Cigarettes & Coffee
| Cigarettes & Coffee | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Paul Thomas Anderson |
| Produced by |
Patrick Hoelck Wendy Weidman Kirk Baltz |
| Written by | Paul Thomas Anderson |
| Starring |
Philip Baker Hall Kirk Baltz Miguel Ferrer |
| Cinematography | Vincent J. Baldino |
| Edited by | Barbara Tulliver |
| Distributed by | Hex Films |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
24 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20,000 |
Cigarettes & Coffee is a 1993 short film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson starring Philip Baker Hall. It tells the story of five people's lives all connected through a $20 bill. The film helped launch the career of Paul Thomas Anderson and was used as a basis for his first feature film Hard Eight (1996).
An older man (Hall) is sitting at a table with a younger man (Kirk Baltz) at a diner discussing a matter over cigarettes and coffee. A newly wed couple sits at the table next to them discussing how the wife lost all their money gambling on craps. Another man, Bill (Miguel Ferrer), is outside of the diner making a phone call but the matter being discussed is unclear.
The younger man tells his story which the older man asks to hear again for further clarification. The younger man tells how he steps outside when he is losing at gambling and takes a bill out of his pocket and writes his name across the back for a good luck charm and uses on his next bet. However, he never makes it back into the casino as he runs into his friend Steve who he lets borrow the $20 bill.
The husband hands the waitress a $20 bill and talks about how once the money is gone it can't come back and how the world isn't perfect. Bill is still outside on the phone discussing the matter.
The young man continues the story and states that he headed back to the room where he was supposed to be meeting his wife, Steve, and Steve's wife but only his wife was there. He then saw the $20 bill with his name on it and his head started fill up with terrible thoughts. He took the $20 bill and won almost $8,000 gambling with it.
The husband recounts his marriage proposal and lights his last cigarette. Bill gets off the phone, goes inside, and orders coffee and cigarettes which he pays for with a $20 bill.
...
Wikipedia