Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Hard Eight (1996) - Anderson debuts with downbeat crime drama

5/09/2022

Hard Eight (1996) - Anderson debuts with downbeat crime drama

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Box Office Disaster of the Year + Best Crime Drama of the Year + Best Debut of the Year + Worst $ Return of the Year: 0.13 Times the Cost + Best Independent Movie of the Year + Best Nevada Movie of the Year + Most Undeserved Flop of the Year

The iconic dark green of the dice table makes up the background on this simple poster for Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight

Sydney is an oldtimer and a veteran gambler, who knows some shortcuts in the business. He now takes the younger John under his wings, who finds himself in trouble, and later also the waitress and prostitute Clementine ...

Hard Eight is written and directed by debuting Californian master filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (Punch Drunk Love (2002)).

Anderson establishes an oppressive mood across this well-acted, downbeat, short-story-like tale, which also benefits from strong photography (by Robert Elswit (Syriana (2005))) and music (score by Jon Brion (Step Brothers (2008)) and Michael Penn (Boogie Nights (1997))).

We accept and embrace spending the running time here with these hard-pressed, desperate (loser) characters, mainly because Philip Baker Hall (The Zodiac (2005)), John C. Reilly (Rubberhead (2014, TV movie)), Gwyneth Palthrow (The Good Night (2007)), Samuel L. Jackson (The Incredibles (2004)) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Culture (1997, short)) are so absolutely excellent in their character portrayals.

The Master (2012) - Anderson's stunning post-war reflection
Boogie Nights (1997) - Anderson's irresistible porn 'Casino'

1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Here is a 3-minute clip from the film

Cost: 3 mil. $

Box office: 222k $ (North America only)

= Box office disaster (returned 0.07 times its cost in North America; projected total return of 0.13 times the cost)

[Hard Eight premiered 20 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 102 minutes. It is based on Anderson's own short film Cigarettes & Coffee (1993). Shooting took place in 1995 in Nevada. The film opened #27 to a 69k $ first weekend in 29 theaters in North America, where it grossed 222k $. It was also released in a handful of other markets, but grosses are regrettably not reported. If the film made a final gross of 400k $ it, would still rank as a box office disaster. It was nominated for 5 Independent Spirit awards, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. Anderson returned with Michael Penn: Try (1997, music video) and theatrically with Boogie Nights (1997). Hall returned in The Little Death (1996); Reilly in Boys (1996); and Palthrow in The Pallbearer (1996). Hard Eight is certified fresh at 81 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

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Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

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Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

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5/09/2022

Hard Eight (1996) - Anderson debuts with downbeat crime drama

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