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List Price: $26.98 | | Label: New Line Home Video
Salesrank: 2944
Released: July 3, 2007 |
| Our Price: $8.86 |
| Used Price: $7.49 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
From Hollywood's hottest new director comes the outrageous epic that throws the covers back on California's adult entertainment industry in the swinging seventies. It's a touching and often humorous portrait of a most unusual family of filmakers, brought
Description of Boogie Nights:
Even if the notorious 1970s porn-filmmaking milieu doesn't exactly turn you on, don't let it turn you off to this movie's extraordinary virtues, either. Boogie Nights is one of the key movies of the 1990s, and among the most ambitious and exuberantly alive American movies in years. It's also the breakthrough for an amazing new director, whose dazzling kaleidoscopic style here recalls the Robert Altman of Nashville and the Martin Scorsese of GoodFellas. Although loosely based on the sleazy life and times of real-life porn legend John Holmes, at heart it's a classic Hollywood rise-and-fall fable: a naive, good-looking young busboy is discovered in a San Fernando Valley disco by a famous motion picture producer, becomes a hotshot movie star, lives the high life, and then loses everything when he gets too big for his britches, succumbs to insobriety, and is left behind by new times and new technology. Of course, it ain't exactly A Star Is Born or Singin' in the Rain. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (in only his second feature!) puts his own affectionately sardonic twist on the old showbiz biopic formula: the ambitious upstart changes his name and achieves stardom in porno films as "Dirk Diggler." Instead of drinking to excess, he snorts cocaine (the classic drug of '70s hedonism); and it's the coming of home video (rather than talkies) that helps to dash his big-screen dreams. As for the britches ... well, the controversial "money shot" explains everything. And the cast is one of the great ensembles of the '90s, including Oscar nominees Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore, Mark Wahlberg (who really can act--from the waist up, too!), Heather Graham (as Rollergirl), William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, and Ricky Jay. --Jim Emerson
Boogie Nights Reviews:
Has it really been 12 years??? 
2009-12-23 - Its hard to believe that its been over a decade since Boogie Nights was made... heck, 30 years since the story took place.
Porno Chic is no longer chic... now its part of history, and this movie tells of the transition from the height of the worry and care free '70s nightlife, to the violent Reagan 80's...
The most amazing thing about the movie is that it captures both the fun and kiche of the era... as well as the dark side...
in fact, the story evolves in such a way that you're completely pulled in - - the characters change and develop incredible throughout the course of the movie, so as the tragedy plays out, you really find yourself drawn into the story - - which, despite the "lewd" topic is anything but lewd... the story in fact is a great human drama - - and all the actors are at their peak... (possibly attributing to the brilliance of the director, as well as the cutting edge casting.)
By the end of the film, the film literally goes from Saturday Night Fever... to Reservoir Dogs... and that in part is what makes it great... (not to mention the great soundtrack.) - - Also of note, the great cinematography... The camera work and cutting style really adds to the action... almost making you feel like you're actually sitting next to the characters... and playing out on the complexity of the story and characters... as well as the feeling of madness that ensues as the story develops.
All in all... yes, the film deals with a topic that might not be endearing to all... and it is quite violent... that said if you're in a mood for a movie that really draws you in - - tells a story, yet at the same time is full of memorable scenes and memorable ensemble Tarentino-esque ensemble acting - - you definitely won't regret watching this - - especially if you missed it the first time around !
Possibly the Best Film of the 90s!
