Fresh
Boogie Nights, an epic tale of porn, pleasure, and excess, offers a purer hit of exhilaration than any movie this year.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Boogie Nights
The life of a dreamer, the days of a business and the nights in between.
1997 · 2h 36m · R
Drama
Directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson
Overview
Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack Horner aspires to elevate his craft to an art form. Horner discovers Eddie Adams, a hot young talent working as a busboy in a nightclub, and welcomes him into the extended family of movie-makers, misfits and hangers-on that are always around. Adams' rise from nobody to a celebrity adult entertainer is meteoric, and soon the whole world seems to know his porn alter ego, "Dirk Diggler". Now, when disco and drugs are in vogue, fashion is in flux and the party never seems to stop, Adams' dreams of turning sex into stardom are about to collide with cold, hard reality.
Director and cast
- Paul Thomas Anderson Director
- Mark Wahlberg as Eddie Adams alias Dirk Diggler
- Burt Reynolds as Jack Horner
- Julianne Moore as Amber Waves
- John C. Reilly as Reed Rothchild
- Heather Graham as Rollergirl
- Don Cheadle as Buck Swope
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Scotty J.
- William H. Macy Cast
- Thomas Jane Cast
- Luis Guzmán Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
91%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Not since the mysteriously reclusive Terrence Malick has there been such an explosion of sheer talent on the American movie scene.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Fresh
Considering the potentially explosive nature of the yarn, set in the porn world, Anderson's strategy is remarkably nonjudgmental and nonsensationalistic, largely due to his love and respect for all the characters and his impressive storytelling skills.
Emanuel Levy, Variety
Fresh
In terms of sweep, ambition and precocious cinematic competence, it heralds the arrival of a new talent.
Wally Hammond, Time Out
Fresh
With Boogie Nights we know we're not just watching episodes from disparate lives but a panorama of recent social history, rendered in bold, exuberant colors.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
More films
Magnolia (1999)
Drama · R
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
- Runtime
- 3h 9m
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Cast
- Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, William H. Macy
IMDb
8.0
Rotten Tomatoes
82%
Metacritic
78
54 (1998)
Drama · Music · R
Shane O'Shea, a Jersey boy with big dreams, crosses the river in hopes of finding another, more exciting life at Studio 54. When Steve Rubell, the mastermind behind the infamous disco plucks Shane from the sea of faces clamoring to get inside his club, Shane not only gets his foot in the door, but lands a coveted job behind the bar - a...
- Runtime
- 1h 33m
- Director
- Mark Christopher
- Cast
- Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Mike Myers
IMDb
5.8
Rotten Tomatoes
15%
Metacritic
33
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Comedy · Romance · R
Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.
- Runtime
- 1h 42m
- Director
- Kevin Smith
- Cast
- Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson
IMDb
6.5
Rotten Tomatoes
65%
Metacritic
56
Middle Men (2009)
Comedy · Crime · Drama · R
Chronicles Jack Harris, one of the pioneers of internet commerce, as he wrestles with his morals and struggles not to drown in a sea of conmen, mobsters, drug addicts, and pornstars.
- Runtime
- 1h 45m
- Director
- George Gallo
- Cast
- Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Gabriel Macht
IMDb
6.6
Rotten Tomatoes
40%
Metacritic
60
Meet Monica Velour (2010)
Comedy · Drama · Romance · R
For Tobe, a nerdy, horny, frizzy-haired cineaste who doesn't quite fit in with the average contemporary teen, the pinnacle of womanhood is Monica Velour, a soft-core actress who reached the zenith of her career in the 1980s. When Tobe learns that his love idol is headlining hundreds of miles away at the Gentlemen's Petting Zoo in India...
- Runtime
- 1h 38m
- Director
- Keith Bearden
- Cast
- Kim Cattrall, Dustin Ingram, Brian Dennehy
IMDb
5.8
Rotten Tomatoes
48%
Metacritic
51
Comments
Talk about the film with other members