Boogie Nights
From writer/director P.T. Anderson comes the turbulent behind the scenes story of an extended family of filmmakers who set out to revolutionize the adult entertainment industry in the seventies.
Idealistic producer Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) has always dreamed of elevating his films into an art form. When he discovers young actor Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), Jack begins to turn his dreams into reality. Under the stage name of Dirk Diggler, Eddie soon gives the adult entertainment world a star the likes of which it has never seen. But the rise to fame has its costs, and soon Dirk finds himself sliding down the slippery slope of sex, drugs and violence. The only question: can he get himself back together before it's too late?
Member Reviews
A Bright Shining Star - BIKO
A glimpse into a world few of us know or perhaps not want to be part of, but a well-made film about a part of society that had impact.The script was terrific and the performances often eye-opening!- Burt Reynolds was robbed of an Academy Award, Julianne Moore is always worth watching, "Roller Girl" played by Heather Graham was an original character for me, and Marky Mark was quite remarkable! The horrible hair and clothes! The music, the humour, the truly horrific drug scenes (the sex was really secondary to my mind)- if you want a real look at the 70's this is a pick for you.The Rise and Fall of a Porn Star - Gregg
Well made and well acted story of the rapid rise and subsequent fall of a porn star in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that coincides with the end of pornography on film and in theaters and the subsequent pornography on home video. The film features an eccentric group of supporting characters including Burt Reynolds as a director, Julianne Moore as a leading female star, Don Cheadle, Heather Graham and John C Reilly as supporting players and William H Macy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ricky Jay as crew members. The supporting characters are surprisingly well developed and given generous screen time for development.
The film seems to focus considerable attention on a generally low level of intelligence and or low level of self esteem among the people who have been drawn into this business and a resulting moral decay which it seems often leads to self destructive behavior. At the same time the film displays considerable humor and an all out assault of the works excesses of 70’s fashion sense.
A little bit too long at about 2.5 hours and it really doesn’t say anything that not fairly obvious but this is still a well told story with some strong performances. The ability of these actors to portray actors with little or no dramatic talent is fairly impressive and the performances by Moore, Wahlberg and Reynolds are all very good. This was the sophomore effort from writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson, following “Hard Eight” which examined another seedy business gambling and the people it damages. With his next film “Magnolia” Anderson would fully achieve his potential, more recently he has again achieved great critical success with “There Will Be Blood” but I feel "Magnolia" is thus far his greatest cinematic achievement.
In summary the film is well crafted but the lack of an emotional connection prevented this from being a much better film in my opinion.beyond great - dsjam
This is a near perfect film, although obviously the subject matter will preclude some from enjoyng it - you know who you are. The cast is note perfect, with terrific performances from some you wouldn't expect (Burt Reynolds, Heather Graham) and transcendant ones from those you would (Julianna Moore, John C Reilly, and Whalberg). The opening shot alone should have been worth the best cinematography oscar, and the script sings. Without question one of the best films of the last quarter century, with lots of naked beautiful people to boot!
Member Reviews
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A Bright Shining Star - BIKO
A glimpse into a world few of us know or perhaps not want to be part of, but a well-made film about a part of society that had impact.The script was terrific and the performances often eye-opening!- Burt Reynolds was robbed of an Academy Award, Julianne Moore ...The Rise and Fall of a Porn Star - Gregg
Well made and well acted story of the rapid rise and subsequent fall of a porn star in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that coincides with the end of pornography on film and in theaters and the subsequent pornography on home video. The film features an eccentric ...beyond great - dsjam
This is a near perfect film, although obviously the subject matter will preclude some from enjoyng it - you know who you are. The cast is note perfect, with terrific performances from some you wouldn't expect (Burt Reynolds, Heather Graham) and transcendant ...