Product Description

Seduction, passion and power struggles unfold when the creators of Basic Instinct, director Paul Verhoeven (Starship Troopers) and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (Original Sin) blow the lid off the seemingly glamorous world of Las Vegas show dancing to create one of the most controversial and shockingfilms of all time. Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley) has what it takes to make it as a Las Vegas show girl what she doesn't have is a way in. To survive, she accepts the only job available: lap dancing at a seedy club. And when she meets Cristal (Gina Gershon), Vegas' reigning show girl, Nomi wants everything she has including her boyfriend (Kyle MacLachlan). And as Nomi dives deeper into the world she so desperately desires, a rivalry between the two women heats up. The battle for the spotlight becomes so fiercely competitive that it drives Nomi to desperate lengths and devious heights for fame in Sin City.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7283 in DVD
• Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
• Released on: 2007-07-17
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 131 minutes

Amazon.com
When Goldie Hawn recommended Elizabeth Berkley for a small role in First Wives Club, she publicly stated that Berkley deserved the opportunity to redeem herself after starring in the ridiculous Showgirls. That says it all: this sleazy, stupid movie, which mixes soft pornography with the clichés of backstage dramas, is the kind of project an aspiring actress would have to put well behind her to keep a career going (though costar Gina Gershon certainly benefited from her, uh, exposure in the film). Berkley plays a drifter who hitches a ride to Las Vegas, becomes a lap dancer and then a performer, and discovers--gasp!--there's a whole world of sex and violence involved with these things. Gershon is probably the best element in the film, playing Berkley's bisexual rival for the big spotlight on stage. Joe Eszterhas was well overpaid for writing this howler, and director Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct) should have known better than to take it seriously. --Tom Keogh

On the DVD
If you don't need the variety of trinkets included in the 2004 Showgirls V.I.P. Edition, the 2007 Fully Exposed Edition is exactly the same DVD as the one in that boxed set, from the art on the disc to the trailer gallery featuring DVDs released in 2004. And so the cut of the movie and all the special features are the same, including the commentary track by David Schmader, who gained fame for hosting an "annotated" version of the movie (think Mystery Science Theater 3000). The track is subtitled "The Greatest Movie Ever Made," and Schmader explains himself thus: "Showgirls triumphs in that every single person involved in the making of the film, from the writers, actors, gaffers, every single one of them is making the worst possible decision at every possible time, and it's this incredible density of failure that makes Showgirls sublime." (He make an exception for Gina Gershon.) He wittily discusses the recurring "chips 'n' nails" motif and what Nomie's dancing reminds him of. Also included are behind-the-scenes footage, a pop-up trivia track, and some real-life showgirls offering tips on how to perform a lap dance and their take on the movie's lapdance scene. --David Horiuchi

From The New Yorker
Director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, who last worked together on "Basic Instinct," tell the story of Nomi (Elizabeth Berkley), a young woman who goes to Las Vegas determined to climb the greasy pole of success. In an unusual career move, she ends up actually licking the pole-just one of the highlights of her dance routine at the Cheetah Club. We soon find her ascending to the heights of the Stardust, an altogether classier joint (dry ice, gold costumes), where she arouses the pleasant lust of Zack (Kyle MacLachlan) and the furious lust of Cristal (Gina Gershon); these days, no Eszterhas script is complete without a dash of wandering sexuality. He and Verhoeven are like a couple of kids sniggering at a peepshow on Forty-second Street-their movie is full of really rude words, plus women without their tops on! Berkley's acting début is a joy, if you can call it acting: she jumps up and down a lot to indicate excitement. Watching this picture is like surfing the soaps for a couple of hours. There's no use being offended, so you might as well have a good laugh. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Here is what is on this thing...
If you previously bought the SHOWGIRLS VIP edition - this is the exact same disc only packaged without the box and all the trinkets that came with that edition. You get commentary by a guy who is a fan of the movie and helps host late night screenings, the Scores girls talk about stripping and critique those sequences, and there's an old promotional piece made during shooting that is called "A Diary". The transfer is good and the extras are fun, though none of them seem to cover anybody associated with the film. If you did not purchase the glam deluxe box set this is a cheap way to get all those features without hunting it down. Otherwise if you have that edition, this is merely a double dip and repackaging of the same disc with new cover art.

This is the NC-17 cut and no additional material has been added. If you have that edition already there is no difference in the movie at all. There are no deleted or extended scenes. This is the version shown in theatres and released twice before on DVD.

SHOWGIRLS begs for better extras. I would love to hear a director's commentary or Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon talk about the film. But that hasn't happened yet. Maybe one day we can hope for a Criterion edition and all the stops will be pulled out!

'Showgirls' VIP: The greatest DVD box set ever made!
Since the endless array of qualities-- or lack thereof-- of this flick have been covered umpteen times in previous customer reviews, I'm not gonna say much about 'Showgirls' itself, 'cuz it's all been said before. All I'll say about it is that there are a lotta boobs in it... as well as a lotta exposed breasts (none of 'em flabby man-breasts, thank God). Nope, instead I'm gonna cover the DVD's special features, as well as the neat-o bonuses included in the VIP edition collector's box set.

