8mm (film)

This article is about the 1999 motion picture. For the film type, see 8 mm film. For other uses, see 8 mm (disambiguation).

8mm
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joel Schumacher
Written by	Andrew Kevin Walker
Produced by	Gavin Polone Judy Hofflund Joel Schumacher
Starring	Nicolas Cage Joaquin Phoenix James Gandolfini Peter Stormare Anthony Heald
Cinematography	Robert Elswit
Edited by	Mark Stevens
Music by	Mychael Danna
Production company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release dates	February 19, 1999 (1999-02-19) (BIFF) February 26, 1999 (1999-02-26) (United States) April 1, 1999 (1999-04-01) (Germany)
Running time	123 minutes
Countries	United States Germany
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Box office	$96.6 million

8mm is a 1999 crime thriller film directed by Joel Schumacher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. A German–American co-production, the film stars Nicolas Cage as a private investigator who delves into the world of snuff films. Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, and Anthony Heald appear in supporting roles.

The film received mostly negative reviews, but was a box office success.

Plot

Private investigator Tom Welles is contacted by Daniel Longdale, attorney for wealthy widow Mrs. Christian. While clearing out her recently-deceased husband's safe, she and Longdale found an 8mm movie which appears to depict a real murder of a girl, but Mrs. Christian wants to know for certain. Welles is instructed by Longdale and Mrs. Christian not to reproduce the film in any way, and to keep the investigation secret.

After looking through missing persons files, Welles discovers the girl is Mary Ann Mathews and visits her mother, Janet, in North Carolina. She allows Welles to search her house, and he finds Mary Ann's diary, in which she says she relocated to Hollywood to become a film star. Mrs. Mathews demands that he find out what happened to her daughter.

In Hollywood, aided by adult video store clerk Max California, Welles infiltrates the world of underground fetish pornography. He attempts to find out if snuff films are real, or if anyone was connected to this film, but finds no evidence that a snuff film industry exists. Contact with sleazy talent scout Eddie Poole leads Welles and Max to director Dino Velvet; Velvet's violently pornographic films often feature a masked man named "Machine", who not only brutalizes and tortures women, but also resembles the man featured in Christian's snuff film. To gain more evidence, Welles poses as a client interested in commissioning a hardcore BDSM film to be directed by Velvet and starring Machine. Velvet agrees and arranges a meeting in New York City.

The meeting turns out to be an ambush, as Longdale and Poole appear and hold Welles at gunpoint. The film is revealed as authentic; Mr. Christian contacted Longdale to procure a snuff film, and being unable to find one, Longdale commissioned Velvet and Poole to make one. Velvet and Machine produce a bound and beaten Max, whom they abducted to force Welles to bring them the only surviving copy of the film. As Longdale and Welles go to Welles' car to retrieve the film, Longdale admits he never thought Welles would get as far as he did, and just wanted to placate Mrs. Christian with the investigation. Once Welles delivers the film, Longdale and Velvet burn it and kill Max. As they are about to kill Welles, he confesses Mr. Christian paid $1 million for the film; Velvet, Poole, and Machine received $50,000 and Longdale kept the major portion. In an ensuing fight, Velvet and Longdale are killed; Welles wounds Machine and escapes.

Subsequently, he informs Mrs. Christian regarding his findings and recommends she contact the police. Arriving at her estate, he is shocked to hear that she committed suicide immediately after receiving the phone call and notices envelopes that she left behind both for the Mathews family and for him; his envelope contains the rest of his payment and a note reading, "Try to forget us." He instructs his wife Amy and their infant daughter Cindy to escape from the impending danger to a secret location, donating his half of the money to her.

Deciding to avenge Mary Ann's death by killing the remaining people involved, Welles returns to Hollywood, tracks down Poole, and takes him to the shooting location, but stops short of killing him. He calls Mrs. Mathews to tell her about her daughter and asks for her permission to punish those responsible. Mrs. Mathews breaks down once presented with the truth, but affirms that she loved her daughter and permits him to proceed. With that, Welles pistol whips Poole to death with his gun, burning his body and the pornography from his car. He then attacks Machine at his home and unmasks him, revealing a bespectacled man named George Anthony Higgins, who admits that his sadistic actions are simply done out of pleasure, with no ulterior motive. Welles then kills him in the ensuing struggle.

