Plot: What’s it about?
A few years after Paul Thomas Anderson’s debut film, Hard Eight, he set out for a much more aggressive and more mainstream type of film. While the theme was still a bit of a touchy subject, the cast was more diverse and more widely-known. Three members from his first film “made the cut” to be in this, his second feature. John C. Reilly, Phillip Baker Hall and Phillip Seymour Hoffman have all made appearances in all of Anderson’s movies, and it shows a lot about the director who stays true to his actors who have helped make him the director he is today. While it’s no secret that “Boogie Nights” is based on the real-life adult film legend, John Holmes, it steers away from any stereotypes and does a fine job of telling it’s own story. While the cast is big, the most notable star is Burt Reynolds, now aging and not the Hollywood hot shot he used to be, he takes it down several notches and even managed to snag an Oscar nomination for his role as Jack Horner, the director who thinks that his adult films have some sort of “Orwellian” quality in terms of content.
The main star, of course, is Mark Wahlberg who plays the part of Eddie Adams who later chooses to abandon his Christian name for one that is “more the part”…Dirk Diggler. Leave it to Anderson to even show us his name in blue neon lights…like it was sent down from heaven as a godsend! Diggler, who is discovered at a local nightclub by Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), has a rather “specific” quality that is beneficial to the adult film industry. I won’t go into many details, but you connect the dots. Diggler is somewhat of an untapped resource, who is recruited into the “glamorous” world of adult films, and things start to change for Jack and his whole group. Diggler, who has brought the adult film industry to it’s knees, it seems, is just what the industry needed to make films exciting again. Together with his friend and fellow co-star, Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), the films are more popular than ever. And so it goes…we meet some other members of the cast, each with their own little subplot, but the most in depth belongs to Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) who, despite being an adult film star and drug addict, is struggling to get custody of her kids. We meet Rollergirl, perhaps the most popular character from the film, and she is just that…In the midst of the tail end of the disco era, she has taken to roller-skating her way through life. She never takes her skates off (though she takes off everything else) throughout the entire movie. A high school dropout, Rollergirl has found a new home and family with Horner and his crew, and considers Amber her surrogate “mother”.
Identity crisis, it seems, are a common theme in Anderson’s movies, as Buck (Don Cheadle) is constantly striving to get away from his adult film star status by trying new and somewhat exotic looks. The phase we see him in during the movie is his “cowboy” phase. Scotty J. (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), the homosexual sound guy, instantly falls for Dirk, though with Dirk being straight, he constantly has to hide his true feelings for fear of being isolated and alienated. There’s Little Bill (William H. Macy) who loves his work, but his wife can’t stop sleeping with other men, sometimes in front of a group of people, and needless to say…he isn’t taking it very well. And lastly, we have the Colonel. The Colonel is the producer of the films, and hence the supplier of the money. Though limited to a very few scenes, we get a strange feeling about him…
So this brings us to what is really happening (with Anderson’s movies, it sometimes takes a while). Aside from the initial spotlight that is forced upon Dirk Diggler, all can’t go well forever. We see Dirk and the gang in their hayday, living it up, getting drunk and doing all sorts of drugs. Truly life in the fast lane. But we also see a change in the society in general. As the 70’s draw to a close, the 80’s start with a bang (literally). As the glimmer of Dirk’s glow starts to fade, so does the entire industry. Gone are the big budget movies, the film is being replaced with videotape and there is a certain “laisez-faire” attitude about the whole industry. Where the film really comes alive is the downward spiral that we see the group go through, especially Dirk. Once the nice guy from Torrence, he has become a drug-addicted, hot-tempered, arrogant jerk. The stardom has changed Dirk, who has exhausted his resources and now only looks forward to where his next shipment of drugs is coming from. Though extremely rough at times, and while the subject matter may be questionable, this is one of the finer movies that I’ve had the chance to see.
Video: How does it look?
I’ve seen Boogie Nights on just about every format imaginable and it uses a variety of footage to showcase the somewhat unique situations. For instance, the slow panning opening shot is instantly lit up by the neon lights of the late 70’s and as the movie progresses, the darker in tone and physical form the film becomes. The 2.39:1 HEVC 4K transfer has given the film a more crisp, defined look as well as giving us what we’d expect with a new 4K image. As was standard with the time frame of the film, there are plenty of orange and brown hues (just take a look at the box to illustrate my point) and there’s even a 16mm segment in there that purposefully looks bad. By and large, the entire transfer looks as glossed over as a, well, porn film and I mean that in the most sincere of ways. Fans of Boogie Nights will no doubt be happy that this film has made the journey to 4K and it’s no better showcased than right here.
Audio: How does it sound?
We find that the Dolby TrueHD track from the Blu-ray has been replaced by a DTS HD Master Audio mix. Why they didn’t include a Dolby Atmos track is beyond me. The opening sequence is a great example of surround sound. The slow moving picture sounds like a circus in slow motion, but we’re then greeted with the opening song “Best of My Love”. As the film progresses, we get a sampling from the latter disco songs as well as some of the early 80’s music from Night Ranger, Electric Light Orchestra and Three Dog Night just to name a few. Big soundtracks are somewhat hit and miss, but in Boogie Nights it’s certainly a hit, for sure. Dialogue also sounds great and though the movie was set in the 70’s, the movie benefits from the 6 channel soundtrack used for this mix.
Supplements: What are the extras?
We’ve got some legacy supplements as well as a new feature found on this 4K disc. It’s good, but I can imagine it could have been so much better.
- Audio Commentary – Director P.T. Anderson gives a lot of insight into the production, as well as weaving a tapestry of profanity that would rival the father on A Christmas Story. If you can outlast the blasts of the f word, then you’ll find a wealth of information on all aspects of the production of Boogie Nights.
- Audio Commentary – A second commentary sees the return of Anderson, who now acts as an interviewer of sorts, asking various cast members about their roles and the film as a whole. This track could have been a train wreck, but it turns out to be excellent thanks to Anderson’s preparedness.
- American Cinematheque Panels – When Warner celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2003, Boogie Nights was one of the films screened at the American Cinematheque Panels. Running nearly an hour, this is the new supplement on the disc which fans should enjoy.
- The John C. Reilly Files – This is more of a “home video” feature that have Reilly’s character featured in them. Included are “Swim Trunks”, “Waiting for Todd”, and “Mixing with Nick.”
- Deleted Scenes – Ten deleted scenes, which cover all previously available scenes, as well as a bonus never before seen sequence. So, all your bases are covered when it comes to deleted scenes. Each scene comes equipped with optional commentary by Anderson, who gives us an idea of why the scene was taken out of the film.
- Music Video – “Try” by Michael Penn
The Bottom Line
1997’s Boogie Nights continues to be my favorite film of Paul Thomas Anderson. Leonardo DiCaprio wasn’t able to play the lead role and it instead went to Mark Wahlberg. DiCaprio calls this one of the biggest disappointments of his career (though I think it’s safe to say he’s done OK for himself). This new 4K edition give us a better-looking picture, but nothing mind-blowingly good as well as a new supplement. I’m not too keen on the cover art, but I’m more focused on what’s in the package (pun intended) than on it.
