Strange Days (film)
| Strange Days | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Kathryn Bigelow |
| Produced by |
James Cameron Steven-Charles Jaffe |
| Screenplay by | James Cameron Jay Cocks |
| Story by | James Cameron |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Graeme Revell |
| Cinematography | Matthew F. Leonetti |
| Edited by | Howard Smith James Cameron |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
20th Century Fox (USA) Universal Pictures (international) |
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Release date
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Running time
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145 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $42 million |
| Box office | $8 million |
Strange Days is a 1995 American science fiction thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, written by James Cameron and Jay Cocks, and produced by Cameron and Steven-Charles Jaffe. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, and Tom Sizemore. Set in the last two days of 1999, the film follows the story of a black marketeer of SQUID discs, recordings that allow a user to experience the recorder's memories and physical sensations, as he attempts to uncover the truth behind the murder of a prostitute.
Blending science fiction with film noir conventions, Strange Days explores themes such as racism, abuse of power, rape, and voyeurism. Although the story was conceived by Cameron around 1986, Bigelow found inspiration after incidents such as the Lorena Bobbitt trial and the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the Rodney King verdict. The film was entirely shot in the Greater Los Angeles Area over a period of 77 nights. The film's SQUID scenes, which offer a point-of-view shot (POV), required multi-faceted cameras and considerable technical preparation.
Strange Days was a commercial failure and almost derailed Bigelow's career, making little more than a sixth of its $42 million production cost. Upon release, the film polarized film critics; some reviewers praised its gritty atmosphere and the performances by Fiennes and Bassett, while others criticized it for failing to commentate its violence. Nevertheless, the film's critical standing has improved over the years, with many fans feeling that the film has been overlooked by a casual mass audience and misguided critics. At the 22nd Saturn Awards, Bassett won Best Actress and Bigelow became the first woman to win the Best Director award.
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