Sliver (film)

Sliver is a 1993 film based on the Ira Levin novel Sliver about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York highrise apartment building. Phillip Noyce directed the film. Because of a major battle with the MPAA (which originally gave the film an NC-17 rating), the filmmakers were forced to make extensive reshoots before release.

According to the movie, the tall and narrow sliver building is located at 113 East 38th Street in Manhattan, placing it at 38th Street and Park Avenue. The actual building used in the film is known as Morgan Court,^[1] located at 211 Madison Avenue New York, one block west and two blocks south of the fictional address. It was built in the 1980s and has 32 floors. While the movie made use of the building's courtyard, the lobby was a Los Angeles film set.

Synopsis

Phillip Noyce's film version (1993, screenplay by Joe Eszterhas, who also wrote Basic Instinct) deviates considerably from the plot of the book. The film starred Sharon Stone and William Baldwin. The movie takes rather a simplistic stance on voyeurism, suggesting that wanting to secretly observe people and thus invading their privacy is part of human nature. Levin's novel, on the other hand, tries to draw a line between man's innate curiosity and pathological and compulsive behaviour patterns.

MPAA Ratings issues

According to a Showtime special about the film prior to the late-night premier showing of the original NC-17 version, the debate over the NC-17 vs R rating was linked solely to the display of male-frontal-nudity.

DVD Releases

In March of 2006, to coincide with the theatrical release of Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct sequel, Sliver was released on DVD as an unrated edition (the original NC-17 version). There are no special features and although the film was presented theatrically in the 2.35 aspect ratio, the DVD features a matted, 2.0 aspect ratio transfer. The release also contained what some reviewers^{[citation needed]} have noted as an unusual amount of dirt and scratches for a film print that is only a little over a dozen years old, though the casual viewer is unlikely to detect anything errant. In May of 2006 an R-rated for-rent-only version was released to rental outlets.

See also

• Sliver: Music from the Motion Picture - movie soundtrack

Trivia

• The film was referenced in The Simpsons episode Burns' Heir, as Mr. Burns has cameras in everyone's home in Springfield, and he claims, "I got the idea from that movie 'Sliver', what a delightful romp!"
• The film is referenced in rapper Nas' song "Take It In Blood" from his album It Was Written - "I told the judge snakes Sliver like Sharon Stone, but like Capone I'm thrown"

References

1. ^ :: New York City Apartments

External links

• Sliver (1993) at the Internet Movie Database
• Trailer
• Entertainment Weekly article about the building.

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