#54. Boogie Nights (1997)

DVD Synopsis: An epic-size story about the adult film film business in the 1970s San Fernando Valley, Boogie Nights breaks convention and delivers sex, drugs, violence, and unexpected tenderness. It is a classic backstage tale told through the rise and fall of Dirk Diggler and an extended family of filmmakers, who try to elevate the porn film to artistic heights.

Take everything you thought you knew about the porn industry, and throw it out the window. Now, you’re ready to watch Boogie Nights. 

While at times unwavering in its frankness (especially the scenes where its characters are shooting a film), Boogie Nights isn’t about the sex. It’s about the people who work in the porn industry, the actors, directors and technicians who treat it as if it were just another job. 

Director Paul Thomas Anderson spends most of his time exploring the relationships that develop between these colorful characters, and building a family-like atmosphere around them. You enjoy the time you spend in their company, and feel more than a little melancholy when it’s all over, and you have to part ways with them. 

Anderson has pulled off a minor miracle with Boogie Nights, delivering a film about the porn industry that’s as tender and thoughtful as it is titillating.