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Southland Tales

  • 20062006
  • RR
  • 2h 25m
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
39K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,608
391
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Bai Ling, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jon Lovitz, Wallace Shawn, Seann William Scott, Justin Timberlake, Dwayne Johnson, Mandy Moore, and Cheri Oteri in Southland Tales (2006)
Theatrical Trailer from Samuel Goldwyn
Play trailer2:29
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Mystery

During a three-day heat wave just before a huge 4th of July celebration, an action star stricken with amnesia meets up with a porn star who is developing her own reality TV project, and a po... Read allDuring a three-day heat wave just before a huge 4th of July celebration, an action star stricken with amnesia meets up with a porn star who is developing her own reality TV project, and a policeman who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.During a three-day heat wave just before a huge 4th of July celebration, an action star stricken with amnesia meets up with a porn star who is developing her own reality TV project, and a policeman who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.

IMDb RATING
5.3/10
39K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,608
391
  • Director
    • Richard Kelly
  • Writer
    • Richard Kelly
  • Stars
    • Dwayne Johnson
    • Sarah Michelle Gellar
    • Seann William Scott
Top credits
  • Director
    • Richard Kelly
  • Writer
    • Richard Kelly
  • Stars
    • Dwayne Johnson
    • Sarah Michelle Gellar
    • Seann William Scott
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 274User reviews
    • 200Critic reviews
    • 44Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 3 nominations

    Videos1

    Southland Tales
    Trailer 2:29
    Southland Tales

    Photos114

    Southland Tales (2006)
    Wood Harris and Amy Poehler in Southland Tales (2006)
    Seann William Scott in Southland Tales (2006)
    Bai Ling in Southland Tales (2006)
    John Larroquette in Southland Tales (2006)
    Kevin Smith in Southland Tales (2006)
    Nora Dunn in Southland Tales (2006)
    Bai Ling and Wallace Shawn in Southland Tales (2006)
    Wood Harris and Amy Poehler in Southland Tales (2006)
    Dwayne Johnson in Southland Tales (2006)
    Jon Lovitz and Cheri Oteri in Southland Tales (2006)
    Mandy Moore in Southland Tales (2006)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Dwayne Johnson
    Dwayne Johnson
    • Boxer Santarosas Boxer Santaros…
    Sarah Michelle Gellar
    Sarah Michelle Gellar
    • Krysta Kapowskias Krysta Kapowski…
    Seann William Scott
    Seann William Scott
    • Roland Taverneras Roland Taverner…
    Carlos Amezcua
    • Selfas Self
    Curtis Armstrong
    Curtis Armstrong
    • Dr. Soberin Exxas Dr. Soberin Exx
    Robert Benz
    • Tab Taverneras Tab Taverner
    Todd Berger
    Todd Berger
    • Bing Zinnemanas Bing Zinneman
    Joe Campana
    Joe Campana
    • Brandt Huntingtonas Brandt Huntington
    Chris Andrew Ciulla
    Chris Andrew Ciulla
    • UPU 4 Officer 3as UPU 4 Officer 3
    • (as Chris Ciulla)
    Rebekah Del Rio
    Rebekah Del Rio
    • Vanessa Vera Cruzas Vanessa Vera Cruz
    Aaron Dillar
    • Jimmy Hermosaas Jimmy Hermosa
    Nora Dunn
    Nora Dunn
    • Cyndi Pinzikias Cyndi Pinziki
    Shari Dunn
    Shari Dunn
    • USI Dent Reporteras USI Dent Reporter
    Michele Durrett
    • Starla Von Luftas Starla Von Luft
    Jon Falcone
    • Soldier Falconas Soldier Falcon
    Leila Feinstein
    • Selfas Self
    Jaret Gardiner
    • Shane Laverneas Shane Laverne
    Janeane Garofalo
    Janeane Garofalo
    • General Teena MacArthuras General Teena MacArthur
    • Director
      • Richard Kelly
    • Writer
      • Richard Kelly
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Shadow
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    Storyline

    Edit
    Southland Tales is an ensemble piece set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles on July 4, 2008, as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Boxer Santaros is an action star who's stricken with amnesia. His life intertwines with Krysta Now, an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and Ronald Taverner, a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy. —TheGuyInThePj's
    • porn star
    • duplicate
    • anarchy
    • doppelganger
    • surveillance
    • 546 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Have A Nice Apocalypse
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Mystery
      • Sci-Fi
      • Thriller
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for language, violence, sexual material and some drug content
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Richard Kelly consciously sought out actors that he felt had been pigeonholed and wanted to showcase their "undiscovered talents."
    • Goofs
      When the home video at the start of the film catches a glimpse of the initial bomb blast, we see the flash and hear the boom at the same instant. Anything close enough to a nuclear blast to hear the boom at the same instant as seeing the flash would be instantly disintegrated.
    • Quotes

      Boxer Santaros: I'm a pimp. And pimps don't commit suicide.

