I think it's time we revisit "Boogie Nights" (1997) and the under-appreciated masterpiece that it is

FANTASTIC FILM. Definitely in my Top 30. Very derivative of Scorsese in its direction though. Lighting, camera, etc-

Julianne Moore WAS robbed. Burt was not.

A classic. I even enjoyed Magnolia.

It’s a fine film. I found it exhilarating in 1997. But Anderson has made better films since, especially There Will Be Blood.

The scene in which Graham and Reynolds drive around LA in search of random guys pulled off the street to fuck her to make gonzo porn in the back of a limo is one of the more disturbing sequences in any film.

Love this movie. It’s also in my top ten. Really well made. PTA is a great director. He pulls performances from people that wins them awards.

R3 I showed that scene (the one on OPs link) to friends who had never seen it and two were disturbed but intrigued and wanted to see the film, while one was disturbed in a bad way and was upset over it.

It's pretty much perfect for me too. Julianne Moore, Heather Graham, and Alfred Molina are amazing. The scenes edited to the accompaniment of "Lonely Boy"; "Compared to What"; and "Sister Christian"/"Jessie's Girl" are stunning and very emotional. I always cry.

To be honest, I've found all Anderson's other movies to be big disappointments.

This is a giant clock - I'll have to make sure it's real!

Boogie Nights is one the best movies of the 90s if not the best film of 1997. It is a masterpiece and Wahlberg actually delivers his best acting on screen to date.

My all-time favorite. The house that served as Burt Reynolds’ house in the movie was on the market last year and it broke my heart I couldnt buy it. It’s in West Covina I think, and still has the 70s interior from the movie.

The fact that the song Dirk and his buddy record is a remake of the original Transformers movie theme was just perfect. I died laughing at that part. It’s a fantastic movie. I loved all the characters, they were amazing, even the small ones.

Loved this movie. But I'm not sure I could watch it again.

Why? R11

Underappreciated??

I was a freshman in college when this movie came out on VHS and my roommate Dave and I watched it constantly to the point that we could quote any line from the film and would get stoned and have deep philosophical conversations about the backstories of the characters.

Years later, I met Julianne Moore at an event and I had a moment to chat with her. I relayed to her my love for the film and I asked her about the ending of the film (it’s ambiguous as to whether or not it’s a happy ending) and asked her what she thought happened to Amber Waves. Surprisingly, she told me she found the ending to be dark and she feels that in the end, Amber most likely “didn’t make it”, either becoming a victim to AIDS or continued drug use. I found that interesting, as I told her I always read it that Amber made it and went on to live a productive life. She smiled and said “well that’s the genius of Paul’s script”, the way we interpreted the ending two opposite ways. She was a total sweetheart to chat with.

Seriously, R14?

[quote]I even enjoyed Magnolia.

Why "even"? Magnolia was better. No Marky Mark.

magnolia is a joke

R15 yes

I love the drug dealer scene with Alfred Molina carrying around a pistol while his twink is walking around the apartment setting off firecrackers. Then you see the closeup of Dirk wondering how he got into this mess.

r19 I've had a phobia of pyrotechnics my entire life... fireworks, cap guns, anything like that. Boogie Nights is one of my favorite films, and I've seen it so many times, but I still can barely tolerate that scene. I usually have to mute it because the sound of the explosions is so crisp and loud it sounds like they're going off right next to me. It's like the one scene in any film I can hardly endure. That being said, it's a masterful sequence... fucking incredible.

The whole film is. Julianne Moore should have easily won her Oscar for that. How the fuck did Basinger beat anyone that year? Seriously, I'd like to know what the narrative was at the time, because Julianne's out there tour de forcing.

Paul Thomas Anderson's my favorite filmmaker currently working. This and The Master are my favorites, but I love all his films.

It's also got one of my favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman performances. I think a lot of us here can relate to how pathetic it can feel falling for a straight guy. Hoffman's so heartbreaking in this film.

So, I'm sure you've all heard about how PTA was trying to get DiCaprio for the film. I'm not even sure how that would have worked. Has Leo ever had the physicality for a role like that? Like... has he ever been built the way Wahlberg has? I ask because I can't even imagine him in the film. I'm sure he would have bulked up for it or something, but he was so soft and twinky in the 90s, and doesn't have the raw, sexual energy that Wahlberg had at the time. It's a shame Wahlberg regrets the role now... it's one of his finest performances.

