Southland Tales

2006
R
2h 25m

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

41K

YOUR RATING

Bai Ling, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jon Lovitz, Wallace Shawn, Seann William Scott, Justin Timberlake, Dwayne Johnson, Mandy Moore, and Cheri Oteri in Southland Tales (2006)

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Dark Comedy Satire Comedy Drama Mystery Sci-Fi Thriller

During a three-day heat wave just before a huge 4th of July celebration, an action star stricken with amnesia meets up with a porn star who is developing her own reality TV project, and a po... Read allDuring a three-day heat wave just before a huge 4th of July celebration, an action star stricken with amnesia meets up with a porn star who is developing her own reality TV project, and a policeman who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.During a three-day heat wave just before a huge 4th of July celebration, an action star stricken with amnesia meets up with a porn star who is developing her own reality TV project, and a policeman who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

41K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations

Trivia
Richard Kelly consciously sought out actors that he felt had been pigeonholed and wanted to showcase their "undiscovered talents."

Goofs
When the home video at the start of the film catches a glimpse of the initial bomb blast, we see the flash and hear the boom at the same instant. Anything close enough to a nuclear blast to hear the boom at the same instant as seeing the flash would be instantly disintegrated.

Quotes
Krysta Now: Scientists are saying the future is going to be far more futuristic than they originally predicted.

Crazy credits
After the credits, a logo appears of a thumbprint over an American flag with the words: "DON'T TOUCH ME"

Alternate versions
Originally running for 160 minutes, Southland Tales premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 to a disastrous reception. Because of this, it was re-edited and shortened in length as part of the distribution deal. Since the shortened version was shown theatrically and released on DVD, the Cannes cut has been shown on Cable TV and DVD releases in Europe. Some of the changes between the theatrical cut and the Cannes cut are as follows:
Opens the same as theatrical cut, with home video in Abilene, except with music ('Water Pistol' by Moby) and runs longer. Video is also shown in its original aspect ratio, instead of cropped for 2.35:1.
Doomsday Scenario Interface is not present in the original cut, it was added to provide background information present in the graphic novels. Instead we have narration from Pilot Abilene explaining the present situation and Treer Corporation.
The meeting between the Baron and Hideo Takehashi takes place much earlier in the film, Pilot explains the Baron dislikes Takehashi.
The character of General Teena MacArthur is more fleshed out in original cut, she mainly communicates with General Simon Theory and the Baron.
Many scenes with dialog between main characters have been extended i.e. scenes with Boxer & Roland, Krysta & Cyndi, Boxer & Starla, Cyndi & Vaughn Smallhouse etc.
Pilot explains that Bart Bookman is an 'angry man' with a willingness to die.
Some events that take place are better explained in original cut e.g. Boxer ringing Fortunio before meeting him, Serpentine explaining her actions at the end.
Features additional effects of the blimp not in theatrical version.
Features music by Moby not present in theatrical version i.e. 'Ceanograph' is heard in scene giving information on the rift, 'Hotel Intro' is heard as characters visit different sections on the blimp.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Beowulf/Margot at the Wedding/Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium/Enchanted/Southland Tales/Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)

Soundtracks
If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)
Written by Henry Creamer and James P. Johnson (as Jimmy Johnson)
Performed by Louis Armstrong
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User reviews282

Review

Featured review

10/10

A beautiful mess

It is not difficult to see why this film was initially panned: it's messy, bizarre, and borderline-incoherent at times. But it's also brilliant. It is, in fact, quite possibly the apotheosis of "postmodern" cinema: quantum physics and esoteric Philip K. Dick references exist alongside washed-up SNL alumni .

It is hilarious, odd, thought-provoking, prophetic, and eminently re-watchable. I have seen it at least 20 times myself. For my money, it is superior to Kelly's fantastic film debut Donnie Darko, and indeed one of the most interesting movies of the new century.

Will you like it? It is quite possible that you won't. But I can guarantee this much: you've never seen anything quite like it before, and it's likely that you won't see anything quite like it ever again.