Rating: 
Summary: What a lemon!
Review: Boogie nights. Ñ This has got to be the stupidest story I have ever seen. As a movie, some people claim it has merits. Whatever these merits may be, I fail to see them, and anyway they are totally nullified by the incredible mindlessness of the characters portrayed. How could anyone with a minimum of common sense empathize with people of that sort? Barnyard animals behave better and more rationally. Ñ And so, for fear I might die in an accident and people would find this DVD in my collection, I've taken care to thoroughly destroy it and throw it in the garbage where it belongs, Ñ no matter how heavy the price I had been stupid enough to pay for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Film - Weak Extras
Review: As has been written many times before, this is a great film that captivates its audience from beginning to end. My only complaint is that the DVD extras are extremely boring and weak. By reading the back cover, you get the impression that this new DVD edition will give you all kinds of new and interesting extras. Take my advice, don't believe it! The extras are short, boring, and add absolutely nothing to the experience of the DVD. In summary, I highly recommend the film, but if you already own the first edition, don't even think about upgrading to this one.
Rating:
Summary: flashy and exciting 2nd film by PTA
Review: My first experience with director Paul Thomas Anderson was Magnolia, his third film. It took many a repeated viewings to relish, but now that I do, I consider it to be one of the highest points of filmmaking of the 90's if not the entirety of film history. Anderson has a distinct style: ensemble characters, San Fernando setting, the same character actors, and colorful cinematography.Boogie Nights is the flashier, more instantly entertaining of the two. It's also shorter by forty minutes, yet still has the "sprawling epic" feel that either turns people off or on to Anderson depending on who you are and where your tastes lie. The film centers around the porn industry as many should know by now with all the buzz this film has received because of its controversial and sexually provacative subject. Boogie Nights focuses on the family that surrounds pornographers, more so than the pornography and sex itself- How patriarchal director Jack Horner (played superbly in the role of his career by Burt Reynolds) and matriarchal porno star Amber Waves (Julianne Moore, also in a stunning performance) sort of adopt a 17 year old heavily- endowed dishwasher, Eddie Adams, aka Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) into their family of porno films, pool parties, and cocaine. Dirk's ego (and cocaine habit) gradually intensify as he becomes the "award-winning" star of a series of James Bondian type adult film as "Brock Landers." Anderson pokes great fun at the haste with which the plot, dialogue, and script in these movies is executed, yet he does so without denigrating Horner's hope that the films will attract audiences who'll come not just to see the pornographic material but the rest of the film too. As the 80's dawn his world, Horner is forced to abandon these ambitions of artistic integrity with the introduction of videotape, in which people can fastforward straight to the sexual parts, so why even bother making a film with plot and characters? A decline is inevitable for all characters filled with shocking violence, drugs, and prostitution. This is a Paul Thomas Anderson picture though, so naturally there's a redemptive though unsentimental ending. The performances are incredible. Wahlberg is charismatic and nuanced in the breakthrough role of Dirk. The first choice of the role was Leonardo DiCaprio but Wahlberg makes you forget about Leo with his acting chops and magnetic intensity. Moore plays a woman too addicted to maintain relationships with her child with bravura. Burt Reynolds is fantastic as Horner, probably the best performance in the whole movie, which is saying a lot considering the high-grade talent in the film which includes among others, veterans, William H. Macy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Melora Walters, Don Cheadle, Philip Baker Hall, and John C. Reilly, all as pornographers on some level or another. Boogie Nights is one incredible film. Love it or hate it; it's packed to the brim with comedic and dramatic electricity. See it for any of its many virtues: acting, directing, cinematography, music, or the unique subject matter itself. This is not a film to be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best
Review: Burt Reynolds gives an inspired performance as the avuncular leader of a "family" of porn stars who churn out films by the dozen under his watchful eye. In a sad turnaround on the rags to riches theme, Mark Wahlberg, who is nothing less than brilliant in this film, plays a teenaged loser with an abusive family who has one thing going for him: he's one hot stud, in his clothes and out of them. In a twist of fate, he's "discovered" by Reynolds, who invites him over to the famiiy homestead to audition for a part in his next movie. The audition requires the budding star to perform sexual intercourse with several people watching and critiquing his performance. He passes the test, and becomes an overnight porn sensation, renamed "Dirk Diggler." Then we watch his tragic disintegration from superstar to drug addict (cocaine) back to his origins: a has-been loser in his early 20s. Wahlberg is so poignant, so powerful, he has the viewer in tears, even though the subject matter is not everyone's cup of tea.
Rating:
Summary: Lives Up To The Hype But...
Review: "Boogie Nights" has shockingly lived up to the hype, one of few 'classics' that actually has for me. It tells the tale of a nightclub worker and his change to 70's pornstar Dirk Diggler. He is quickly drawn into a world of drugs and meaningless sex, believing that he has risen above his awful past, but he soon discovers that no matter how great you think you've become, you're still the same person you've always been. P.T. Anderson (Magnolia) makes gold with this classic rags-to riches tale, offering a truly meaningful theme for an entire generation. That said, I don't believe I'd suggest buying this before renting it. It's a very acquired taste, and is really not the feel-good movie of the year. It has replay value, but only over a large scale of time. I recommend it, but rent it first.
