Product Details

• Actors: Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi
• Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NC-17
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: July 27, 2004
• Run Time: 128 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (316 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00020X88O
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,318 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Showgirls (VIP Limited Edition)" 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

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 showdancing to create one of the most controversialand shockingfilms of all time. Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley) has what it takes to make it as a Las Vegas showgirlwhat 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 showgirl, Nomi wants everything she hasincluding her boyfriend (Kyle MacLachlan). And as Nomi dives deeper into the world she so desperately desires, a rivalry between the two women heatsup. The battle for the spotlight becomes so fiercely competitive that it drives Nomi to desperate lengthsand devious heightsfor fame in Sin City.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

196 of 205 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!

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So bad for you, it's good for you. Camp doesn't come any campier, December 16, 2006

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Showgirls (DVD)

Every now and then, a film is so bad, so wretched, so devoid of any socially or artistically redeeming value as to take on a life of its own, and by the very denial of value, acquire a value unto itself.

So it is with "Showgirls."

This film is, of course, well and truly ridiculed in every quarter of the world of serious art critique, and even righteously lampooned in "The Simpsons", a venue that provides a surprising amount of accurate commentary on artistic merit. And the spotlight reviews here on Amazon.com are so wonderful, I almost despaired to write anything approaching their brilliance. But I felt I had to add my mite to the general acclaim for this contrarian work of art.

The story is, as has been related so many times, of a simple girl with a shady past, Nomi, who hitchhikes to Vegas. Is there, you ask, any OTHER way to get to Vegas? No, indeed. A pretty girl with a great figure and a look of jaw-dropping stupidity (Elizabeth Berkley) should never take a bus or turn tricks to fund a budget plane ticket. Only risking her life in a random encounter with what could be (but wasn't) a homicidal pervert trolling for hitchers is the way to arrive in Vegas in the proper manner. Nomi hooks up with a soul sister sewing pal in a trailer and becomes ensnared in dancer/manipulator/girl-liker (lover) Cristal's web. (Isn't this just awful writing from me? I'm indulging in a veritable Bulwer-Lytton festival of bad prose here.)

Nomi of course, climbs out of her seedy second-rate strip club, I mean, Vegas show and gets a role in the hot new extravaganza "Goddess." My favorite part of the scene is not the crummy audition. No, it's right afterwards, when she trots on up to the Human Resources department and feigns not knowing her social security number and is even rather vague on her date of birth. Her lack of next-of-kin prompts the HR lady to ask "deceased?" and Nomi does a creditable job in looking as if she knows that "deceased" means "dead" and not the opposite of "increased" This is absolutely believable acting, assisted by some very bad lipgloss over some phenomenally collagen-enhanced lips. At this point in film, also, the already dubious dialog hits pothole after pothole. "She is all about pelvic thrust...and she didn't learn that in dance lessons" or something to that effect. I didn't hear it too well, because I was gasping for air after a huge guffaw.

The dialog continues to bump along as Nomi does the same, along with grinding out some astonishing bad dancing, consisting of a lot of jerky arm-throwing, pelvic thrusting and leg humping of shoulders, hips and any convenient pole or chair. Spoilers? None. I always forget how this film works out at the end, because I am rolling on the floor and have to shut off the DVD.

Along with "Buckaroo Banzai", this is probably one of my top picks for bad films that are so bad, they are actually enjoyable. Whether you are just being a voyeur or you appreciate camp, this is one terrific blurp of entertainment.

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.