Snake Eyes (1998)

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers (WGA):

Brian De Palma (story) &
David Koepp (story) ...

Release Date:

7 August 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Believe Everything Except Your Eyes

Plot:

A shady police detective finds himself in the middle of a murder conspiracy at an important boxing match in an Atlantic City casino.

Plot Keywords:

Famous Entrance | Death | Silencer | Shot In The Back | Revelation

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

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:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Company:

DeBart

Trivia:

The role of Commander Kevin Dunne was originally written for and offered to 'Will Smith' .

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The ring shown at the end of the credits puzzles many audiences. It belonged to a woman that Dunne killed and put into a cement mixer, so claims that it introduces some continuity error related to Santoro are wrong.

Quotes:

'Ricky' Santoro: It isn't lying! You just tell them what you did right, and you leave out the rest!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 22 (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Come On

Please...put a little trash in your heart

You sit, watching "Snake Eyes," wondering why it was ever made. Clearly a vanity project (is there any other?) for director Brian De Palma, whose career has been in a tailspin for quite some time, it offers an abundance of trashiness and a minimum of depth. Yet, for some reason...it entertains you in spite of itself. A post-Oscar Nicolas Cage plays the perpetually campy Rick Santoro, an Atlantic City detective who witnesses the assassination of the Secretary of Defense (Joel Fabiani) on the eve of a nasty 'tropical storm.' In the meantime, his best-friend Marine buddy Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise), put in charge of security, frets over allowing the tragedy to happen. Bit by bit, it appears that nothing is quite as it seems, and the assassination carries greater (and also vaguer) implications than initially perceived. David Koepp's script has enough ideas for the first 45 minutes, and de Palma's sweeping, brilliant camera work gives the events a satisfying urgency, but "Snake Eyes" falls in its third act, culminating in a ridiculous finale that suggests everyone involved ran out of ideas for maintaining credibility. Or maybe that's just a part of the film's bad-1960s-action -B-list charm. Aesthetically pleasing if you leave your brain on the shelf, "Snake Eyes" is a solid little guilty pleasure...with low expectations, you will be entertained.