"Bill, get outta here, you're EMBARRASSING me!"

William H. Macy's porn star wife as she's being fucked in public with a crowd of about 30 slack jawed guys watching.

I love the dark humor in this movie.

It perfectly summed up a time and a place before aids and the Reagan years.

Marky Mark regrets making this film and constantly asks And hopes God will forgive him for making it.

Underappreciated masterpiece? It's regularly listed among the best films of the 90s.

F&F OP.

I think OP means as far as Awards go and how it was received at the time, r26. While mostly good reviews, it did have some very bad ones upon release r26 and DIDNT get much awards attention past Julianne Moore and Burt Reynolds.

It is much more revered now.

Mark Wahlberg wants forgiveness for acting in a film? It's not like he actually made porn. What an idiot. Does he also want forgiveness for the racism, assault & attempted murder of his youth? Or... you know... just acting in a film?

I think a lot of people initially thought "ick, why would I watch a movie about porn"? The theater I saw it was packed and everyone cheered at the end when Dirk showed us his junk.

If that’s true R25 and he means it then give back the Monies he’s earned from it.

No? Fucking Christian hypocrite.

GQ went all petty after Marks comments about regretting the movie and made a list of things he should regret more.

“ Yesterday actor and Super Bowl abandon-er Mark Wahlberg professed at a Catholic conference in Chicago that he has lingering guilt over starring in Boogie Nights, the movie that made him a star. This is patently insane coming from Wahlberg given that:

A. Boogie Nights is a great movie B. "Devout Catholic," my ass C. Wahlberg once, you know, beat two Vietnamese men with a stick while shouting racist slurs at them.

The latter is hardly the only crime this man has perpetrated upon innocent bystanders and/or the general public. Here now is a list of things that Wahlberg should think about the next time he plants his ass in a confessional booth:

R30 yes it’s true. He said this in 2017. He regrets that movie more than anything and he hopes God forgives him for making it.

R29, I had a similar experience.

I saw it with my elderly mother and her best friend, Annie. When Diggler pulled it out, the two cackled so loud, I jumped. Annie shouted, “I knew he’d do that!”

This was certainly Graham's best role - she's not had anything so suited to her limited talents since.

Wahlberg really is/was Dirk, dumber than a box of rocks, and that performance probably required a lot of direction and editing.

Guys. He is not racist anymore.

He even allows black people in his home.

I thought Burt Reynolds would go on to make some great movies after grabbing the spotlight again. But then he made the terrible choice of “Striptease”, and that was that.

I also love John C. Reilly in this as well.

P.S. what a god awful ugly ass sweatshirt Wahlberg is wearing!!

[quote]P.S. what a god awful ugly ass Wahlberg is!!

Fixed.

I like that him and Donnie are hands on with the Wahlburgers franchise. Some would hire people to do it all but he randomly pops in and out of Wahlburgers to check up on everything. He is always at the one on Sunset Boulevard in LA.

That is the only one I like. The one in Brooklyn is AWFUL.

OP No. Let us not, shall we.

I really love it, especially Thomas Jane.

Thomas Jane was hot in the film. Loved the 'stache.

I think it's time we revisit the reasons why "Marky Mark" even has a career. Can anybody explain the appeal of this ugly, pissy faced, openly racist and hateful, hate-crime-committing pig?

His part could have EASILY been played by another actor but they gave the job that piece of shit.

[quote]Julianne Moore and Burt Reynolds were ROBBED of their Oscars

Absolutely.

Great opening scene with The Emotions "Best of my love" as the background soundtrack. It grabbed me from there.

I always loved how Burt Reynolds was an elder DLer undercover in this movie, spotting the very young, cute, hot “talent” within seconds and getting him to show him Cock.

Amazing movie, the only time I've ever liked Marky Mark in anything. I normally can't stand him.

