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| gross = $2.4 million<ref>{{mojo title|buffalo66|Buffalo '66}}</ref>
| gross = $2.4 million<ref>{{mojo title|buffalo66|Buffalo '66}}</ref>
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'''''Buffalo '66''''' is a 1998 [[crime film | crime]] [[comedy-drama]] film that was writer-director [[Vincent Gallo]]'s full-length [[motion picture]] debut. Gallo and [[Christina Ricci]] star in the lead roles and the supporting cast includes [[Mickey Rourke]], [[Rosanna Arquette]], [[Ben Gazzara]] and [[Anjelica Huston]]. Gallo also composed and performed much of the music for the film.
'''''Buffalo '66''''' is a 1998 [[crime film | crime]] [[comedy-drama]] film written and directed by [[Vincent Gallo]], starring Gallo, [[Christina Ricci]], [[Mickey Rourke]], [[Rosanna Arquette]], [[Ben Gazzara]] and [[Anjelica Huston]]. Gallo also composed and performed much of the music for the film.


The film was generally well-received; ''[[Empire Magazine|Empire]]'' listed it as the 36th-greatest [[independent film]] ever made.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/independentfilms.html |title=50 Greatest Independent Films From Empire |publisher=Filmsite.org |date= |accessdate=2010-10-19}}</ref> It was filmed in and around Gallo's native [[Buffalo, New York]], in winter. The film uses British [[progressive rock]] music in its soundtrack, notably [[King Crimson]] and [[Yes (band)|Yes]].
The film was generally well-received; ''[[Empire Magazine|Empire]]'' listed it as the 36th-greatest [[independent film]] ever made.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/independentfilms.html |title=50 Greatest Independent Films From Empire |publisher=Filmsite.org |date= |accessdate=2010-10-19}}</ref> It was filmed in and around Gallo's native [[Buffalo, New York]], in winter. The film uses British [[progressive rock]] music in its soundtrack, notably [[King Crimson]] and [[Yes (band)|Yes]].

Revision as of 18:58, 3 December 2019

Buffalo '66
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVincent Gallo
Screenplay by
  • Vincent Gallo
  • Alison Bagnall
Story byVincent Gallo
Produced byChris Hanley
Starring
CinematographyLance Acord
Edited byCurtiss Clayton
Music byVincent Gallo
Production
companies
Distributed byLions Gate Films
Release date
  • June 26, 1998 (1998-06-26)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million[1]
Box office$2.4 million[2]

Buffalo '66 is a 1998 crime comedy-drama film written and directed by Vincent Gallo, starring Gallo, Christina Ricci, Mickey Rourke, Rosanna Arquette, Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston. Gallo also composed and performed much of the music for the film.

The film was generally well-received; Empire listed it as the 36th-greatest independent film ever made.[3] It was filmed in and around Gallo's native Buffalo, New York, in winter. The film uses British progressive rock music in its soundtrack, notably King Crimson and Yes.

The title refers to the Buffalo Bills American football team, who had not won a championship since the 1965 American Football League Championship Game (which was actually played on December 28, 1965, four days before 1966 began).[4] The plot involves indirect reference to the Bills' narrow loss in Super Bowl XXV, which was decided by a missed field goal.

Plot

Having just served five years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Billy Brown is forced to meet with his parents, who were unaware about him being in prison. He kidnaps Layla, a tap dancer, and forces her to pretend to be his wife to his parents.

When they meet with Billy's parents, Layla sees that the relationship between them is very dysfunctional, and sees Billy's own mother forgetting he has a chocolate allergy and his father miming along to a song after claiming he used to be a singer. She finds out that Billy's mother has never missed a Buffalo game, except for in 1966, on the day which Billy was born.

After visiting his parents, Billy scolds Layla for telling an obviously not true lie to his father about him working with the CIA and decides to go bowling. Here Billy shows off his expertise at the sport, and Layla gives a bizarre tap dance routine to King Crimson's 'Moonchild'. The two use a photo booth but Billy becomes annoyed when Layla seems to enjoy making silly faces during the photos, in contrast to Billy's straight face.

After bowling, Billy and Layla visit a diner, where Billy encounters Wendy, a girl he used to have a crush on back in his school days. Earlier he had asked Layla to pretend to be Wendy to his parents, who is now happily in a relationship with another man. This annoys Billy leading to him and Layla checking into a motel, where Billy and Layla have a deep conversation, and eventually admit that they have fallen in love with each other, and they both go to sleep.

