Strange Days

"You know you want it."

1995 2h 25m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🍅

71%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 1,625🍅71%Rotten Tomatoes●66Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 84,543

CrimeScience FictionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the last days of 1999, ex-cop turned street hustler Lenny Nero receives a disc which contains the memories of the murder of a prostitute. With the help of bodyguard Mace, he starts to investigate and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of murder, blackmail and intrigue.

“You know you want it.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Disney PlusSubscription

HuluSubscription

Cast

Ralph Fiennes
Lenny Nero
Angela Bassett
Lornette 'Mace' Mason
Juliette Lewis
Faith Justin
Tom Sizemore
Max Peltier
Michael Wincott
Philo Gant
Vincent D'Onofrio
Burton Steckler
Glenn Plummer
Jeriko One
Brigitte Bako
Iris

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Writers: Jay Cocks, James Cameron, Ricardo F. Delgado
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 40% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

397+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, shot by Matthew F. Leonetti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Graeme Revell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Howard E. Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett and Juliette Lewis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kathryn Bigelow directs. Matthew F. Leonetti behind the camera. Graeme Revell scores. Howard E. Smith cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 40% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
231 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4397+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, shot by Matthew F. Leonetti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Graeme Revell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Howard E. Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett and Juliette Lewis carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "You know you want it.".
10IMDB entry: tt0114558 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 24 themes, including "new year's eve", "future", "pornography", "prostitute".

The technical file

Cinematography: Matthew F. Leonetti
Original score: Graeme Revell
Editing: Howard E. Smith
Production design: Lilly Kilvert
Costume design: Ellen Mirojnick
Makeup / hair: Linda Grimes
VFX supervisor: Jeffrey Kalmus
Sound: Brian Williams
Stunt coordinator: Doug Coleman
Runtime: 145 min · 2h 25m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $42,000,000
Box office: $17,000,000
Return: 40% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Strange Days (1995)
Rotten Tomatoes: 71% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 66/100
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 84,543 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 wins & 4 nominations total

Also by

Kathryn Bigelow

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2024-04-02
★ 8/10
A sci-fi dystopia with a good political conspiracy plot in a film that cinema preferred to forget. I think I've seen at least twenty films about the Millennium where times are shown with great pessimism. In this specific case, the end of the millennium is a time of social and political chaos, in which society moves without a clear direction, given over to fleeting pleasures and criminal acts. And in the midst of all the dissolution of morals and values, a mechanism emerges that allows the recording of the memories and sensations of the person who uses it, leading to a black market in illicit recordings of crimes, sex and controversial acts: thus, a man who never stole, killed or cheated on his wife can experience all of this without necessarily having to do so. But what happens when a recording keeps evidence of a murder? The film has qualities, and presents a story that mixes sci-fi, political thriller and a little romance, in a mix that has aged very well, even though we are now firmly into the millennium. The project began around 1985, and is one of the few results of the partnership (professional and loving) between Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron. He had the ideas for the script, and she assures us of the elegant direction, the impactful and suitably dark cinematography, effective visual and special effects and a costume and set design strongly influenced by punk and metal aesthetics. The film was named after a song by the “Doors”, and was a huge critical and commercial failure. Therefore, everyone involved preferred to forget it. I can't help but consider the oblivion as unfair: it's not a perfect film, the story is too complex, it seems too stilted, like a hot air balloon, and it's excessively long (less than thirty minutes of dead scenes would have made things more dynamic). However, it is an immersive film that addresses, in some depth, people's appreciation for superficial pleasures and ways to escape a cruel and oppressive reality. This is still a very topical issue, as is the whole plot surrounding excessive police violence. And finally, I need to highlight the quality of the “first person” footage, when the mechanism is used, and we see things through the character's eyes. Ralph Fiennes gives us one of the most complex and interesting dramatic works of his career, making the most of his character's multiplicity of contradictory feelings and emotions. Angela Bassett also shone in this film, in an intense and action-packed role. Juliette Lewis does a pretty decent job, especially when she sings, but I can't help but consider that the actress's nudity is somewhat gratuitous and exaggerated, perhaps to sexualize the character. Michael Wincott is an effective villain.

Production companies