Per Wikipedia

[quote] A committed Roman Catholic, Wahlberg openly supports same-sex marriage, despite the church's opposition. In September 2015, he apologized to Pope Francis about the crude jokes he made in the film Ted, and in October 2017, in a public interview conducted by Catholic Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, stated that he has sought forgiveness from God for portraying a porn actor in Boogie Nights. He later stated on Andy Cohen's radio show, Radio Andy, that the interview "was a joke taken too seriously."

So this "good Catholic" thinks asking for forgiveness from God is a joke taken too seriously. You going to hell boy.

I love Don Cheadle in this.

That Don Cheadle scene in the donut shop always stood out to me. One of the first scenes I think of when this movie is mentioned.

Marky Mark was also offered the role of Ennis in “Brokeback Mountain” and turned it down because he couldn’t “live with” himself having played a gay man.

According to an interview in Premiere Magazine, Mark Wahlberg stated that at one point, he and Joaquin Phoenix were considered for the two lead roles. Although Wahlberg considered it due to his brother-like relationship with Phoenix, the script was ultimately too sexually graphic for him.

He would've been horrible in Brokeback Mountain.

[quote] Julianne Moore and Burt Reynolds were ROBBED of their Oscars

Seriously.

“I met with Ang Lee on that movie, I read 15 pages of the script and got a little creeped out,” Wlahberg told the press. “It was very graphic, descriptive – the spitting on the hand, getting ready to do the thing. I told Ang Lee, ‘I like you, you’re a talented guy, if you want to talk about it more.’ Thankfully, he didn’t. I didn’t rush to see Brokeback, it’s just not my deal. Obviously, it was done in taste — look how it was received.”

Creeper out? What kind of little tulip are you? This film is a masterpiece.

R55 That is a quote from Mark Wahlberg about Brokeback Mountain

I remember an account where he bitched about having to get in some cold body of water for a scene in that sniper movie he was in and the director told him, for the amount of money you’re getting here you’re fucking getting in the water.

Yes R44 I love that scene. That smooth tracking shot from the street into the disco is amazing.

there is also one seen going into the pool. This was inspired from a Russian / Cuban film called Yo Soy Cuba. I took a Cuban Cinema class in my undergraduate studies. Once I saw this scene ice cream hey that's from boogie nights. My teacher told me to shut the hell up but it was a good observation

THE opening shot is a classic. Philip Seymour Hoffman as Scotty made me so sad. Poor guy. He was so in love with the hopelessly straight dimwit Dirk.

Every scene in the movie is so emotionally balanced.

R49 I love the donut shop scene too! Specifically the shot of him walking by and picking up the bag of cash. Loved the fluidity of it all after the tension and chaos of the sequence. It's a total Scorsese/Tarantino, early 90s cinema moment.

It's a great movie, little things jump out at me, like how every 'date' the Colonel has gets younger and younger, or how when Dirk wins his first porn award he acknowledges everyone at his table except Scotty.

I hear there is a porn knockoff called Booger Nights. Hey, there's something for every fetish.

Paul Thomas Anderson and Maya Rudolph have been together for 17 years, have four kids, call each other husband and wife and yet never married.

Not everyone cares about that piece of paper r63

Then don't use Husband and Wife. You aren't. Tell your children the truth...you are LOVERS!

Who. Cares????

Seriously. Imagine being bothered by THAT??

[quote]That smooth tracking shot from the street into the disco is amazing.

It was done in one long take and inspired by the opening shot by Orson Welles in his 1958 film, 'Touch of Evil.'

It was actually inspired by the shot from Goodfellas, not Touch of Evil.

Because they both went into a night club? Really? Wow.

Because PTA has spoken of Scorsese as one of his inspirations and idols and he loves Goodfellas.

No one has ever mentioned “Touch of Evil” besides you.

[quote]No one has ever mentioned “Touch of Evil” besides you.

Scorsese emulated Welles' shot.

Touch of Evil is commonly cited as the source of inspiration for long, tracking shots. This inspired Scorsese, who in turn inspired PTA, but I'm sure both filmmakers would agree that their source is the same well.

Magnolia was great as well, but long. There were times when I was watching a scene and thinking "cut, cut!'

It's raining frogs Hallelujah, It's raining frogs, Amen....

