Boogie Nights

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Drama	Theatrical Trailer(s)	Yes, 1 - 1.85:1, 16x9, Dolby Digital 2.0
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	Yes, 1 - Dolby Digital Rain
Year Released	1997	Commentary Tracks	Yes, 1 - Paul Thomas Anderson (Director)
Running Time	149:19 minutes (not 155 minutes as listed on the packaging)	Other Extras	Deleted Scenes Interviews - Cast and Crew Menu Audio and Animation
RSDL/Flipper	RSDL (94:59)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region	4	Director	Paul Thomas Anderson
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Mark Wahlberg Julianne Moore Burt Reynolds Don Cheadle John C. Reilly William H. Macy Heather Graham Nicole Parker Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Case	Brackley	Starring
RRP	$34.95	Music	Michael Penn

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	No	MPEG	2.0 (silent)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Dolby Digital	5.1
16x9 Enhancement		Soundtrack Languages	English (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448 Kb/s) English (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 320 Kb/s) English Audio Commentary (Dolby Digital 2.0, 384 Kb/s) English (MPEG 2.0 silent, 64 Kb/s)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Macrovision	Yes	Smoking	Yes
Subtitles	None	Annoying Product Placement	No
Subtitles	None	Action In or After Credits	Yes, minor at end of credits

Plot Synopsis

I guess there are a couple of things that stand out about this movie for me, and in some way they are interesting comments upon film-making in general. Firstly, apparently Director Paul Thomas Anderson's first choice for the role of Eddie Adams (a.k.a. Dirk Diggler) in the film was none other than Leonardo Di Craprio. This proves that directors often have no idea about casting - I simply cannot imagine, even in a fit of madness, the mildly effeminate looking Leonardo Di Craprio being able to carry off the role: if it had of happened, I would suggest that this film would have sunk quicker than the Titanic - which is coincidentally the film that Leonardo Di Craprio chose to do instead (and which of course did sink - in my humble opinion). Secondly, this is not a film that needs one view - after having to sit through it twice (since there is an audio commentary included here) I came to realize that the first time through I had missed a lot of the subtlety of the film, which was only picked up on the second run through, which goes to prove that sometimes directors are far too clever for their own good. The film however ends up being a delightfully droll but insightful look at the heady days of the porn film industry of the late seventies and early eighties, when film was about to die and video was about to boom.

The broad plot is a wonderfully retro look at the excesses of the seventies and the move away from them in the eighties. Young Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) is a guy with some dreams of achieving something big with his life, utilizing the one real talent that he has - the rather lethal weapon barely contained within his jeans. Despite living out in the Valley near Los Angeles he has a job washing dishes in a nightclub in a more happening part of the city. The commute is rewarded as the club is frequented by none other than Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) a king of porn films, and his attachment and leading lady Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), as well as a whole plethora of their crowd: porn actors Buck Swope (Don Cheadle) and Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), porn actress Rollergirl (Heather Graham) and production assistant Little Bill (William H. Macy). For some completely unfathomable reason, Eddie catches the eye of Jack, and after an auditioning blow job from Rollergirl, is set for fame and fortune in the porn film industry as Dirk Diggler. What follows is like something out of a Tom Sharpe novel, chronicling the rise of Dirk Diggler from nobody to king of the porn films, to egocentric star, to over-the-hill has-been junkie. Nothing too substantial in the broad story at play here, but it is the marvellous little subplots that stand out here.

The story is very simple, but the setting is ravishing and to bring it to life, you have some damn fine actors doing their best efforts at lousy acting in the films within the film. And, as director Paul Thomas Anderson points out in his commentary, that is no easy thing to do. If you read the absolute litany of Best Supporting Actor award nominations in 1997 and 1998 that Burt Reynolds - perhaps the ultimate seventies icon - earned, you get some indication of the quality of his performance: the Oscars, the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, the British Academy Awards, the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (won), the Golden Globes (won), the Golden Satellite Awards (won), the Los Angeles Film Critics Awards (won), the National Society of Film Critics Awards (won), the New York Film Critics Awards (won) and the Screen Actors Guild Awards (won). Was the performance that good? This was the role that Burt Reynolds was born to play - by far the best thing I can recall him having done. Backing up his glorious performance are other great efforts: Julianne Moore does a superb job of capturing the bad acting for the films within the films (although the unkind may suggest that she was merely doing her usual job), Don Cheadle gives a wonderfully serious performance in the mildly comic role of the "black urban cowboy", John C. Reilly does a sterling job of the agree-with-everyone porn actor cum struggling muso cum junkie, William H. Macy is typically wonderful as the slightly pathetic film production assistant blighted by the torment of his wife screwing around with other men right in front of him, Heather Graham has a suitable naivety as the slightly insecure Rollergirl finding her way in a demeaning industry, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is suitably scatty and babbling as the slightly insecure homosexual general dogsbody on the films. The star is of course Mark Wahlberg who nails the young guy from nowheresville coming to grips with fame and money, and generally failing miserably at doing so in the long term. But what makes this especially memorable is some of the gorgeously droll little roles - like the completely disinterested-looking performance of the technical staff shooting the first sex scene - or the great little one liner parts like when Little Bill walks into the bedroom where his wife is being screwed by some guy, who comes out with a classic one liner in "would you mind closing the door" after being informed that he is "screwing my wife". Director Paul Thomas Anderson has done a damn fine job of capturing the late seventies, early eighties period and this is a very effective counterpoint to something like The Wedding Singer. This has been mainly achieved by some wonderful performances aided by some great, albeit not especially imaginative, cinematography - Anderson freely admits that he nicked a lot of ideas from other people and films.

