi goof-off, go check out something else.