I love Magnolia. It gets shit on for its length and unevenness, but I love all that stuff about it. The only person I think is overdoing it is Julianne Moore, but even then there's something captivating about how campy and over the top she is. I love Paul Thomas Anderson so much.

r75, There is nothing campy about Moore's performance in Nights. She plays a sexual confident pornstar, yet personally damaged woman so well. The desperateness to see her children, the desperateness to stop using drugs. She gives as a very even, dramatic performance. Some of you are terrible critics and would probably would horrible film makers as well, but art is subjective.

[quote]Some of you are terrible critics and would probably would horrible film makers as well, but art is subjective.

If you had read, quite literally, the first sentence of my post you would have seen that I was talking about Magnolia, and not Boogie Nights.

There's so many great scenes in this film.. There is one in particular I called the "reap what you sow" scene. Roller Girl does a "Gonzo bangbus" type of video and picks up a guy in the limo while Dirk picks up straight guy that wants to see him jerk off.

It's actually kind of hot than BOOM other guys come out of nowhere and beat the crap out of Dirk and Rob him while in the limo the guy fucking Roller recognizes her and fucks her really rough. She kicks him out of the limo and stomps on him with her skates.

for some reason that scene is really got to me and the music is barely there but it's still haunting.

R78 see the OP video. The video is the RollerGirl scene.

And the scene is tense, creepy and haunting.

[quote]Some of you are terrible critics and would probably would horrible film makers as well, but art is subjective.

Well, smell you...oh sorry that was rude. Fuck you, that's better.

Wahlburg has the body of a God in this

r80, Please don't try me right now. If IP addresses could be linked to physical locations I'd knock you out like Mike tyson.

Nobody underappreciated BOOGIE NIGHTS -- it was a critical and awards darling.

"Hi-is there any cocaine at this party?"

[quote]r16 Magnolia was better. No Marky Mark.

I think MAGNOLIA is the finer film, too. And Moore is better in that, as well.

Magnolia, Finer? Yes, maybe. More purely entertaining? No way. Boogie Nights is like crack.

The Master is his best, you cowards!

Some of you may notice after seeing this film a few times that the guy who they pick up off the street in the limo scene is the same guy who we see earlier making the blowjob motion to Rollergirl in her high school classroom, hence him saying “I know you... your name is Brandy right?”. So we understand why she attacks him so brutally.

r83, It didn't nab Best Picture in a year where Titanic won and was not a box office smash. Yes it mad a profit but for a film of its caliber, A-list actors and director it was limited to cult status. Yes, it IS underappreciated. In my opinion, its one of the best films of the 90s, yet doesn't have the same notoriety as say a Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, Fight Club, or Fargo.

R3 That one and the one with Moore and Graham doing cocaine really got under my skin.

[quote]Please don't try me right now. If IP addresses could be linked to physical locations I'd knock you out like Mike tyson.

Look at you, Internet Tough Guy R82.

Pussy.

It is actually not underappreciated. It made Heather Graham’s career, revived Burt Reynolds’, and cemented Julianne Moore’s reputation as a great talent.

It’s also a better film than There Will Be Blood, which is a superb film but feels disjointed compared to the sweep of the storytelling in BN.

In this oral history Nina Hartley (Little Bill's wife) says that Julianne Moore was cold to her, seriously.

[quote]Macy didn’t treat me like a leper. He treated me with respect and professionalism. And I really appreciated that, because except for the people in the makeup trailer, no one else really spoke to me. Wahlberg, on my first day of shooting, came up and said hello; he talked to me for five minutes and then walked away and that was it. And Julianne Moore came in the makeup trailer one time, looked in my direction; I couldn’t read the expression on her face and she left quickly thereafter. But none of the female performers came up to me and said, “Hi, hope you’re having a good time.”

^^ great - the history of a film told by 8 guys and 2 girls.

They couldn't even try to even it out?

[quote]Nina Hartley (Little Bill's wife) says that Julianne Moore was cold to her, seriously

What was she expecting? Hey, great cocksucker, love your pussy?

Great Article!

R88 I noticed that the first time I watched it. His teasing causes her to walk out of school for good. I always wondered if Anderson got that story from Traci Lords, who also said that she walked out of school for good after some classmates found out about her porn career and made fun of her.

Saw it. Can't remember anything about it. Unmemorable, though I usually remember Anderson's films as unremarkable.