Okay, some of the apparently very realistic drug taking scenes go a little beyond the necessary (and are no doubt why this copped an R rating, as the nudity and sex is definitely no more than MA at worst) and that will cause concern to some. But overall, this is a wonderfully droll, insightful poke at the porn film industry in particular and the late seventies/early eighties period in general that rewards repeated viewing. And if you recall those heady days with some nostalgia, you are going to die laughing with such droll stuff as Dirk describing his shirt as limited edition nylon with a nice silk print, and Buck demonstrating the hi-fi system with an 8 track!!! Man I really remember those horrendous days.

Transfer Quality

Video

Woah., another stunner from Roadshow Home Entertainment that is only denied reference status by some exceedingly minor problems, that really are hardly worth worrying about.

The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

This is another of those examples of anamorphically filmed efforts that have resulted in the transfer being generally very clear and extremely sharp throughout. The sharpness is so fine that the detail at times is almost frightening, so much so that when the odd let-down does come (and they are very few and far between), it is extremely noticeable. In general, the shadow detail is wonderful, bearing in mind that some scenes were clearly shot in a particular way that reduced the detail on show. There is no low level noise apparent at all in the transfer. This is in general one gorgeous looking transfer that is so good that I am close to nominating the film for inclusion in the Hall of Fame.

This is a gorgeously vibrant transfer with some absolutely stunning colours throughout, and some wonderfully deep blacks for those who find this an issue. When you think of the seventies, you tend to remember the bright, flashy colours of the discos and night clubs and these are beautifully rendered here. The opening scenes set a standard that does not drop throughout, other than deliberately when some muting is employed during the scenes in the eighties. Even when oversaturation appears to be likely, such as the profusely red lighting in one club scene, it is beautifully handled and does not even hint at becoming a problem. This is the sort of stuff that I can watch all day, every day, and I really wish we saw this sort of effort far more often than we do.

There are no readily apparent MPEG artefacts in the transfer. As far as film-to-video artefacts go, the only possible complaint to be made is that there are some extremely minor hints of aliasing present if you really look hard enough. And we have a rarity in that this is a recent film that really does not have too many film artefacts present in the transfer.

This is an RSDL format disc, with the layer change coming at 94:59. The layer change is wonderfully placed, right in a fade to black scene change, that is virtually unnoticeable and completely non-disruptive to the film. This is the sort of stuff that again we should be seeing more of.

Audio

And this time matching the gorgeous video transfer is a fine audio transfer.

There are four audio tracks on the DVD: an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded soundtrack, an English Audio Commentary in Dolby Digital 2.0 (possibly) surround encoded sound and a silent English MPEG 2.0 soundtrack. I listened to the Dolby Digital 5.1 and English Audio Commentary soundtracks. The only query I have is why Roadshow Home Entertainment still need to include the silent MPEG track on some of their releases when no one else has to? Just a query that is all, not something to condemn them for.

There was no problem with dialogue here, which is very clear and easy to understand.

Then we get to the great bugbear of Roadshow Home Entertainment releases, especially for us Pioneer users. One day Roadshow Home Entertainment will have to explain to me why they can be dogged with such appalling audio sync problems as on Rush Hour (received for review at the same time as this disc), yet on another disc, such as this one, there appears to be absolutely no problem whatsoever with audio sync. I really would love to know, as it makes buying Village Roadshow DVDs something of a crapshoot. The fact is that here I could find nothing that even started to look like an audio sync problem, and you can bet that given the problems with Rush Hour I was watching out for it like a hawk stalking a mouse. The only problem that I could see was the merest hint of a possibility of the breakout of audio sync during a couple of scenes early on in the film, but that is being really churlish.

The musical score by Michael Penn is very nicely done, but unfortunately is lost under the wealth of rock music that was used to wonderful effect during the film (even Paul Anderson commented upon this in his commentary). Some of the choices for rock music are so wonderfully apt that it really adds a wonderful dimension to the droll feel of the film. The infamous Heather Graham nude scene for instance, when Dirk asks if she is taking off her roller skates, is scored by that great Melanie song, (I've Got A Brand New Pair of) Roller Skates. Rarely do you see and hear such precision in matching music to action, and that makes this such an enjoyable film.

