Search - Boogie Nights on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 9/16/2022...

Had its moments and lots of stars that you know from over the years. Worth a watch but not a keeper or worthy of a rewatch!

Too long, too drawn out, too weird...can I have some more?

Mike Freed | 07/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Boogie Nights" is one of those movies that defies categorization. It's about the porno industry, and has its fair share of sexual content, but never titillates. It's often funny but the humor is usually of the dark variety. Much of the content shouldn't be entertaining, but the movie succeeds grandly as entertainment.It's the oblique nature of "Boogie Nights" that makes it so special. It's not a film that will give you pat answers; rather, it'll challenge you in a way few films do. What other movie in recent memory was able to take an explicit sex scene and make it sexually unexciting? "Boogie Nights" has just such a scene, and it serves one purpose: to de-glamorize the world of porno and portray it for what it doubtless is: a business where people do nothing but try to make a living. "Boogie Nights" centers around the life and times (the late 1970's and early 1980's) of Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg, who's dynamite), who is discovered by porno impresario Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds, in another dynamite performance) and soon changes his name to Dirk Diggler and becomes a porno star.Dirk's story is intertwined with the stories of others who share his world: coked-up porn queen Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), who plays surrogate mother to Dirk because she is legally barred from seeing her own child; Reed Rothschild (John C. Reilly), his best buddy and co-star; Rollergirl (Heather Graham), a porn performer who insists on "acting" with her rollerskates on; Buck Swope (Don Cheadle), a black porn bit player who dresses like Gene Autry and dreams of owning a stereo store; and Little Bill (William H. Macy), Horner's quietly enraged right hand man, whose wife literally does it with everyone and anyone and doesn't care if her husband sees her doing it.Director Paul Thomas Anderson tells the characters' stories vignette-style, much as Robert Altman would. In particular, Dirk's rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story is alternately funny, horrifying, sad and uplifting. In particular, there is a scene in which a strung-out Dirk tries to make a drug deal with a crackhead dealer. Problem is, the cocaine he's trying to sell is fake, the dealer's house is full of armed thugs, and his friend keeps lighting firecrackers as the whacked-out dealer listens to Night Ranger's "Sister Christian". Anderson directs this scene so beautifully that the tension and fear is absolutely unbearable after a while, but the whole setup is so bizarre that you can't help but smirk your way through it. That's great directing, folks. The performances are all standouts, but Reynolds' and Moore's are especially fine. In addition, the period feel (down to the Cheryl Tiegs poster on Dirk's bedroom wall) and music is right on target. This is a brilliant film, and though it's too in love with its own brilliance from time to time, the flaws are greatly outweighed by the film's tremendous energy and superb performances."

Boogie Nights-The return of Dirk

Paul | Los Angeles, California USA | 10/23/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Platinum series is a noticeable improvement over the last release. Paul Anderson, the director, says this is the "definitve version" of Boogie Nights. While I agree with him in many ways, I STILL had the need for MORE supplemental material. The packaging is really nice. It opens like a book, revealing 2 attractive discs, one with the film, the other with supplemental material. Trying to release these discs with your fingers may be the hardest thing you ever did. They are VERY difficult to release from the case. This edition does not come with a booklet, but gives you plenty to read on the inner sleeves. Once you pop the DVD's into your player, you'll see that the menu's are simple and very easy to navigate. You can set-up your monitor with a simple 'color bars' set-up. The picture quality is beautiful. Color saturation is noticeably improved over the previous release, and overall the widescreen image is attractive and clean. The sound is also greatly improved over the previous release. It is cleaner and more vibrant and the stereo separation seems to be much more precise. The music sounds incredible and the vocals are clear and sharp. The firecracker scene at the drug dealers house sounds wonderful! The audio commentary is reason enough to get this DVD. Paul Anderson has almost every person you'd ever want to listen to on this DVD. They are all talking in their own vulgar and natural ways throughout the film, and most of the time, it is quite amusing and informative. This version has an additional few minutes of a deleted scene that is great to watch including Becky, Jerome and a car crash with Mark Whalberg driving! John C. Reilly is a really funny guy, and his scenes in this DVD, (The John C. Reilly Files), are a pleasure to watch. The DVD also includes the "Try" video, a nice little addition. In conclusion, I love this film, and anyone else who does should get this DVD. I recommend it highly, I just really wanted to see more supplemental footage, (probably because I love this film so much). Besides that, this DVD is excellent, great picture and wonderful sound, and the supplemental footage is incredibly entertaining. **By the way, go to the 'color bars' and let it play for about 30 seconds....something shocking will appear on your screen** Enjoy this DVD!"

Dare I Say the Best Film of the Decade? Yes!

daniel | toledo | 10/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Boogie Nights may not only be the best movie in the best year for film since 1976 but the best of it's decade. Mark Wahlberg sheds his Marky Mark persona by play Dirk Diggler, an up and cuming porn star who finds a family in his co-stars. Director Jack Horner, played by a resurgant Burt Reynolds, is the father figure to Dirk while Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) assumes the role of mother. It's a dysfuncial family at that but maybe the most stable a young man in the 1970's San Fernado Valley could have. Dirk starts out a wide-eyed kid from Torance who gets swept up by Horner and co. after a blow-up with his emotionally abusive, acholic mother. Paul Thomas Anderson directs with such skillful hand that we come to understand the decisions he makes but realize where it's going to lead. The assemble cast includes a lintany of names too long to metion all of them but particularly good is John C. Reilly, collaberating again with Anderson who'd given him his best role yet in Hard Eight. The reissued DVD is absolutely worthwhile even for those of you who already have the previous. The most notable inclusion is a Scorsese-esque scene in which Dirk attempts to come to Becky's aid after her marriage turns sour. In his voice over commentary PTA explains he wanted somebody in the film to get away clean thus decided to make the difficult cut. The other nine deleteds are just as good, nothing new but still as entertaining as they were when the DVD was first released. I hate to turn people off to such a fabulous film but I've found most people have a very strong reaction to it, you'll either love it or hate it, there's no middle ground here. And while I hate to discard great films such as Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction into a runners-up catogory I can't help but think this was the best film of the 90's and it's reach could easily span two decades if not for Raging Bull (which is given proper credit for inspiring the film's final scene). It's not to be missed!"