Saw it. Can remember everything about it. Memorable, though I usually remember Anderson's films as remarkable.

"OMG, my classmates found out I do porn and hound me relentlessly about it!"

Gee, what did you expect them to do, make you Prom Queen?

There have already been several threads on this OP. Would it have killed you to have done a search first before you posted this? I mean really? What’s wrong with having a little consideration for others and doing a search first? Would it really have been that hard? Would it?

BOOGIE NIGHTS is an escapist escapade. The characters come to dark ends, but there's no message to the film.

MAGNOLIA has much deeper characterizations and more interesting overall themes.

[quote]BOOGIE NIGHTS is an escapist escapade. The characters come to dark ends, but there's no message to the film

It's about family R102. Those that come together, even these misfits, can find each other. It's actually a nice message.

I'm sorry but IT RAINED FROGS! Pointlessly!! Magnolia was a wank job, stop defending it! It emotionally scars the Darfur orphan when it's mentioned!! You people are heartless!

When Buck is dressed like one of the Commodores at the 1980 New Year’s party lol

My favorite performance in it is from Joanna Gleason as the mother. I really wanted her to have one more scene where she went head to head with Julianne Moore. A confrontation between the mother who can't fuck him and the mother who does.

When I got into watching BIG LOVE, I couldn't believe the same actress who played Jessie in BOOGIE NIGHTS was now playing a mousy Mormon sister wife. I didn't recognize her!

Did Dirks mom want to fuck him?

Who didn’t?

R101, SHUT THE HELL UP! Geez, I despise idiots LIKE YOU who elect themselves "Message Board Monitor" and complain that there's another thread on this subject. GET A LIFE, you miserable moron! Nobody has to do research before posting something. It's a message board. It's not that monumental. You come here to ask a question or talk about something on your mind to see what others think and you don't have to ask permission or follow some arbitrary protocol fabricated by officious, overbearing, control freak pricks LIKE YOU! You don't like a thread? DON'T READ IT, but don't come on here scolding anyone for starting their own thread on a subject. I'm not the OP by the way. I'm just someone who hates jerks LIKE YOU.

The scene early in the film where they’re all Disco dancing in the club, and nothing bad has happened yet.....it’s perfectly joyful.

Awful fake film, fucking loath Anderson, what a no talent twat

R93 They might have felt weird because of Nina's part in the movie. She was nude and doing simulated fucking. It's too bad they shunned her, because she's actually a quite smart and charming person. Not your typical airheaded porn star. And not untalented as a conventional actress.

Porn star/director Veronica Hart had a small part as a judge in the movie and she invited the cast to a set of a porn movie she was making and she said they all treated her well, including Julianne. They probably had some respect for her because they got to know her as a person some and respected she also had studied acting prior to porn and even performed in a play at Kennedy Center in NYC once.

I forgot to mention above, Paul Thomas Anderson called Veronica Hart "the Meryl Steep of porn" and also cast her in another small, clothed part in his film Magnolia.

Wonderful masterpiece.

It is one of the best ever

[quote] This is one of the few times that Marky Mark's style of acting is effective and works 100%.

Agreed.

[quote] Julianne Moore and Burt Reynolds were ROBBED of their Oscars, and I still feel this way over 20 years later.

Agree about Moore. Reynolds gave a wonderful performance and if he had acted like an adult after being nominated I would object if he hadn't won the Oscar. But he behaved like a shit to PT Anderson publicly and was deservedly punished by not being given the Oscar.

Reynolds could have had a second act to his career in his final years, but he was his own worst enemy.

r117, What was their beef about?

It was a travesty Moore lost over Basinger. Who basically won for looking like a movie star Veronica Lake. R117 Reynolds hated the film to his dying day. He felt PTA was glorifying the porn industry. Burt felt the film was the worst mistake he would ever make or win the Oscar, or at least being nominated. Burt did it for the money, and it paid off with all the critical praise.

I know he was a senior and locked in his ways but you would think after getting the reviews of his career, winning the Golden Globe and then the Oscar nomination, something would have kicked in and maybe realized not only was he great in it, it was indeed a great movie. All he saw was porn and not the family he was the head of. He didn't get it at all.