Rating:
Summary: Well Acted, Very Stylized, Completely Pointless
Review: This film achieves its goal of being a survey of the 1970s porn industry. The acting is terrific. But why exactly we should care about its subject matter is a question that I have yet to see answered. In this man's opinion (which is a rare one), that porn is somw of the lamest stuff around. But apparently there are many hollywood folks out there whose lives have been enriched by watching porno flicks. Having been enriched by this blessd genre, I guess they feel it their duty to tell us about the heroic exploits of those who brought this stuff into American culture. Hollywood's fascination with porn is a bit odd. I guess there are lots of film makers out there who get thier cheap thrills from watching it, and therefore want to protect it from the threat of censorship. As a result, we get films like Boogie Nights and The People Versus Larry Flint which try to sell us on the idea of porno industry insiders as cultural icons. Whatever.
Rating:
Summary: Over and over and over...
Review: This is one of those films that I could watch OVER AND OVER again for the rest of my life. And each time you see it you take something new away from it. It could be a feeling of happy nostalgia from the music and fashion, or just the shock of witnessing the degradation and disintegration of a grasp of reality...or both. I don't know, this film really moved me. In usual PTA form, all of the performances are brilliant. The soundtrack TOTALLY rocks. The special edition is great with all of its fun deleted scenes and stuff. The only thing that bothers me is PTA's commentary...he goes off on some major..tangents. I would like to know more about his thought processes for the movie he comments on, but he ends up talking about completely unrelated stuff. But that's okay, the film is still wonderful and the DVD is still worth purchasing in my humble opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection.
Review: I feel that Boogie Nights is a perfect film in every sense of the film making world: be it the writing, shot composition, the acting... anything. I also believe that the film is greater than the sum of all these parts, making it - if ever possible - a more than perfect movie. These seemingly overly-generous words aside, this - the second release of the film on DVD - has equaled the quality of the film itself. I could go on and on about how good the movie is, but this is a review of the two-disc set, so I will instead go on and on about how good this set is. The picture and sound quality are top notch. No grain to be seen here (as with most releases from New Line), and colours are crisp and clean. Dialogue is loud and clear, and the music (almost a character itself) is spot on. Extras wise, the deleted scenes are great (most of above average A/V quality), the John C. Reilly Files are funny, and the music video is a nice addition, but my favourite extras (if it means anything) were the commentaries. One ultra-informative one with just Mr. Anderson, and one (one of my favourite commentaries from any disc) with Mr. Anderson and a lot of the cast (not all of the cast) - it's hilarious, informative and it down-right rocks! There's no better way to watch this movie than this edition, and with everything else you're getting with this set you'd be silly not to buy it.
Rating:
Summary: ZZZZZZZZZZ
Review: This DVD is one of those rare examples when the director's commentary is much more informative and entertaining than the film itself and that's because BOOGIE NIGHTS is so vague about its subject that it could easily have been a film about a conventional Hollywood actor and not a porn star. Director Paul Thomas Anderson tries so hard not to be judgmental about his characters that he has instead created a film which glamorizes the adult film industry. Not once does he deal with any of the real problems which porn actors and actresses face when working in this business (I should know, I was there back in the '80s). For example, the viewer is never told how dificult it is for someone who works in porn to be involved in a serious relationship with someone outside the business (I had to keep my past a secret from my late wife). In fact, we never see most of the leading characters involved in ANY kind of relationships in this film. Instead Anderson splatters at viewers faces "sentimental" problems like Julianne Moore losing custody of her son due to her drug problem (am I supposed to feel sorry for her?)and Buck Swope not getting a loan at a bank because of his job in porn. Then there are the omissions which are obviously intentional so as not to make BOOGIE NIGHTS seem one-sided or offensive to the director's porn buddies who worked as consultants on this film. Example No. 2: because this film was supposedly inspired by the life of John Holmes, then maybe Anderson should've shown his hero, Dirk Diggler, appear in gay porn, something which is not uncommon for the more handsome or well-endowed actors to choose to do. The following is a sample of the film's other inaccuracies: (1) The career of Julianne Moore's character, Amber Waves, would NOT have lasted as long as it did, mostly because of her age and plain looks (sorry, Ms. Moore, nothing personal). Porn producers are always looking for fresh, new talent. Nina Hartley is one of a few rare exceptions. (2) Porn stars in the '80s did not always work with the same cast members and the same tired, has-been director. By the time I got in the business, John Holmes' "Johnny Wadd" series was already burnt out. (3) The acting and production values in late '70s/early '80s porn was not as bad as depicted in this movie. If anything, it was probably better than anything you might see in day-time soap operas! (4) If I remember correctly, the porn video revolution did not begin until 1984 or so, and NOT in the late '70s. I was 18 when I started, so my memory might be a little hazy. Need I go on? This is definitely not the industry I recall working in. The truth is, BOOGIE NIGHTS is not very good, neither as a serious expose about porn nor movie-going entertainment. We're never told why some of these people chose to do what they did (I was discovered by an agent while studying in CA). Also the story goes on and on to the point where the "plot" becomes a mish-mash of little stories that are completely pointless. In the end there are no lessons to be learned. Life goes on and everyone lives happily ever after. Perhaps a filmed biography based on John Holmes' life would've worked better. In any case, BOOGIE NIGHTS stinks.
Rating:
Summary: Not intended for mass consumption
Review: This movie isn't for everyone. First, the subject matter is not for the weak of heart. Second, the ironic truth is that the subject matter has almost nothing to do with the reasons this film is so highly regarded. While the behind-the-scenes look at the porn industry is interesting in its own right, it serves as a mere backdrop to the cast of characters we follow through the story. Brilliantly told, this is a story about people and their reactions to the excesses of the late 70's / early 80's Hollywood sex scene. Boogie Nights is a must see for anyone who appreciates filmmaking. It's not the story, it's the story teller.
|
