Strange Days (1995)

"...one of the best films of the year...  Roger Ebert
"A sexy, kinetic thriller.  Interview Magazine

Editor's Note A virtual-reality pusher sells escapist clips of other people's experiences to image-addled junkies in this punishing, darkly stylish cyberpunk thriller set during the final 48 hours of 1999.

	Angela Bassett
	Juliette Lewis
	Ralph Fiennes
	Tom Sizemore
	Vincent D'Onofrio
	Kathryn Bigelow - Director
	Mathew F. Leonetti - Director of Photography
	Howard E. Smith - Editor
	Lawrence Kasanoff - Executive Producer
	Peter Gabriel - Musical Score
	Graeme Revell - Musical Score
	James Cameron - Screenplay

It is 1999, and urban society is little more than a vast wasteland of anarchic violence. Seedy, burnt-out ex-cop Lenny Nero caters to the sensation-seeking citizens by dealing in "clips": virtual reality sequences where the user can "re-live" the experiences of another, including robberies, rape and murder. But Lenny's life is turned upside-down when two rabid cops, who want an incriminating clip that Lenny possesses, begin to pursue him. Furthermore, Lenny, with the help of female bodyguard Mace, is desperately searching throughout the chaotic enclaves of L.A. for his ex-girlfriend Faith, who he still loves.| Everything comes to a head at a wild, tremendous -- and turbulent -- New Year's Eve party that will usher in the new millennium. Rolling Stone
"...A visionary triumph....The dazzling, era-defining STRANGE DAYS stands its moral ground..." 10/19/1995 p.156-7

Sight and Sound
"...Breathtaking....Racing visuals thunderously reinforced by sonic closure..." 01/01/1996 p.53-4

USA Today
"...[Fiennes is] fun to watch here..." 10/06/1995 p.4D

Entertainment Weekly
"...STRANGE DAYS has a dazzling atmostphere of grunge futurism..." 10/20/1995 p.49

Variety
"...A technical tour de force for director Kathryn Bigelow and her team, who dazzlingly root this future noir in a technology that allows a viewer to revisit someone else's experience....The film is a triumph..." 09/04/1995

Chicago Sun-Times
"...The movie is a technical tour de force....The pacing is relentless, and the editing, by Howard Smith, creates an urgency and desperation..." 10/13/1995 p.35

Uncut
"[A] visceral, violent distillation of America on the cusp of the 21st century..." 08/01/2001 p.138

Tucson Weekly 0 of 10
There are movies and there are movies. Some movies throw you a small chunk of ideas and hope you'll swallow, other movies offer up a huge smorgasbord and let you take what you will. Into this category falls Strange Days, the kind of film that comes at you from so many angles that even when a few of the angles don't work, there's still a good chance you'll walk out of the theater satisfied... Strange Days remains a movie movie, and there's still a good deal of substance underneath the flash. The film's real meat is an emotional story about the desperation of Lenny's unrequited love for Faith. As a friend of mine said, he's "the nicest sleaze of the year," a slimy salesman with a heart of gold. His relationship with the principled, strong-willed Mace carries the picture (shakily, but triumphantly) despite its overlong chases through crowds and ridiculous Die Hard-esque series of climaxes. One note: Even though the story amounts to far less than its buildup suggests, the script remains enjoyably clever and rife with double meanings. Written by James Cameron and Jay Cocks, at times the script is almost too clever: It's not enough to have one character betray another; he has to literally stab him in the back. In response, the stabbed character has to "cut his tie" in both senses of the phrase. Strange Days really must be a movie movie, because not many action movies can go to this level of playfulness and get away with it. - Zachary Woodruff