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Hard Eight (1996)

Name: Hard Eight
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Genre: drama film, crime film, neo-noir
Duration: 98 min
Rating: 7.1

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson · Cut by Barbara Tulliver · Music by Jon Brion · Ratio 2.35:1 · 98 min

How it was made

The film began as Anderson's short film Cigarettes & Coffee before being expanded into his feature debut, originally titled Sydney.
Anderson cast Philip Seymour Hoffman in a supporting role after seeing him in Scent of a Woman; according to co-star Philip Baker Hall, Hoffman improvised most of the dialogue in his one scene.
The film was influenced by, and shares plot elements with, Jean-Pierre Melville's 1956 film Bob le flambeur.

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Hard Eight (1996) on Amazon — 4K, Blu-ray, DVD or digital

Behind the scenes

Escenas eliminadas de SYDNEY (HARD EIGHT) (Subtituladas en español) — Kitus Cine · 14 min

Elsewhere

More by Paul Thomas Anderson

Cigarettes & Coffee — 1988
The Dirk Diggler Story — 1988
Boogie Nights — 1997
Magnolia — 1999
Punch-Drunk Love — 2002
Couch — 2003
There Will Be Blood — 2007
The Master — 2012
Back Beyond — 2013
Inherent Vice — 2014
Junun — 2015
Phantom Thread — 2017
ANIMA — 2019
Licorice Pizza — 2022
One Battle After Another — 2025

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