Product Details

• Actors: Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi
• Directors: Paul Verhoeven
• Writers: Joe Eszterhas
• Producers: Alan Marshall, Ben Myron, Charles Evans, Lynn Ehrensperger, Mario Kassar
• Format: PAL
• Language: German (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Run Time: 128 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (317 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004RYES
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,052 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Showgirls" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

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

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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

197 of 206 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Here is what is on this thing..., June 29, 2007

By 

Brett D. Cullum (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Showgirls (Fully Exposed Edition) (DVD)

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!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Misunderstood Classic, August 9, 2000

By 

David Roberts (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Showgirls (DVD)

Calling Showgirls "poorly acted" or "sexist" completely misses the point; it's like accusing Britney Spears of not being a "real musician," as though you've discovered something.

Of *course* Showgirls is exploitative and demeaning to women. Almost all Hollywood movies are demeaning to women. Almost all of them are male-written, male-directed male fantasies. But most of them cover this fact with a thin veneer of "empowerment" and "sensitivity," making perfunctory, surface concessions to political correctness. It's hypocritical, dishonest and has horrible long-term effects on the psyches of young impressionable girls (and boys). The brilliance of Showgirls is that it gathers all of the worst Hollywood masculine excess and throws it unapologetically in our faces. The movie is straight-from-the-id, primal, brutish male fantasy. Every woman in the movie is a laughable caricature who advances, if at all, by deceiving other women and becoming a sexual object for men. The "heroine," Nomi, crosses every line, sells every shred of dignity, physically assaults her female competitors, sleeps with her boss (in the most over-the-top sex scene in cinematic history), gets her best friend raped... and at the end of the film, claims that she has gambled and won "herself." This tragi-comic nod to empowerment is a slap to the face of anyone who's been paying attention.

Whether Esterhauz and Verhoeven intended it as such, Showgirls is at once a camp classic and a sly satire, an example of everything our culture at once wallows in and disavows. Sure, you can react with righteous indignation, waggle your finger at the movie, and pat yourself on the back for being so enlightened. But maybe you should take a look around, at the billboards, the commercials, the sitcoms, the movies, the music videos, your own prejudices... and think about whether you can't find a better target.

53 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Trash, Sure, But Fun Nonetheless, April 26, 2000

By 

Bryan A. Hicks (Heidelberg, MS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Showgirls (DVD)

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.