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Reviewed by Colin Jacobson
New Line, widescreen 2.35:1/16x9, languages: English DD 5.1 [CC], French DD 5.1, subtitles: English, Spanish, French, single side-dual layer, 37 chapters, rated R, 155 min., $24.98, street date 4/7/98. Supplements:
Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor-Burt Reynolds; Best Supporting Actress-Julianne Moore; Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen-Paul Thomas Anderson, 1998. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Heather Graham, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Boogie Nights follows an extended family of filmmakers who struggle to redefine and revolutionize the adult entertainment industry. Led by an idealistic producer (Burt Reynolds) who dreams of elevating his craft into an art form, this film takes a behind-the-scenes journey into the turbulent lives of those who rise and fall in a misunderstood underworld. The film also captures an authentic snapshot of Los Angeles during the late 1970s and early 1980s -- an era when disco and drugs were in vogue, fashion was in flux and the party never seemed to stop. Writer/director Anderson set out to write a story that had a large and complicated cast of characters, which proved to be a challenge because of the enormity of the project. But at the same time, completing the feat on schedule with a modest budget was his greatest reward. At the heart of the story is how the various players in an adult film production company come together to form a makeshift family -- comically dysfunctional in many ways -- but a family nonetheless. Their lives are intertwined in shared experiences that range from the successful highs to the brooding lows. "These characters are all searching for their dignity. They're just trying to find themselves," says Anderson.
Now that it's a year and a half later and I've seen Boogie Nights twice more, I can better see past the similarities between the two films and better assess it on its own merits. The truth is that while Boogie Nights doesn't approach the heights reached by the brilliant Scorsese film - it's hard to imagine a film that seems so self-assured and confident - I feel it does surpass Goodfellas in one area: it's simply more fun. I'm not sure why, but "fun" seems to be the best word I can find to describe Boogie Nights, even though much of the film is very dark. Even when events on-screen turn nasty and terrible things are happening to the characters, the movie remains a churning mess of a ride. "Mess" is probably the second best word to use to describe Boogie Nights. "Tight" and "coherent" are not. As you discover if you listen to his terrific audio commentary - which is also sloppy and rambling - P. T. Anderson basically wrote this film as a present to himself, and a lot of the scenes were inserted simply because HE wanted to see them; for example, he frequently mentions scenes that probably should have been deleted but he left them in because he liked them. I've listened to a lot of audio commentaries, and when directors discuss deleted scenes they normally refer to material that was left out because it slowed down the film. Not Anderson; he talks about scenes that he left IN despite the fact they slowed down the film. Actors must love this guy because he seems to care more about what makes them look good than what moves along the picture. Overall, Boogie Nights epitomizes the flawed but terrific film. It's Anderson's second movie, and it looks that way: it's loud, brash, and self- indulgent. But damn if it doesn't somehow actually work!
Unfortunately, the material they are given is fairly weak. This is a film of scenarios and events, not one of characters. On the surface, it seems like a character film. After all, it's not about a bunch of people trying to stop some bad guys or something; there's really nothing to advance the story other than its focus on the lives of its characters. However, these characters are rarely active; on the contrary, they tend to spend their time REacting to what's happening around them. Part of the problem with the characters also revolves around the fact that they're mostly pathetic and/or buffoons. This is especially true of the male characters. Really, only Julianne Moore's Amber Waves comes across as a fully realized character to me, though Burt Reynolds' Jack Horner comes close; everyone else seems like a cartoon. I don't fault the actors for this; I think there was only so much they could do. One major reason the actors may have had difficulty making their characters seem like real people is due to the arrogant, snide tone Anderson sets for the film. It's hard to truly care about these characters because we spend most of the film viewing them with a kind of detached superiority. Actually, it's not important to me that we care about these characters, meaning that we don't need to like them; we do, however, need to better believe them as real people and have some investment in them from that point of view. The whole vibe of the film tends to be a little too smug for this to really happen.
The same can't be said for the DVD of Boogie Nights, because it is a great DVD! New Line seems hell-bent on making sure everyone thinks they're the top DVD-producers around, because their "Platinum Series" is the best in the business. Extremely high quality transfers of films put onto DVDs packed with extras for a mere $24.98 MSRP? I think I'm in love! The DVD of Boogie Nights does nothing to sully New Line's reputation; in fact, it should enhance it. Picture quality is fairly terrific. The image is very crisp and sharp most of the time; some scenes seem a little soft, which is what dropped their rating to an "A-." The eye-popping colors are a strong suite of this film and they're reproduced boldly and accurately. I believe the picture quality of this DVD to be among the best. While Boogie Nights doesn't possess a spectacular 5.1 channel surround mix, it did impress me with the way it worked for the film. This isn't an effects movie, and the surround channels aren't used for much; sometimes music and some ambient sounds come through the rears, but that's about it. Boogie Nights goes a long way to show that a film doesn't need flashy sound mixes or house-shaking effects to provide a great soundtrack. Music plays an extremely integral role in this film; it's really another character. If the music doesn't come across with the force (or the subtlety) required, then the film would lose much of its impact. Thankfully, the sound mix on the Boogie Nights DVD does the film justice. Throughout the movie, it comes across just right; not too invasive, but not too delicate either. No, you won't play this one to blow away your friends when you demo your system, but not every movie should have that kind of soundtrack. The only thing that reduced my rating of the sound down to an "A-" is that I feel only movies with really challenging, five-channels- cranked-to-the-max mixes deserve that high rating.
