Buffalo ’66 (1998)
85%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: 6 wins & 11 nominations
Self-indulgent yet intriguing, Buffalo ’66 marks an auspicious feature debut for writer-director-star Vincent Gallo while showcasing a terrific performance from Christina Ricci
Buffalo ’66 is a film that’s as bizarre as it is fascinating. Vincent Gallo’s performance as a troubled guy is both narcissistic and captivating, while Christina Ricci’s portrayal of a dream-girl in powder-blue fishnet tights and sparkly tap shoes is incandescent. The film’s combination of crudeness and sophistication is preternaturally powerful, and Gallo’s direction and score are smart and tightly controlled. It’s like Martin Scorsese, John Cassavetes, and Abel Ferrara took turns directing scenes of a film written by and starring Jerry Lewis. Overall, Buffalo ’66 is a highly constructed and intriguing work that’s definitely worth a watch.
Production Company(ies)
MSNBC Films,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Buffalo, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, strong violent images and scenes involving nudity
Year of Release
1998
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 21, 1998 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 17, 2003
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Vincent Gallo, Christina Ricci, Anjelica Huston, Ben Gazzara, Kevin Corrigan, Mickey Rourke, directed by Vincent Gallo, written by Vincent Gallo, Alison Bagnall, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Gavin Smith, Richard Schickel, Ella Taylor, David Edelstein, Michael O’Sullivan, Owen Gleiberman, David Walsh, Margaret Pomeranz, Maitland McDonagh, Rob Nelson, Emanuel Levy, Michael Dequina, R rating, convict, prison, kidnapping, tap dancing, football, dysfunctional family, obsession, dark humor, narcissism, redemption, Coen Brothers, Jarmusch, Garden State, character study, acting, directing, writing
Worldwide gross: $2,375,718
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,359,778
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,214
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 475,439
US/Canada gross: $2,375,097
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,358,638
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,840
US/Canada opening weekend: $39,555
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $72,589
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,061
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $1,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $2,752,712
Production budget ranking: 1,989
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,482,335
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $124,731
ROI to date (est.): 3%
ROI ranking: 1,383
Christina Ricci – Layla
Anjelica Huston – Jan
Ben Gazzara – Jimmy
Kevin Corrigan – Rocky the Goon
Mickey Rourke – The Bookie
Director(s)
Vincent Gallo
Writer(s)
Vincent Gallo, Alison Bagnall
Producer(s)
Chris Hanley
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
6 wins & 11 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (59) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (14)
There is a air of intriguing atavism about the textures and contours of Buffalo ’66’s visual style and tone.
April 11, 2018
Gavin Smith
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Gallo, who also wrote, directed and scored Buffalo ’66 , is a smart young filmmaker, not least in his casting.
August 30, 2016
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
For a study in untrammeled lunacy, the movie is a highly constructed and tightly controlled work.
August 30, 2016
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Gallo’s combination of crudeness and sophistication has a preternatural power.
August 30, 2016
David Edelstein
Slate
TOP CRITIC
The intimate, idiosyncratic and very funny Buffalo ’66 –directed by and starring Vincent Gallo, from a semi-autobiographical script co-authored with Alison Bagnall –feels like a projection of Gallo’s very psyche.
August 30, 2016
Michael O’Sullivan
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Vincent Gallo, gaunt and pop-eyed, with a gaze of sexy, hostile paranoia, has the look of a born sociopath or a born movie star (or both).
September 7, 2011 | Rating: A
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
The film communicates a level of anguish that is difficult to bear at times.
February 16, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
Performances are outstanding, particularly those of Gallo and Ricci. It`s so refreshing and invigorating to see a film like this.
August 30, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Margaret Pomeranz
At the Movies (Australia)
Gallo’s poor, poor pitiful me routine wears very thin, very fast, but Ricci is incandescent, a softly-glowing dumpling of a dream-girl in powder-blue fishnet tights and sparkly tap shoes.
August 30, 2016 | Rating: 2/5
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide
If Martin Scorsese, John Cassavetes, and Abel Ferrara took turns directing scenes of a film written by and starring Jerry Lewis, it might resemble Buffalo ’66.
August 21, 2009
Rob Nelson
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
Actor Vincent Gallo makes a feature directing debut with this bizarre, self-indulgent tale of a troubled guy, played by him in a narcissistic mode, who has never reconciled his unhappy childhood.
July 15, 2009 | Rating: B-
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
It may not be the masterpiece that its narcissistic writer-director-star Vincent Gallo has claimed to be, but his filmmaking debut is a ceaselessly fascinating piece of work.
May 3, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/4
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com…
Plot
Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry (and forcing her to say the same).
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
Vincent-Gallo.jpg
