Cheap Boogie Nights (New Line Platinum Series) (DVD) (Paul Thomas Anderson) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Boogie Nights (New Line Platinum Series)

A Good Film About the Porn Industry of the 70s and 80s
Mark Wahlberg and Burt Reynolds star in this film centering on the heyday of the porn industry in the 70s and 80s. <
> <
>Mark Wahlberg stars as Eddie Adams, a [..]bus boy working at a nightclub washing dishes. One of the club's most frequent visitors is Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), a porn movie producer who comes to the club looking for new actors. Rollergirl (Heather Graham) also works at the club and is one of Horner's most popular actresses. <
> <
>One night, Jack goes into the back to talk to Eddie and soon the two become friends. Jack tells Eddie all about the porn business, and Eddie is immediately intrigued. Eddie has nothing to lose, since his parents threw him out of the house with just the clothes on his back. Eddie accepts jack's invitation to act in one of his films and soon he is submurged in the world of [..] movies. <
> <
>His costar in his first movie is Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), a very close friend of Jack's who lives in his house with him. Eddie has a very successful session with Amber, and soon he sees his career begin to skyrocket. Due to his new-found success, Eddie decides to change his name. He settles on Dirk Diggler. <
> <
>For several years, Dirk is living in the limelight, making lots of money, and filming lots of x-rated movies. However, success begins to take its toll, and Dirk delves into the world of drugs and alcohol. Dirk's hard-driving life catches up to him and he has a major falling-out with Jack, who has replaced him with a new main actor called Johnny Doe. Dirk's downward spiral continues, and he and his best friend Reed Rothschild (John C. Reilly) are involved in a shoot-out with an over-drugged thug who likes to listen to Night Ranger music. <
> <
>Dirk survives, but he realizes his life is a mess. He decides to try to make amends with Jack, and Jack and Amber welcome him back with open arms. After their reconcilliation, Dirk resumes his role as Jack's main star. <
> <
>I thought this was a very good movie. Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, and Burt Reynolds give fine performances. The plot is very good and does a good job of showcasing the porn industry at the height of its success. <
> <
>I recommend this movie very highly. Watch and get a feel for what it was like to be a porn star.

---

Glamour's Underbelly Revealed
'Boogie Nights' does for the disco seventies and the porn industry what 'Nashville' did to country music. It shows the underside of the glamour presented. The film shows us all the trappings that draw people to the "high life," then pulls the rug out from under it. We see the usual suspects and the usual draws: There's money, fame, lust, passion, and drugs. But these benefits provide an understated banality that comes to the fore. The seemingly long, drawn out conversations are only postcards of emotion that show the depth of personhood that seems to escape all of the protagonists. It is superficial, and all of life's best elements seem to go out the window. <
> <
>There is the calculated cheesiness of the producer (Burt Reynolds) and his odd detatchment from his craft. He both revels and drowns in the lust and money that are presented to him. He meets a young aspiring hopeful (Mark Wallberg) who must overcome his poverty and alienation from home. His naivete' is striking, and he doesn't entirely change in his innocence, only becoming a casualty of it. (The way he practices to become the next Bruce Lee in the midst of his success as a novelty presentation is certainly a sad commentary about his life.) His new success doesn't make him all that happy, including his rationalization that his movies are making marriages more passionate. The aftermath of all the calculated lust makes everyone, except the calloused producer, a casualty in a different way. One fellow porn star (Don Cheadle) demonstrates that his true passion is for a loving marriage and a hi-fi business, but the decent, conventional world won't let him. Similarly, a fellow porn creator (William Macy) shows tragically that love transcends lust, even when it won't ever become realized. A female porn star is devastated by her cocaine addiction and an inevitable result of a custody battle. If we aren't convinced near the end of the movie, then a "candid camera" scene between "Rollergirl" and the man off the street certainly shows how the emotional baggage catches up to all of the porn industry's false promises for true happiness. <
> <
>The initial draw to 'Boogie Nights' may be deceptive. It presents the glamour of all that the modern world believes to be desirable, but cleverly shows how the lowest common denominator can restrict our lives from even greater happiness.

---

The Rise of Star.
This is a movie loosely based on 70's and 80's porn star John Holmes. In this version, a young man name Eddie Adams is approached by porn director Jack Horner. Eddie then turns famouse and leads into a downward spiral including drugs and violence. This movie features many stars of the late 90's and today, including Mark Wahlberg as Eddie Adams, Burt Reynolds at Jack Horner, John C. Reilly as Reid Rothchild, and Julianne Moore as Amber Waves. Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore were nominated for oscars for their breakthrough performance. This movie was also nominated for Best Writing to Paul Thomas Anderson for an oscar. <
> <
>The Extras on this DVD are good: 10 Deleted Scenes, a Music Video, 2 Commentary tracks, and the John C. Reilly Files.