Magnolia

"Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours."

1999 3h 9m EN

🙌

7.7

BANGER

★7.7TMDB · 4,178

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.

“Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

HBO Max Amazon ChannelSubscription

HBO MaxSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Tom Cruise
Frank T.J. Mackey
Philip Baker Hall
Jimmy Gator
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Phil Parma
Julianne Moore
Linda Partridge
William H. Macy
Quiz Kid Donnie Smith
John C. Reilly
Officer Jim Kurring
Melora Walters
Claudia Wilson Gator
Jeremy Blackman
Stanley Spector

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writers: Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin L. Mercer
Languages: English, French, German
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

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 189 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, shot by Robert Elswit. 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 Jon Brion. 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 Dylan Tichenor 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

Tom Cruise and Philip Baker Hall and Philip Seymour Hoffman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Thomas Anderson directs. Robert Elswit behind the camera. Jon Brion scores. Dylan Tichenor cuts. A long sit — settle in. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 189 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
227 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, German.
4487+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Jon Brion. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Dylan Tichenor shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Tom Cruise and Philip Baker Hall and Philip Seymour Hoffman carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.".
10IMDB entry: tt0175880 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 15 themes, including "dying and death", "daughter", "farewell", "regret".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Elswit
Original score: Jon Brion
Editing: Dylan Tichenor
Production design: William Arnold
Costume design: Mark Bridges
Makeup / hair: Elaine L. Offers
VFX supervisor: Joe Letteri
Sound: Steve Pederson
Stunt coordinator: Webster Whinery
Runtime: 189 min · 3h 9m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $37,000,000
Box office: $48,451,803
Return: 131% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Magnolia (1999)

Awards

National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress
Golden Bear
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Paul Thomas Anderson

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

JPV8522022-07-16
★ 8/10
Been a long time since I last watched this but even though this was 3 hours long, never felt the length and I was pretty much captivated throughout (although I did pause a few times to get refill on my drink or grab a snack). The performances all around were great, most notably Tom Cruise, Melora Walters, John C. Reilly and the young Jeremy Blackman (Stanley). It does get heavy-handed and while I "get" the raining frogs scene, that took me out a bit (albeit it was towards the end). 4.0/5 As a side, the other two kids (Julia and Richard) were hacks, counting on Stanley to carry them. Something that irked me the first time I saw this, lol.
GenerationofSwine2023-01-11
★ 1/10
I remember seeing this in the theater with one of my friends, during our first year in college. We had all found our way back to town and... given we lived in the sticks... we ended up going to the movies out of habit and for lack of anything else to do. And I'll be honest, at the time, I walked out of the theater kind of blown away. I hadn't really seen a movie like that before. I mean, the closest thing that came to it was American Beauty, and we had only seen that a few months prior... and that had more of a plot. At the time, I'll admit, I thought it was pretty good.... and then I returned to it and now, honestly, I just think it's pretentious. Pretentious really is the best way to describe it. When you first see it, it hits you one way because it's an odd movie that you really haven't seen before. And then, when go back to it, knowing a little more about it, you realize that the plot, the characters, the entire premise of the film is about as thin and transparent as a white chiffon shirt in a wet t-shirt contest. The presentation was there, but that's really all it was. Presentation and vapidness. It's show and tell with no real tell and the hopes that frogs might get the audience thinking enough to distract them away from the fact that there's no substance beyond the presentation.
Dharunn2023-04-19
★ 10/10
Julianne Moore at her's Peak & and also all of em. What the Frogs!