Actually, the commentary points out one of the disappointments with this DVD. It includes nine deleted scenes, with a total running time of about 23 minutes. Of course, I'm astonished to learn that he'd cut anything out of this rambler, but there's the proof! Overall, the scenes are interesting, and on an alternate track, Anderson discusses them and relates why he omitted them. That's the point at which he most sounds like a director, as he talks about how such-and-such slowed down the pace, which is usually his reason for omitting the material. The extra scenes make for some interesting viewing and are quite fun. Okay, so what's this disappointment I mentioned? Well, during the commentary for the film itself, Anderson discusses a scene in which we see what happens to one character who gets married. That's the last we see of that woman; as far as we know, she lives happily ever after. However, that wasn't his original intention; Anderson tells that he had planned to show a darker outcome to her life. I understand and agree with his reasons for dropping the scene, but why wasn't this included with the deleted scenes? Clearly it was shot; he indicates that it was actually the last scene dropped from the cut. It's a mystery to me!
So where's the trailer? Not that I'm dying without it. Trailers are nice and fun but they aren't the most-desired of bonus materials. Nonetheless, the trailer is conspicuous for its absence. It might sound petty, but the lack of a trailer - which is probably the most basic "extra" to be found on DVDs - reduced my rating for supplements down to a "B+." But don't let my bitterness get to you! All in all, Boogie Nights is an exceptional DVD. The only people who should stay away from it are those who know they will be turned off by the content; after all, it IS about the porn industry and it does provide lots of sex, violence, and profanity (and that's just in the audio commentary!). However, if you have even the slightest interest in the film, give this DVD a whirl; it's top of the line all the way and it comes extremely highly recommended.
Current as of 1/30/99 
Studio Site--The site does an excellent job in complementing the film with nice layouts and colorful graphics.
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While I enjoyed Boogie Nights, I liked it better the first time when it was
called Goodfellas. Well, at least that's the thought I had when I first
viewed it in theaters back in 1997. The similarities between the two films
were simply too striking to ignore: similar editing styles, similar plots,
similar use of music... It was really pretty spooky.
Part of the reason the film turned out as well as it did is the acting.
Across the board, the acting is top-notch. The weakest link might actually be
the lead, Mark Wahlberg (who'll always be Marky Mark to me). He's really very
good, much better than I would expect; he shows a personality range for his
character that I found surprising. However, he's not in a class with the rest
of the cast. It's like a guy who's top dog at junior college who then goes to
Harvard: he might be pretty good, but the rest are great.
Despite my varied criticisms, I really do like Boogie Nights quite a lot.
To be honest, I originally bought the DVD because a) I just got a player and
needed some titles; b) it was really cheap and packed lots of bonus features;
and c) Heather Graham looks really good naked. To my surprise, the film holds
up quite well to repeated viewings. As I mentioned earlier, Anderson has
tried so hard to pack everything and the kitchen sink into this film that it
presents you with newly-recognized material each time. It's not a great film,
but it is fascinating and flamboyantly powerful.
The supplemental materials on the Boogie Nights DVD also please. Best of
the bunch is Anderson's profanity-filled commentary (the level of cursing
throughout his discourse may bother some, but if that's you, then you
shouldn't watch this film anyway). I usually don't much care for one person
commentaries; they tend to be fairly dull, with the director just rambling
about "There's Joe - he's a terrific actor!" or whatever. Anderson's much too
in love with the sound of his own voice to let that happen. Thankfully, he's
not a blowhard; he's really quite interesting and he provides a wealth of
information about the film.
Also a mystery to me is the one prominent omission from the Boogie Nights
DVD: a trailer. It contains other nice bonuses: an Anderson-directed video
(featuring a few Boogie Nights cast members) from Michael Penn, the composer
of the score (the video also includes a commentary track from Anderson); a
menu that lets you jump to scenes based on the song playing; and the typical
cast and crew biographies but with a neat twist - biographies of the
characters are in there as well!