This World, Then the Fireworks

1997 American film

Larry Gross
Chris Hanley
Brad Wyman

Starring

Billy Zane
Gina Gershon
Sheryl Lee
Rue McClanahan

CinematographyTom Priestley Jr.Edited byEmma E. HickoxMusic byPete Rugolo

Production
companies

Balzac's Shirt
JVC Entertainment Networks
Largo Entertainment
Muse Productions
Wynard

Distributed by

Largo Entertainment
Orion Pictures

Release date

July 11, 1997 (1997-07-11)

Running time

100 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office$51,618^[1]

This World, Then the Fireworks is a 1997 American crime drama film directed by Michael Oblowitz and starring Billy Zane, Gina Gershon, and Sheryl Lee. The screenplay is based on a short story of the same name by Jim Thompson.

Plot

As children, Marty and Carol Lakewood, fraternal twins, witness a brutal murder involving their father. They grow up to become depraved and incestuous adults, living in coastal California in the mid-1950s.

Marty is a skillful journalist, but grows bored with every new job and is easily distracted. When he seduces a young police officer, Lois Archer, and discovers she owns a beach house, Marty sets out to double-cross her and make the property his own.

Carol is a heartless prostitute, willing to go to any lengths to con men out of their money, or make them pay in other ways. Powerless to stop them is Mrs. Lakewood, a weak-willed woman who suspects the terrible truth in her children's relationship, but knows no way to stop it.

Cast

Billy Zane as Marty
- Christopher Jones as Young Marty
  - Christian Durango as Little Marty
Gina Gershon as Carol
- Megan Leigh Brown as Young Carol
  - Sloan Cobb as Little Carol
Sheryl Lee as Lois
Rue McClanahan as Mrs. Lakewood
- Roberta Hanley as Young Mrs. Lakewood
Seymour Cassel as Detective Harris
Will Patton as Lieutenant Morgan
Richard Edson as Joe
Tom Keeley as Lyle
William Hootkins as Jake Krutz
Philip Loch as Marty Lakewood's Father
Elis Imboden as neighbor's Wife
Mark Jeffrey Miller as Lloyd
Marianna Alacchi as Glenda
Robert Pentz as Lou
Orson Oblowitz as Eugene
Thad Mace as Tim
Jonathan Taylor Luthren as Ben
Stephanie Fisher as Claire
Lou Criscuolo as McCloud
Jeffrey Pillars as Galloway
John Bennes as Griffith
Barry Bell as Barnett Gibons
David Lenthall as Doctor
Terry Nienhuis as Minister
Valentin de Vargas as Mexican Doctor
Dean Mumford as Marine
Willy Cobbs as Blues Musician
Brian Keith Gamble as Spindly Man
Mert Hatfield as Bus Driver
Matt O'Toole as Thug 1
Norman Max Maxwell as Thug 2

Release

This World, Then the Fireworks was released on July 11, 1997 in only five U.S. theaters, grossing US$51,618 in total.^[1] It was released on videocassette on June 30, 1998,^[2] and on Blu-ray (through Kino Lorber) on November 14, 2017.^[3]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 38% approval rating based on 8 reviews, with an average ranking of 3.9/10.^[4]

Emanuel Levy of Variety wrote "In the hands of filmmaker Michael Oblowitz, novelist Jim Thompson's story 'This World, Then the Fireworks' gets an elegantly stylish, highly erotic, intentionally over-the-top rendition".^[5] Total Film called the film "sexy, stylized, deliberately overheated slice of noir".^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b "Box office information for This World, Then the Fireworks". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
^ "New on Video: Upcoming releases". The Vindicator. June 25, 1998. p. C5. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
^ Mory, Justin (November 8, 2017). "This World, Then the Fireworks (1997) Blu-ray Review". Retrieved August 10, 2021.
^ "This World, Then the Fireworks (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
^ McCarthy, Todd (February 1, 1997). "This World, Then the Fireworks". Variety.
^ "This World, Then the Fireworks Review". Total Film. GamesRadar+. December 5, 1997.