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Snake Eyes (1998)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Release Date:
7 August 1998 (USA)
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Tagline:
Believe Everything Except Your Eyes more
Plot:
A shady police detective finds himself in the middle of a murder conspiracy at an important boxing match in an Atlantic City casino. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Boxing
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Conspiracy
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Assassination
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Casino
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Murder
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Awards:
1 win
&
2 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(203 articles)
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User Comments:
A Three Ring Circus of a Movie- I Loved It!
more (216 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Nicolas Cage | ... | Rick Santoro |
 | Gary Sinise | ... | Commander Kevin Dunne |
 | John Heard | ... | Gilbert Powell |
 | Carla Gugino | ... | Julia Costello |
 | Stan Shaw | ... | Lincoln Tyler |
 | Kevin Dunn | ... | Lou Logan |
| Michael Rispoli | ... | Jimmy George |
| Joel Fabiani | ... | Charles Kirkland |
 | Luis Guzmán | ... | Cyrus (as Luis Guzman) |
| David Anthony Higgins | ... | Ned Campbell |
 | Mike Starr | ... | Walt McGahn |
 | Tamara Tunie | ... | Anthea |
 | Chip Zien | ... | Mickey Alter |
| Michaella Bassey | ... | Tyler's Party Girl #2 |
| Paul Joseph Bernardo | ... | Casino Security #1 |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for some violence.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
98 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Philippines:PG-13 |
Iceland:16 |
Argentina:13 |
Australia:M |
Brazil:14 |
Chile:14 |
Finland:K-16 |
France:U |
Germany:12 |
Hong Kong:IIB |
Italy:T |
Mexico:B |
Netherlands:16 |
Peru:14 |
Portugal:M/12 |
Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) (cut) |
Singapore:PG (original rating) (cut) |
South Korea:15 |
Spain:13 |
Sweden:15 |
Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) |
Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) |
UK:15 |
USA:R |
Canada:14A |
Canada:G (Quebec)
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Opening sequence includes 8 cuts: First take - 2'19" 0'18" TV screen - 2'37" Rick Santoro by the monitors Second take - 2'41" 2'37" Rick starts to walk - 4'18" - Rick follows Cyrus Third take - 1'43" 4'18" Rick on the stairs - 6'01" - Rick shouts "Go Tyler! Go Tyler!" Fourth take - 1'02" 6'01" Rick enters Arena - 7'03" - Rick meets Kevin Fifth take - 2'47" 7'03" Rick starts to talk with Kevin - 9'49" Kevin looks on redhead woman Sixth take - 2'22" 9'49" Redhead on the Arena - 12'11" Blonde talks to Kirkland Seventh take - 0'18" 12'11" Rick watching the fight - 12'29" "Here comes the Pain!!" Eighth take - 0'21" 12'29" Rick watching the fight - 12'50" Rick answers the phone from a girl with number "7"
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Goofs:
Continuity: After receiving the bloodstained $100 bill, Rick puts it in his inner pocket. When he takes it out again, he gets it from the left hip pocket of his jacket
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Quotes:
Soundtrack:
The Freaky Things
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (216 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Snake Eyes (1998)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| The opening shot? | mr_different1 |
| Really Good Film | DirectorNo3 |
| The SOUNDTRACK! | kleynan |
| Where? | anchorman360 |
| Trump Taj Mahal | theinflator |
| I had no idea this was DePalma | The_Great_Pantubo |
Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Crime section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |
Overblown, overdirected, overacted: that's why I always enjoy DePalma's movies. He made the statement that the camera lies 24 times a second, and SNAKE EYES plays on that theme.
De Palma's camera is constantly in motion, roaming through the arena, casino , and hotel as if it had a life of its own. At the beginning of the film we watch Nick Santoro (Nicolas Cage) as he swims through the sewer (his words) that is the Atlantic City casino world. He tells us, "This isn't a beach town. It's a sewer. It's my sewer, I am the king."
It's literally a dark and stormy night. A hurricane (a tv reporter is pressured to refer to it as a 'tropical depression' on the air) is coming ashore, and 14,000 people are gathered at a casino complex to watch a prizefight.
There's a shooting during the fight, and Cage orders the exits sealed; who would go outside into a hurricane remains a mystery, but anyhow. There are two mysterious women involved in the incident, and as time passes he realizes that there were lots of people involved, possibly even his longtime friend Navy Commander Dunne (Gary Sinese) who is as straight-arrow as Cage's character is sleazy.
By the end of the story Cage is working toward redemption- even though during the early part of the film it's made clear that he sees everything as having a price.
There's one point where he is offered a million dollars to reveal where one of the women (she knows a lot- too much- about a defense contract, and was talking to the Secretary of Defense when he was shot) is hiding. And there 's a very real chance that he might give in, or be unable to protect her when the danger gets intense.
Men in De Palma's films have a way of failing to come through for women in critical situations. An executive couldn't save his wife in OBSESSION. A young actor couldn't protect a mysterious, beautiful woman in BODY DOUBLE. The nicest guy in school couldn't keep the outcast/prom queen CARRIE from humiliation and its awful consequences. In the superb BLOW OUT a movie soundman rescues a young woman from a sinking car early in the story, but is too late to save her from a madman at the film's conclusion.
So there is no guarantee of a happy ending. Self doubt weighs heavily in De Palma's films, and often people's best efforts are to no avail.
Admittedly David Koepp and De Palma's script is something of a problem. There's a complex conspiracy underfoot, and conspiracies are low on my list of compelling things- I got burned out on them in the seventies.
Far more compelling is the great fun that Cage has with his character. Boy, does he get to chew scenery here. Constantly in motion, talking on his cell phone (even during a hurricane; some of my friends can't use theirs when a cloud passes over the sun), interacting with the low life characters around the casino.
And, oh, does DePalma have fun with the whole thing. Of course, nothing is what it seems to be. He retells the action from the viewpoint of this or that character: we sometimes literally see what happened through that character's eyes. An important setpiece in which we finally see what really happened in clear perspective uses split screen imagery- and in the theatre where we saw SNAKE EYES the use of stereo sound was an integral part of the seperation of images.
For all the bravado of his performance, I was impressed with Cage's ability and willingness to share the screen with other actors. In some of the retellings he is a supporting character or featured extra, and as an actor he's more than willing to let our attention shift to someone else. A lesser actor might have been afraid of that shift of focus. Way to go, Nicolas. That's a real sign of maturity as an actor.
So did I buy into De Palma's bag of tricks? Yup, 100%. It's nice to see a movie that isn't afraid of the old razzle-dazzle. I do appreciate subtlety and complex ideas- that's why I'm a voracious reader. I really don't think I'd enjoy De Palma directing an adaptation of a Jane Austen novel or REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST. The Merchant- Ivory people do that sort of thing so nicely. But it was nice to sit back for an hour and a half and let a master showman use illusion to fool us and let our eyes fool our brains.
On a five scale, Pops gives it four slot machines.