2009-12-16 - This came out in 1997 - the year of Titanic-mania - and years from now, I believe film historians will be scratching their heads trying to figure out how James Cameron's super expensive blockbuster won the Oscar for Best Picture while this wasn't even nominated. I've watched Boogie Nights dozens of times now, and it has become one of the most cherished films I own. I ought to point out that the actual making of porn films has very little to do with the story this film tells. It has more to do with the porn film environment - the parties, the lifestyle, and most importantly the personalities. Overall, it feels like a story about how the 70s turned into the 80s and how hard it was for this group of people to adjust once everything the 70s meant for them just up and vanished. The good life has a downward slope. But on the way to the 80s there are so many wonderful scenes with such wonderful dialogue and humor, supported by an amazing cast (so many actors in Boogie Nights have become stars in their own right that I doubt any producer could afford to assemble this group again). A highlight for me is Mark Whalberg and John C. Reily recording a cheesy rock album (with such inspired lyrics; "My heat will rock you, my heat will roll you;" "You got the touch, you got the power!") and then trying to convince the studio owners to give them the tapes they haven't paid for. Burt Reynolds turns in his best work since Deliverance. Julianne Moore is wonderful. Reily and Whalberg are hilarious throughout. The time period is re-created with loving care; fashions, decor and detail from the era are plentiful. This is such great storytelling! There are many individual storylines, but they all complement each other beautifully. It's hard to say how much the plot was influenced by real life stories, although it does seem like the coke-fueled shootout near the end may have been suggested by John Holmes notorious involvement with a murder around the same early 80s period. Director P. T. Anderson is in full Scorcese emulation mode, and I think it pays off. What can I say; this film is a feast.
Behind the Scenes of a Different Family 
2009-11-26 - Boogie Nights is probably one of the most alive, sympathetic and good natured movies I've ever seen, and given the content of the movie, Paul Thomas Anderson delivers in creating a story that is actually heartwarming. Sometimes I feel like this movie was made especially for me. Even if the pornographic and drug content doesn't sound, Boogie Nights is about much more than that. This movie combines a suberb story, an alternativly good natured and bleak atmosphere, drama, tragedy, and potrays $#% as natural and good when used right but drugs the exactly opposite (the way I feel about partying). The end result is a dazzlingly good drama, that's both fun and tragic, with good natured, charismatic, and real characters. Don't be fooled into thinking they are. There is no absolutely no third person syndrome here. This is Dazed and Confused as a drama.
For any filmmaker who wants to know some nifty ways of using the camera, watch this movie. Paul Thomas Anderson directing is dazzling to watch; it's hard to believe this guy had no formal training like Tarantino, Linklater, and Smith (though I think Smith has no interesting techniques, it's just his writing that stands out). It's frantic, all seeing eye is all over the place, tons of techniqes and different kinds of shots all over the ________ place to go with it. Long shots, tracking shots, Iris In/Out shots, dissolving cuts, slowmotion, underwater shots, techniques that you feel that you are in some cheap 70's film, those shots that give the feeling of flashbulbs, and even proto-hip hop montages (Most famously used during the drug depiction scenes in Requiem For a Dream). His directing is so meticulous and skilled that he must have had EVERY single camera angle and shot written down in the script. It's right next to Goodfellas regarding directing.
Boogie Nights has an actual story, but it's still far from a classic three act movie. It has an episodic nature and often switches between characters, but it still feels like it has a story. The characters are hilarious, quirky, and much different from the real world. From Eddie's love of kung fu, Buck's love of country music, and even Scotty's desite to just be himself (despite some of the abuse), all of these things make em' stand out, and when watching it, you are definitely not wasting your time like you do with the average joe portrayed in the typical disaster or action movie. Jack Horner in particular is so hard not to love for his desire to make pornography actual art, same goes for Amber Waves, who justs wants to see her kid and be a genuine mother despite her background. The cast is strong, with Burt Reynolds, Juliane Moore, Heather Graham, John C. Reiley, Mark Whalberg, and others, all of them giving out strong performances and using their real life charisma of sorts (really, how could you hate John C. Reiley?) to bring the character to life on the screen, and you love every moment of it.
So why Do I think this movie was sometimes written for people exactly like me? First off, it's perhaps one of the greatest movies to show $#% in a positive light. These people have $#% because they know that it's a great thing of human nature. It shows that $#% can be good. Then again, it shows that it has some negative aspects, such as what happens with Little Bill and his wife, as $#% can hurt others if used in a negative way. Showing these characters as people in good light, with hopes and dreams to go along with a great aspect of life, and who are actually better than the many people outside their family. And so the movie boils down to family in it's essence. These people are great people, but it's just too bad that the outside world doesn't think so. The only "outside" character I felt something positive for was Eddie's father.