This is a very nicely detailed soundtrack, which is obviously not too aggressive a soundtrack, since the film is so predominantly dialogue driven. There is such wonderful detail through the rear channels, especially in the club and party scenes, that you really feel as if you are there in the action. This is gorgeously subtle stuff that is only let down by some very slightly skewed balancing of the dialogue track at times, that comes over just a little too front and centre for my taste on occasions. Nothing to really complain about, but it does just slightly diminish the impact of the surround effect created by the ambient noises. The subwoofer barely gets a mention here, but that suits the film well. Overall, a fine soundtrack that really gives the film a lot of support.

Extras

Okay, given the quality that went into everything else, this is a let down right? No, no, no, no, no. Sure, there could perhaps have been a little more offered (like the music video that is apparently on the Region 1 release), but there must have been serious space considerations looming here that have to be accounted for. We also get to see for the first time, at least to my knowledge, the new Dolby Digital Rain trailer - and a beauty it is too in my view. Much more subtle than some of the previous efforts and a nice addition to the growing DD catalogue of trailers.

Theatrical Trailer

Compared to the film, of quite average quality but in reality not too bad at all: it is nice to see the 1.85:1 aspect ratio effort is 16x9 enhanced, but it is the Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded sound that makes this stand out.

Deleted Scenes - (9) (22:27)

All bar one are presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the one other effort being in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but the main difference here to a lot of other films is the fact that they are all 16x9 enhanced. As a result this comes up looking better than just about all such scenes I have seen before, which would also indicate that some were fairly late cuts from the film. Adding to the technical quality is the fact that they can be viewed either with the usual actors' dialogue or with a director's commentary. Nice stuff indeed. One is not really a deleted scene at all though, being a camera rolling piece of improvisation that may or may not have been included in the final film, depending on how it all worked: quite funny though to see the actors just keep on working at six lines of dialogue and stuffing up tremendously! A very nice inclusion in the package.

Director's Commentary - Paul Thomas Anderson (Director)

You might well search the cover for any mention of this extra, but you will come up short. It is simply not mentioned at all on the special features listing: how could you miss this Roadshow Home Entertainment?? The commentary features Paul Thomas Anderson speaking over the film's Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded soundtrack. You probably well know my thoughts on these commentaries by now, but this one I liked. Anderson has a nice, relaxed colloquial approach to the whole thing and does not feel the need to talk incessantly: there are plenty of silent segments here. When he does speak though, he provides a lot of background stuff to the film and the style trying to be achieved, that I found quite informative. He does drop out a couple of times when he obviously turns away from the microphone, but that adds to the charm of the effort in my view. His delivery is nicely varied so that it does not become boring to listen to either. A very nice effort this one.

Interviews - Cast and Crew

Your typical short interview segments from the main cast and crew that are presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, are 16x9 enhanced and with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. I still do not see the point to these interview segments and wish that we could just have a twenty minute full featurette. The problem this time though is that there is quite an horrendous mastering glitch with the interviews. The English 5.1 soundtrack is flagged to the player as Audio 1, and the theatrical trailer and interviews are also flagged to this track. The English 2.0 soundtrack is flagged as Audio 2. Unfortunately, for some unfathomable reason the interviews default to Audio 2 when played, at least on my Pioneer player, so you initially get nothing but silence when watching the interviews. [Ed. It's probably a rogue MPEG track] Sure, it is just a matter of pushing your audio button to select Audio 1, but I have never had this sort of mastering glitch on any other DVD that I have watched and listened to. A minor irritation that should not happen.

R4 vs R1

The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on:

Music Video
Snapper case packaging

Given that there seems to be some disappointment in some circles regarding the audio on the Region 1 version, it would seem that Roadshow Home Entertainment have come up with another Region 4 winner.

[Addendum 13-Feb-2001: New Line have now released a two-disc Special Edition in R1 which has two audio commentaries and a load of additional extras on the second disc, making this the version of choice.]

Summary

Announced for release many, many months ago, Boogie Nights has been a long time in arriving. The first view had me wondering why the heck I had readily volunteered - nay, demanded - to review this piece of tripe. The second time through it started to dawn on me what the heck was trying to be achieved, and I would hazard a guess that further viewings will continue to aid the appreciation of the film. To some extent I have a problem with the presumed acceptance of the drug taking, and that may influence some to avoid the film, as will the presumption that it is a porno film (simply because the most famous scene is probably the Heather Graham nude scene). This is not a porno film and in most respects is actually an anti-porn film. A very nice counterpoint to other retro-fests like The Wedding Singer and well worth considering as an addition to your collection. The entire package is just short of Hall of Fame status.

Aside from some minor quibbles, an excellent video transfer.

A very fine audio transfer.

A very nice collection of extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment

DVD	Pioneer DV-515; S-video output
Display	Sony Trinitron Wega 84cm. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Audio Decoder	Built in
Amplification	Yamaha RXV-795. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Speakers	Energy Speakers: centre EXLC; left and right EXLR; and subwoofer ES-12XL