Let's start off with the shot glasses, which apparently are so... provocative... that the distributors of this set included a warning about being the right age to drink alcohol on the back of the box's slip case. Then there's the deck of playing cards, which are... well, kinda ordinary really. At least, they look that way on the surface, 'cuz I've decided against opening up the shrink-wrapped deck, lest I ruin its secondary value, heh. Then there's the array of six large cards, four of which lay out the rules for various party games. The non-party cards include a little spiel about responsible drinking (a little CYA for the DVD box set's distributors against potential lawsuits), and a list of 'fun facts' about the making of the movie. Ya probably couldn't guess from watching the movie, but did'ja know that director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas actually hit the Vegas club/strip-joint scene as part of their research of the flick? Did'ja really give two doots? I didn't think so...

Finally, we come to the set's ultimate, and most hilarious, extra feature: the pin-the-pasties-on-the-showgirl game! Included in this set are a couple of red-tasseled suction cups, a poster of a topless Elizabeth `Nomi' Berkley, and a blindfold mask. It sure shoots the money clip I got with my 'Scarface' deluxe set all to #ell, lemme tell ya...

Actually, I've spoken too soon-- the ultimate/most hilarious feature this DVD box set has is the commentary track by `Showgirls' superfan David Schmader. The guy's disturbingly extensive knowledge of behind-the-scenes trivia on the film, his Mystery Science Theater-like cracks & zingers (his response to the flippy-floppy pool-boink scene:"My God! Get her some insulin!" AH-HAHAHAHAHAHA-HAAAAH!!!), and nitpicking every single implausible moment and continuity error makes for one of the most gut-bustingly funny commentary tracks I've ever experienced. But while Schmader gets me yukkin' it up at times, he also creeps me out on other occasions with his speaking in a phone-stalker-like semi-hushed tone, which hits its highest plateau of weirdness when he says "oh, hi there" to Nomi at the beginning in this same hushed tone. God, how disquieting that moment was! Then there's his "talent" as a living, breathing `Showgirls' encyclopedia. I swear, he makes most of the UberTrekkies I know look like pikers...

Other bonus features include a lap-dancing tutorial by a couple girls from the infamous Scores strip clubs that Howard Stern brings up at least once a day on his morning radio show. While I found it somewhat entertaining, I think I'd much rather experience the tutorial first-hand, if ya know what I mean. Also included are a few sketch-to-screen comparisons, the most interesting one featuring director Paul Verhoeven showing off his staccato, manic directing style. After seeing this piece, you'd swear the guy was on a 24/7 caffeine drip. `Course, you'll STILL be left wondering why, after having helmed such fun cinematic fare as `RoboCop' and `Total Recall', the guy thought Mr. Ezsterhas' (sp?) script was worth filming...

There's also a feature-length trivia track that displays factoids about the flick, which pop up from time to time. Well, at least I think that's what it does, anyway; I haven't bothered to watch `Showgirls' with this track activated `cuz I'd just seen it twice in succession over the last couple days before I wrote and submitted this review-- once with English subtitles turned on, and once with the commentary track-- and I don't think I could stand to watch this three times in the span of three days. Nope, I think I'll get over the mind-numbing shock and total embarrassment first. Should only take a couple months...

`Late

Post Script: While I found the VIP box set's extras and DVD bonus features rather entertaining, I strongly suggest you keep it tucked away in a hidden space of your pad when the `rents, your girlfriend, or your buds come to pay a visit. No offense, but nothing shouts out, "I'm a pathetic, socially-inept loser" like keeping this bad-boy out in plain sight (trust me on this one; I've racked up many years of experience as a pathetic, socially-inept loser). There's a reason why most trash-cinema aficionados refer to this movie as a GUILTY pleasure, after all...

`Later

Trash, Sure, But Fun Nonetheless
First, I must say that I am, truly, a lover of bad movies. (In fact, I ordered "Showgirls" on DVD, the same day I ordered "Plan 9 From Outer Space". So, what does that tell you?) Although "Showgirls" has been shunned by the mainstream public, it has gained quite a bit of fame as a cult classic, such as "Plan 9". "Showgirls" became infamous after being slapped with the dreaded NC-17 rating, the scarlet "A", if you will, of the rating system. Does it deserve it? Sure. It is loaded with T&A for those who want it. But for lovers of cinematic cheese, there is plenty to enjoy, such as bad dialogue and mediocre acting.

Well, finally, "Showgirls" has found it's way to DVD, and it is a pretty good release. It makes up for picture quality and sound where it lacks in special features. (I really wanted an audio commentary, so the director could explain what the hell was going on in his mind when he made it. But, hey, maybe on an upcoming Criterion Version. :-]) But, for people, who enjoyed it for the movie it is, I would recommend it. And, for fans of ridiculous turkeys, I would really recommend it, because it is definitely fun.