It's revealed that Billy was in prison because he was unable to pay the money that he had placed a bet on Buffalo winning the Super Bowl, and now he seeks revenge on the man who lost the game. In the morning, he begins to leave to exact his revenge. Layla tells him that if he's going, could he please come back, to which he lies about going to get a drink of coffee and tells her he will be back.

He eventually locates the man responsible, Scott Wood (a reference to a former Buffalo Bills kicker, Scott Norwood, who missed the potential game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXV against the New York Giants in 1991.[5]), and enters the bar he's at. Inside, he walks over to Wood's table and shoots him in the head, before shooting himself. We see his parents sitting by his grave with his mother way more interested in a Buffalos game than her own son's death. However, this is all shown to be inside of Billy's mind, as he decides to not kill Wood, realising he now has a girlfriend who loves him. The film ends with Billy showing he's a changed man by buying Layla a heart shaped cookie, and another for a man sitting nearby who tells him he has a wife that he loves very much.

Cast

Production

Gallo had difficulties working with his cast and crew, and reportedly did not get along with Ricci on set. Gallo called Ricci, whom he did not mention in the film's credits, a "puppet" who did what she was told.[6] Ricci vowed to never work with Gallo again.[7] She also resented comments Gallo made about her weight three or four years after filming.[8] Anjelica Huston also had issues with Gallo,[9] and Gallo claimed Huston caused the film to be turned down by the Cannes Film Festival.[9] Director Stéphane Sednaoui suggested to Gallo to use cinematographer Lance Acord, who was widely credited with the film's distinct visual style, though Gallo has claimed credit for designing most of the film's cinematography.[10] Gallo also publicly disparaged Acord, saying "This guy had no ideas, no conceptual ideas, no aesthetic point of view."[11][9] Kevin Corrigan chose to opt out of the credits because he did not want to be associated with the film at the time.[12]

Gallo was unable to use real NFL logos or to refer to the team as the "Buffalo Bills", just "Buffalo" or "the Bills", as NFL Properties was uncooperative. Kicker Scott Norwood was invited to participate in the film but declined, meaning Gallo had to change the character's name to Scott Wood.[13]

The film was made for just under $2 million. It was filmed on reversal stock to give it a classic look similar to that of NFL Films reels from the 1960s, with high color saturation and contrast.[13]

Music

Most of the film's score was composed and performed by Gallo himself, however, it also makes use of several other songs, including "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)" by Nelson Riddle, "Moonchild" by King Crimson, "I Remember When" by Stan Getz, and "Heart of the Sunrise" and "Sweetness" by Yes.

Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 76% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 59 reviews with an average rating of 7.15/10. The critical consensus reads, "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".[14] At Metacritic it has a rating score of 68/100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15] In Time Out New York, Andrew Johnston noted: "Ricci and Huston give poignant depth to characters that could have been cartoons, and Gallo makes Billy both annoying and sympathetic with seeming effortlessness. But the film's most potent ingredient is its visual style. The film's washed-out colors and the flashbacks that explode from Billy's head like comic-book thought balloons make Buffalo feel less like a movie than a dream given form."[16]

  • Dialogue from the film is sampled in reverse during the song "I'm Getting Closer" on M83 by the band M83.

References

  1. ^ Smith, Andrew (2001-09-29). "Buffalo boy". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
  2. ^ Buffalo '66 at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ "50 Greatest Independent Films From Empire". Filmsite.org. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
  4. ^ Buffalo '66 (trailer)
  5. ^ "It's Super Bowl loser borwood's unlucky number. Here's why...", Gary Imlach, The Guardian, January 7, 2007.
  6. ^ Tiffany Lee-Youngren (2005-01-18). "Truth or consequences". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  7. ^ "Ricci's Traumatic Gallo Memories". Contactmusic.com. 2004-07-13. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  8. ^ Dave Calhoun. "Christina Ricci interview". Time Out. Archived from the original on 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  9. ^ a b c "Gallo's Humor: FFC Interviews Vincent Gallo". Film Freak Central. 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  10. ^ "Capone Takes A Shot In The Mouth From THE BROWN BUNNY'S Vincent Gallo!! - Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news". Aintitcool.com. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  11. ^ "article". GreenCine. Archived from the original on 2014-04-17. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  12. ^ Rabin, Nathan (Feb 2, 2010). "Kevin Corrigan". The A.V. Club.
  13. ^ a b "From the Vaults: Vincent Gallo on Buffalo and Buffalo 66". The Public. 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  14. ^ "Buffalo '66 (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  15. ^ "Buffalo '66 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  16. ^ Johnston, Andrew (June 25, 1998). "Buffalo '66". Time Out New York: 84.
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