1 / 8
RUNTIME
Did you know
Clocks in at 156 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Boogie Nights
"The life of a dreamer, the days of a business and the nights in between."
1997 2h 36m EN
🙌
7.6
BANGER
★7.6TMDB · 3,724
DramaComedy
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
In 1977, an idealistic porn producer and his promising protege try to catch up with the end of an era before their never-ending party collides with cold, hard reality.
“The life of a dreamer, the days of a business and the nights in between.”
Cast
Mark Wahlberg
Eddie Adams / Dirk Diggler
Burt Reynolds
Jack Horner
Julianne Moore
Amber Waves
John C. Reilly
Reed Rothchild
Heather Graham
Rollergirl
Don Cheadle
Buck Swope
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Scotty J.
William H. Macy
Little Bill
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Writers
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Languages
- English
- 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 🍿
2 / 8
ERA
Did you know
29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
CAST
Did you know
290+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 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#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Michael Penn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 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#06
7 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Mark Wahlberg and Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "The life of a dreamer, the days of a business and the nights in between.".
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Paul Thomas Anderson directs. Robert Elswit behind the camera. Michael Penn scores. Dylan Tichenor cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Clocks in at 156 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
- 229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
- 3290+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
- 4Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 5Original score by Michael Penn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 6Editor Dylan Tichenor shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 7Mark Wahlberg and Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore carry the top of the cast.
- 8Marketing tagline: "The life of a dreamer, the days of a business and the nights in between.".
- 9IMDB entry: tt0118749 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 10Classified under 29 themes, including "new year's eve", "adultery", "pornography", "robbery".
- 11Released under 27 different titles around the world.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Robert Elswit
- Original score
- Michael Penn
- Editing
- Dylan Tichenor
- Production design
- Bob Ziembicki
- Costume design
- Mark Bridges
- Makeup / hair
- Tina Roesler Kerwin
- Sound
- Samuel Lehmer
- Stunt coordinator
- Cliff Cudney
- Runtime
- 156 min · 2h 36m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $15,000,000
- Box office
- $43,101,594
- Return
- 287% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- R
Awards
- 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.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- CinemaSerf★ 7/10
Yikes, but was there fuss around this when it was released? A film about porn, yes, but a film about men in porn - and with the ribbed and toned "Marky Mark" too! What will we see? What will he show? I remember the general interest in this hitherto rather unsavoury topic was insatiable. Well, what we do get is a rather interesting and lively exposé of just how the porn industry might have worked in the late 1970s. Experienced producer "Horner" (Burt Reynolds) spots hunky waiter "Eddie" (Mark Wahlberg) in a restaurant and next thing, the young man is the hottest of properties. With the timeless moniker of "Dirk Diggler" (try finding that on PornHub!) he is soon a true star with money and girls and drugs galore. Fame is a fickle friend, however, and the writing is soon on the wall for our emotionally ill-equipped young man who never for a moment considers that this escalator can go down as well as up. This story is filled with engaging and enigmatic characters - ranging from the stoic "Amber Waves" (a cracking effort from Julianne Moore) who seems to try and instil a sense of proportion and responsibility to the gorgeously stereotypical "Reed Rothschild" (an unlikely casting, I thought, in John C. Reilly). It's Mark Wahlberg who proves to be the revelation here, though. He works quite naturally with the on-form, and entirely plausible, veteran Reynolds and for quite a while, their roller-coaster of sex and success is compelling and quite enjoyable to follow. Is anything real in that scene at the end? Well who knows - but 2½ hours peppered with some great disco just flew by in a cinema that was packed to the rafters.
- JPV852★ 6/10
While I can admire the production design recreating the 70s and 80s and a great performance from Burt Reynolds, I didn't find this terribly engaging. The first part and last section were very good but found the middle to be meandering. I didn't think the various character arcs came together (compared to Magnolia which I loved) and I think 15-20 minutes could've been removed. Still, it's worth watching at least. 3.25/5
Production companies
Who made it
New Line Cinema
US
- LA
Lawrence Gordon Productions
US
- GH
Ghoulardi Film Company
US
Key crew
- EditorDylan Tichenor
- Costume DesignMark Bridges
- ProducerPaul Thomas Anderson
- ProducerLloyd Levin
- ProducerJohn S. Lyons
- ProducerJoAnne Sellar
- Executive ProducerLawrence Gordon
- PropmakerColin Alexander
- Special EffectsAdam Campbell
- StuntsAllan Graf
- Special EffectsLou Carlucci
- Co-Executive ProducerLynn Harris
- Co-ProducerDaniel Lupi
- Unit Production ManagerDaniel Lupi
- First Assistant DirectorJohn Wildermuth
- Second Assistant DirectorAdam Druxman
- Executive In Charge Of ProductionCarla Fry
- Production ExecutiveLeon Dudevoir
- Executive In Charge Of Post ProductionJoe Fineman
- Post Production SupervisorMark Graziano
- Script SupervisorJayne-Ann Tenggren
- Property MasterKevin Hughes
- Production SupervisorCraig Markey
- Production AccountantJulie Hansen
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- new year's eve
- adultery
- pornography
- robbery
- husband wife relationship
- drug abuse
- 1970s
- cocaine
- porn actor
- custody battle
- melancholy
- rags to riches
- coming of age
- alter ego
- los angeles, california
- drugs
- porn industry
- disco
- voyeurism
- curious
- 1980s
- candid
- big dick
- mother son relationship
- introspective
- dramatic
- admiring
- audacious
- euphoric
Release history · US
When it landed
- Premiere1997-10-08· New York Film Festival
- Theatrical (limited)1997-10-10R
- Theatrical1997-10-31R
- Physical1998-04-07R· DVD
- TV1999-01-16R
Also known as
International titles
- Pushing ThirteenUS
- 一举成名CN
- 热舞之夜CN
- Ночи в стиле бугиRU
- Boogie Nights - L'altra HollywoodIT
- 부기 나이트KR
- ブギーナイツJP
- Juegos de placerAR
- Ночі в стилі бугіUA
- Boogie Nights: Prazer Sem LimitesBR
- Pašėlusios naktysLT
- Буги нощиBG
- Naktis bugi stilāLV
- Ξέφρενες νύχτεςGR
- Hříšné nociCZ