After returning to his family, Welles breaks down in front of Amy, attempting to process all the evil things that he had witnessed throughout the investigation. Months later, he receives a letter from Mrs. Mathews, thanking him and relating her gratitude for the fact that, despite everything, they were the only two people who really cared about Mary Ann.

Cast

• Nicolas Cage as Tom Welles
• Joaquin Phoenix as Max California
• James Gandolfini as Eddie Poole
• Peter Stormare as Dino Velvet
• Anthony Heald as Daniel Longdale
• Myra Carter as Mrs. Christian
• Catherine Keener as Amy Welles
• Norman Reedus as Warren Anderson
• Amy Morton as Janet Mathews
• Jack Betts as Butler
• Torsten Voges as Stick
• Luis Saguar as Manny
• Chris Bauer as George Anthony Higgins / Machine
• Suzy Nakamura as Computer Wizard

Production

In May 1997, it was reported Columbia Pictures had acquired the Andrew Kevin Walker penned 8 Millimeter for $750,000 against $1.25 million.

Principal photography began February 1998 in Miami, Florida. And filming also took place in New York City, and Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, California

Reception

Box office

8mm opened in 2,730 theaters in North America and made $14,252,888 in its opening weekend with an average of $6,013 per theater ranking number 1 at the box office. The film made $36,663,315 domestically and $59,955,384 internationally for a total of $96,618,699, more than double its $40 million production budget.

Critical response

8mm received negative reviews from critics. It has a rating of 24% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 84 reviews with an average rating of 4.3/10. The critical consensus states, "Its sadistic violence is unappealing and is lacking in suspense and mystery." The film also has a score of 21 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 20 reviews indicating "generally unfavorable." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C−" on scale of A+ to F. Derek Elley of Variety criticized the film, stating that "8MM is a movie that keeps jumping the gate and finally unravels all over the floor." Peter Travers for Rolling Stone wrote that the film "aims for a psychological depth that the script can't sustain."

Roger Ebert was one of the film's admirers and gave the film three stars out of four, stating on his website "I know some audience members will be appalled by this film, as many were by Seven. It is a very hard R that would doubtless have been NC-17 if it had come from an indie instead of a big studio with clout. But it is a real film. Not a slick exploitation exercise with all the trappings of depravity but none of the consequences. Not a film where moral issues are forgotten in the excitement of an action climax. Yes, the hero is an ordinary man who finds himself able to handle violent situations, but that's not the movie's point. The last two words of the screenplay are 'save me' and by the time they're said, we know what they mean."

Soundtrack

The film score was composed by Mychael Danna. It was released on CD by Chapter III in 1999, with a total of 20 tracks:

1. "The Projector" (1:20)
2. "The House" (2:05)
3. "The Call" (1:44)
4. "The Film" (1:10)
5. "Cindy" (0:56)
6. "Missing Persons" (4:46)
7. "What Would You Choose" (3:11)
8. "Hollywood" (2:51)
9. "Unsee" (1:20)
10. "Dance With the Devil" (5:36)
11. "The Third Man" (1:14)
12. "Loft" (1:56)
13. "No Answer" (1:47)
14. "I Know All About..." (1:41)
15. "366 Hoyt Ave." (1:46)
16. "Scene of the Crime" (5:52)
17. "Machine" (3:30)
18. "Rainstorm" (3:49)
19. "Home" (1:32)
20. "Dear Mr. Wells" (1:54)

In addition, while not featured on the soundtrack, the song "Come to Daddy" by Aphex Twin is featured at multiple points in the film.

See also

• 8mm 2
• Hardcore
• The Cutting Room

Awards

Awards and Nominations received by 8mm

Award	Category	Nominee	Result
49th Berlin International Film Festival	Golden Bear	Joel Schumacher	Nominated
Golden Trailer Awards	Golden Trailer	8mm	Won
	Golden Fleence		Won

External links

• 8mm at IMDb
• 8mm at Box Office Mojo
• 8mm at Rotten Tomatoes
• 8mm at Metacritic