Blue in the Face (1995)

Directors:

Paul Auster
Wayne Wang

Writers:

Paul Auster (situations) and
Wayne Wang (situations)

Release Date:

13 October 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Welcome to the planet Brooklyn.

Plot:

Wayne Wang's follow-up movie to Smoke presents a series of improvisational situations strung together...

Plot Keywords:

Cigar Shop | Sequel | Ad Lib | Brooklyn New York | Independent Film

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Lou Reed	...	Man with Strange Glasses
Michael J. Fox	...	Pete Maloney
Roseanne	...	Dot
Mel Gorham	...	Violet
Jim Jarmusch	...	Bob
Lily Tomlin	...	Waffle Eater
Jared Harris	...	Jimmy Rose
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Tommy Finelli
Malik Yoba	...	Watch Man
José Zúñiga	...	Jerry (as Jose Zuniga)
Victor Argo	...	Vinnie
Stephen Gevedon	...	Dennis
The John Lurie National Orchestra	...	Street Band
Madonna	...	Singing Telegram
Sharif Rashed	...	Purse Snatcher

Also Known As:

Brooklyn Boogie (UK)
Alles blauer Dunst (Germany) [de]
Blue in the Face (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Blue in the Face (Finland) [fi]
Blue in the Face (Spain) [es]
Brooklyn Boogie (France) (dubbed version) [fr]
Brooklyn Boogie (Poland) [pl]
Egy füst alatt - Beindulva (Hungary) [hu]
Fumo Azul (Portugal) [pt]
Humos del vecino (Argentina) [es]
Ligos kapnos akomi (Greece) [el]
Moder v obraz (Slovenia) [sl]
Sem Fôlego (Brazil) [pt]
Tabagie en folie, La (Canada: French title) [fr]

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Brazil:14 | USA:R (No. 33629) | Finland:S | Germany:12 | Italy:T | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Filmed in just five days, using the same set and much of the same cast as Smoke (1995). The premise of the film came to directors Wayne Wang and Paul Auster while watching an improvisation session between Harvey Keitel et. al. to help them get into character for filming Smoke (1995). They decided that the improvisations were so funny that they would spend a few days after shooting Smoke just filming film is almost entirely improvised. Auster and Wang claim to have "borrowed" the idea of shooting another movie on the back of an existing one from Roger Corman who often used to shoot movies very quickly on leftover sets from other productions.

Goofs:

Continuity: Dot bolts the store door to talk with Auggie, then leaves without unlocking it.

Quotes:

Bob: Coffee and cigarettes. That's like the breakfast of champions.

Movie Connections:

References Clerks. (1994)

Soundtrack:

Himene Tatou

Slightly disappointing

Most disappointing detail about "Blue in the face" is the regretful fact that it's a sequel to "Smoke" - one of the greatest movies of the mid 90's. I would instantly rate terrific "Smoke" 10 out of 10. I've seen it a million times and I never get tired of enjoying it again. I know "Blue in the face" is supposed to be a bunch of spontaneous conversations but most of the stuff (Lou Reed parts, for example) are just plain boring. Scenes with Jim Jarmusch and Michael J. Fox are totally worth watching. I loved Malik Yoba's wristwatch selling rapper too. If you liked "Smoke" you might want to check this out as well but be careful and don't expect anything special.