Boogie Nights (1997)

Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Writer (WGA):

Paul Thomas Anderson (written by)

Release Date:

10 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Everyone has one special thing

Plot:

The story of a young man's adventures in the Californian pornography industry of the 1970s and 1980s.

Plot Keywords:

1970s | Director | 1980s | Actor | Porn Industry

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Luis Guzmán	...	Maurice TT Rodriguez (as Luis Guzman)
Burt Reynolds	...	Jack Horner
Julianne Moore	...	Amber Waves
Rico Bueno	...	Hot Traxx Waiter
John C. Reilly	...	Reed Rothchild
Nicole Ari Parker	...	Becky Barnett
Don Cheadle	...	Buck Swope
Heather Graham	...	Rollergirl
Mark Wahlberg	...	Eddie Adams - Dirk Diggler
William H. Macy	...	Little Bill
Samson Barkhordarian	...	Hot Traxx Chef
Nina Hartley	...	Little Bill's Wife
Brad Braeden	...	Big Stud
Joanna Gleason	...	Dirk's Mother
Lawrence Hudd	...	Dirk's Father

Also Known As:

Pushing Thirteen (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sex scenes with explicit dialogue, nudity, drug use, language and violence.

Runtime:

155 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Japan:R-15 | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:R (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Italy:VM14 | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Brazil:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Mexico:C | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) (cut) | Singapore:R21 (re-rating) | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #34763) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Gourmet Video, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Dirk Diggler mentions John Holmes and one of his characters, Johnny Wadd, in the scene when he proposes the idea of a serial porn detective story (with the characters of Brock Landers and Chest Rockwell) to Jack. Dirk says, "I don't want to do stuff like Holmes is doing with his Johnny Wadd character, hitting women and stuff. That just ain't right." This leads the viewer to believe that Dirk and Holmes are rivals in the industry, not that Dirk is a direct representation of Holmes.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): During the filming of the first love scene between Eddie and Amber waves, Eddie says to her (just before she tells him she's fixed and he can cum inside her), "you feel so good inside me."

Quotes:

[the Colonel James is in jail after being arrested for cocaine possession and attempted statutory rape]
Colonel James: They found something else.
Jack Horner: What?
Colonel James: Well... it's just... they're so cute when they're so young like that...
Jack Horner: Ah, Jesus...

Movie Connections:

References Serpico (1973)

Soundtrack:

Do Your Thing

Brilliant, Bold, Powerful!

Director Paul Thomas Anderson has created a fascinating account of a family of pornographers in the late 1970s. It is a frank, compelling, and disturbing vignette of unforgettable characters. Mark Whalberg (in his best performance to date) plays a well-endowed 17 year old who begins working in the porn industry under porn director Burt Reynolds (in an Oscar nominated performance). John C. Reilly plays a fellow porn star, Julianne Moore (never better) as a famous porn queen, Philip Seymour Hoffman as a timid homosexual porn crew member, William H. Macy as a fatalistic loser who's wife is always cheating on him, and Heather Graham (Reynolds daughter) as a rising porn star. Everybody does a fine job. The best scenes belong to former porn star couple Don Cheadle and Nicole Parker who add some of the comic relief to the film. What's intriguing is the way the actors interact with each other and the way they struggle to find their self-identity, plus a bravura script, colorful and startling cinematography, and a rousing rocking 70s soundtrack that make Boogie Nights one of the best films of 1997. It is a touching, humorous, and shocking film bursting with originality with an overall message of: redemption and forgiveness.