    • Crazy credits
      After the credits, a logo appears of a thumbprint over an American flag with the words: "DON'T TOUCH ME"
    • Alternate versions
      Originally running for 160 minutes, Southland Tales premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 to a disastrous reception. Because of this, it was re-edited and shortened in length as part of the distribution deal. Since the shortened version was shown theatrically and released on DVD, the Cannes cut has been shown on Cable TV and DVD releases in Europe. Some of the changes between the theatrical cut and the Cannes cut are as follows:
      • Opens the same as theatrical cut, with home video in Abilene, except with music ('Water Pistol' by Moby) and runs longer. Video is also shown in its original aspect ratio, instead of cropped for 2.35:1.
      • Doomsday Scenario Interface is not present in the original cut, it was added to provide background information present in the graphic novels. Instead we have narration from Pilot Abilene explaining the present situation and Treer Corporation.
      • The meeting between the Baron and Hideo Takehashi takes place much earlier in the film, Pilot explains the Baron dislikes Takehashi.
      • The character of General Teena MacArthur is more fleshed out in original cut, she mainly communicates with General Simon Theory and the Baron.
      • Many scenes with dialog between main characters have been extended i.e. scenes with Boxer & Roland, Krysta & Cyndi, Boxer & Starla, Cyndi & Vaughn Smallhouse etc.
      • Pilot explains that Bart Bookman is an 'angry man' with a willingness to die.
      • Some events that take place are better explained in original cut e.g. Boxer ringing Fortunio before meeting him, Serpentine explaining her actions at the end.
      • Features additional effects of the blimp not in theatrical version.
      • Features music by Moby not present in theatrical version i.e. 'Ceanograph' is heard in scene giving information on the rift, 'Hotel Intro' is heard as characters visit different sections on the blimp.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Beowulf/Margot at the Wedding/Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium/Enchanted/Southland Tales/Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)
    • Soundtracks
      If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)
      Written by Henry Creamer and James P. Johnson (as Jimmy Johnson)

      Performed by Louis Armstrong

      Courtesy of Columbia Records

      By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

    User reviews274

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    Tales that hardly fit in your mind!
    This film has one of the most offbeat ideas I've ever come across.They are so unique in a way that they make Donnie Darko look cheap.But it has the same problems like any other film with outstanding ideas.It lacks a definite focus.

    I got a chance to get a look at the film at the Cannes festival where it was premiering to a bunch of critics who pretty much didn't like it.And there's no surprise to that.Although,you have to admire Kelly's attempt on something way out of anyones imagination.The film is given a very different approach and it will go down in history as the most offbeat/outstanding failures.He has it all,a mind blowing story,that we hardly get, watching the film the first time, great characters,excellent writing,sets,music,cinematography and perhaps a decent directing.

    Kelly surpasses any one's expectation when you go into details about this film.But he leaves a chilling disappointment when you actually watch the entire film ,which is longer than it needs to be.He misses his audience from the very beginning.It seems like he is lost in a cloud of ideas and never gave a hard thought on how to put them on screen,and most importantly ,how will people interpret those issues he is trying to depict.

    The story,I don't know how to put it,is kind of out of my reach.It requires repeated viewing to fully understand the plot,but if you do get it, it could turn out to be a cult classic.The sad thing is that I didn't quite get it.Okay,here goes....The film is set in the year 2008,about the downfall of the American society,the economy,and major environmental disaster which is taking place.The whole world is at the brink of destruction,war ,poverty and all those issues are getting more and more serious,and in between these events, a number of Characters are having problems of their own.A Boxer is an action star who seems to be amnesiac and somehow he meets this porn star Krysta ,who is starting her own reality show.David Clark ,who is a police officer with a secret to a conspiracy within the government.And all their stories intervene and chaos begins and confusion reigns.

    Trust me ,I didn't get what was going on the first 30 minutes,then it kind of made sense and I knew what Kelly's intentions were.He was trying his ass out to bring us something new but loses everything and never achieves what he could achieve.

    I would say this film had massive expectations from audiences ,me personally.Donnie Darko was a film unlike anything I've seen before and it was unique in a number of ways.Here he tried but fails miserably,and in total embarrassment.Kelly somehow may have been affected by the failure of Domino ,which he wrote.But I have to say, you guys should check this film out.For his first film's sake.I mean there is a lot to watch here,the sets are highly creative and a splendid Cinematography in aid.There are some wonderful comic moments and a number of interesting dramatic and exciting moments,even when ideas were floating all over the film.The films main problem is that it doesn't decide what to do.How to present it's story,it's full of confusion and hardly will there be a positive reaction to Kelly's execution.I really found the film somewhat frustrating at time and also somewhat astonishing.It had its moments but it never tries to be the next big thing.For one thing,the characters were underdeveloped,and I had no idea what Kelly was trying to prove.There are hardly any explanations,but I believe if you watch it several times,there is a great chance that you might actually get it.And then you can call it classic.

    Performances are okay.The Rock underplays his part,Gellar is fine as a porn star turned reality TV host.And as usual Sean Willaim Scott ain't funny.And the rest of the cast is quite comme si comme sa!

    Overall,a film that should join "I heart Huckabees",or "Life Aquatic" as being different and unique on the surface but from the inside it's all shallow and bland.And yes utterly confusing.An interesting disappointment ,I guess.

    OR,

    Maybe because it was only half complete and everything was jumbled,and mismashed.That's why I didn't get it.Or maybe something else.
    helpful•75
    98
    • HiddenVoice
    • May 24, 2006

    FAQ46

    • Where does the information in this FAQ come from?
    • Why does the film start with chapter IV?
    • What is Fluid Karma?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 7, 2007 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Germany
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • DVD site (Japan)
      • MySpace page
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Казки півдня
    • Filming locations
      • Manhattan Beach, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • Cherry Road Films
      • Darko Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $17,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $275,380
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $117,000
      • Nov 18, 2007
    • Gross worldwide
      • $374,743
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 25 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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    Bai Ling, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jon Lovitz, Wallace Shawn, Seann William Scott, Justin Timberlake, Dwayne Johnson, Mandy Moore, and Cheri Oteri in Southland Tales (2006)
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