On top of that, Anderson does a great job of making this movie a pop culture lense of the 70's like Dazed, only a lense on the disco scene and the early 80's (whatever that was). The soundtrack is terrific, and there are A LOT of songs, and pretty much all of them are great to listen to, quite a feat regarding their genre (no That's the way and Lady's Night!). He also picks out good songs instead of the retarded, overplayed disco crap that most people think of. He makes the disco scene seem better than it really was. Not quite a time I care about, but it's done tastefully (well, some of the clothes are stupid, but very little of them are stupid to look at) and doesn't feel kitschy and cheesy a la Saturday Night Fever.
One caveat I have to warn some people regarding the hideosly overpriced DVD. This movie has good special features, with 30 minutes of deleted scenes, 2 commentaries, The John C Reiley Files, and character biographies (the ACTUAL characters). But seriously, you could have put this all onto on DVD. The total running time of the features on disc two is less than an hour (just like the also overpriced Goodfellas DVD). This wouldn't be that bad if the movie was less than half the price of this DVD, but the actual price is just too __________ expensive for what you get. Get this fine movie on sale, please.
Being one who realized the benefits of a second viewing, I certainly got it, and once I thought about what was truly going on, I just got lost. This is a great film, the messages work well, and it's also a fun movie, as it never stops being either entertaining or enmotional the whole way through. One of the best movies of one of my favorite decades of film.
A-
Don't know... 
2009-10-11 - I enjoy films that depict this epoch and this one relived this period quite and parts of it were very engaging. But I am against all forms of pornography and I do not support movies that show drugs, violence because these do not contribute to a better society and young people who see movies with violence and drugs, etc., get wrongly influenced.
Terrific satire of late-'70s
2009-08-19 - I complained a lot about films in the '80s which were too stiff and self-conscious to pull off a period piece attempting to portray another decade.
So what a relief it was when the '90s started and it was apparent the new decade wouldn't have the same problem.
1997's BOOGIE NIGHTS, about the porn industry of the late-'70s, is terrific fun for any number of reasons: the casting, the production design, the "period" style of the thing... Burt Reynolds plays a slightly pathetic porno-director at the end of the grainy, earthy sex-on-celluloid era which is about to be overtaken by the videotaped, sanitized, twinky zone of the '80s... Other actors are noteable, including Heather Graham, Don Cheadle, Julianne Moore, etc. Oh, and how could one forget Philip Seymour Hoffman and his quivering boom-mike??
But Mark Wahlberg's casting makes the thing work, not simply because of his build (a lot of buff actors exist out there) but his demeanor--- his relaxed, lost, slightly forlorn, semi-arrogantly knuckle-headed vulnerability... he absolutely SCREAMS late-'70s teenager. (I'm not sure if Mr. Wahlberg has ever understood how "right" he got it with his performance).
The movie, naturally, is a bit of a parody of the time, yet within that spirit of parody, gets the disco era much, much more right than it does wrong. Period zeitgeist is always made up of more than just mere physicality, and BOOGIE NIGHTS, through whatever method, manages to convince you that 1977 is actually 1977. And that's no small praise.
There are some elements the film probably misses. When one recalls the late-'70s --- especially as it might relate to the sex/porn industry --- it's might be easy to ignore or forget its aspect of superlative sleaze; it was the time of early-Sex Pistols (before "real" punk got cleaned up in the '80s), CALIGULA, Studio 54 (no, not that terribly watered-down film with Ryan Phillippe years later) when a certain sexuality of degradation seemed to reach its apotheosis... If you side-step or miss that "sick" note of that time, you've almost missed the time... Admittedly, BOOGIE NIGHTS, deliberately or not, doesn't "get" that element; it's all a bit too giddy and innocent to do so (although that rings true, too). And yet I'm kind of glad it didn't go into that gutter; otherwise, the film would have likely slid into something else too unseemly, and the things it got right might have run the risk of being negated or overshadowed.
A good, delightfully silly picture. And it's pretty impressive that PT Anderson, so young at the time, could pull this off so correctly.
