Sliver (film)

''Sliver'' is a 1993 American erotic thriller film starring Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, and Tom Berenger. It is based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York high-rise sliver building. Phillip Noyce directed the film, from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas. 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 which necessitated changing the killer's identity.

The film was released theatrically on May 21, 1993, by Paramount Pictures. While it topped the U.S box office it underperformed domestically, it was a huge hit overseas however. ''Sliver'', like many erotic thrillers of the time, found great success in the home video market, and was the 8th most rented film in the United States for 1994.

Plot

Carly Norris, a beautiful book editor and divorcee in her mid-30s, moves into the exclusive New York City sliver building "113". She meets other tenants including Zeke, a video game designer; Jack, a novelist; Vida, a fashion model who moonlights as a call girl; and Gus, a professor of videography at New York University. They tell Carly that she bears a striking resemblance to Naomi Singer, the previous tenant of her apartment who fell to her death from her balcony.

After running into Zeke numerous times, Carly invites him to her housewarming party. Soon afterwards, they begin a sexual relationship. Meanwhile, Jack starts stalking Carly and warning her about Zeke who he says is "sick". He also points out that Zeke's deceased mother, a soap opera actress named Thea Manning, bears a resemblance to Carly. As Jack's behavior becomes more erratic, Gus dies in the shower under suspicious circumstances and Vida is murdered, with police suspicion falling on Jack for her death after Carly discovers him in the stairwell with her corpse.

Zeke reveals to Carly that he is the owner of 113, which he bought with his inheritance from his wealthy father. As owner of 113, Zeke has installed a comprehensive video surveillance system throughout the building, allowing him to spy on all of the tenants from his own secret surveillance room. Through deduction and eventually one of Zeke's secret recordings, Carly learns that Jack killed Naomi in a crime of passion.

Jack was jealous of Zeke, who had sexual relations with both Naomi and Vida. Jack attacks Carly in her own apartment, and she accidentally shoots him dead. Angry at Zeke for withholding evidence in Naomi's murder, and jealous of his liaisons with Naomi and Vida, Carly destroys Zeke's surveillance room, tells him to "get a life", then leaves.

Cast

Production

Location

In the film, 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, located at 211 Madison Avenue New York, one block west and two blocks south of the fictional address. The building has since become a condominium development. It was built in 1985 and has 32 floors. While the movie made use of the building's courtyard, the lobby was a Los Angeles film set.

Original ending

In the film's original ending Zeke, instead of Jack, turns out to be the killer. After the police assume Jack to be the murderer Carly and Zeke burn the videotapes. Soon afterwards they wed atop the Sliver building. On their honeymoon they fly a helicopter over a Hawaiian volcano where Carly reveals that she knows he is the killer. She tells him she still has the tape of him murdering Gus in the shower and that "it's safe", implying she is willing to cover up his crimes and that she has found the excitement missing from her previous marriage. With their seatbelts off and Carly videotaping the scenery Zeke lowers the aircraft into the volcano as they both laugh gleefully. The scene then cuts to Zeke's surveillance room where the televisions display nothing but static. The end credits roll and leave the audience to decide whether they survive. The shooting of the final scene resulted in the crashing of the helicopter. After an investigation the pilot's certificate was temporarily suspended. Preview audiences disliked the idea of Carly turning immoral, so the ending was re-written and re-shot, to the one used in the final release.

Allegations about Robert Evans' behavior

In her 2021 memoir ''The Beauty of Living Twice'', Stone alleged but did not name a producer who, in her career, had told her to sleep with a costar in a film; in 2024, on '' The Louis Theroux Podcast'', Stone revealed the producer to be Robert Evans, further stating that Evans had wanted Stone and Baldwin to have sex in order to "have chemistry onscreen" and it would "save the movie", alleging that Evans had told her that "the real problem is that I was such a tight-ass," while Stone refused. Baldwin later attacked these allegations on social media, claiming that Stone had "a crush" on him, and to have "so much dirt on" Stone and sarcastically asking if he should write a book to "tell the many, many disturbing, kinky and unprofessional tales about Sharon". At least one entertainment blog derided the posts as "a bizarre, misogynistic rant" and "dripping with hatred for Stone", while noting that Janice Dickinson, whom Baldwin had claimed said Stone had expressed interest in him, had denied his claims.

Release and reception

The film premiered on May 19, 1993, at Mann National Theatre in Westwood Village, Los Angeles. It was released two days later, on May 21, and received negative reviews from critics. Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 21% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads "''Sliver'' is an absurd erotic thriller with technobabble and posits prime Sharon Stone as a professional book nerd." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

The main criticisms were that the film provided little in the way of compelling thriller elements, the script diluted the plot of the novel, the characters were underdeveloped, and the actors were not on form. Critics argued that compared to Sharon Stone's role as a femme fatale in ''Basic Instinct'' the year prior, her portrayal in ''Sliver'' as a passive character who has to be "lured into sexual intrigue" is unconvincing. ''The'' ''Austin Chronicle'' stated, "There's no suspense, no drama, no tension, no logic. It makes you appreciate all the craft that went into ''Basic Instinct''".

Criticism was also directed at the handling of the recurring themes of voyeurism and surveillance. Peter Rainer of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote, "There’s no emotional pull to the neo-Gothic world in Sliver'',' where people connect up by video monitor and computer with occasional forays in the flesh. It’s no news that we like to watch. But first you must give us something worth watching." Lastly, many critics also singled out the editing and ending, calling the latter hasty and unconvincing. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C−" on a scale from A+ to F.

MPAA ratings issues

Director Phillip Noyce claimed he had to make 110 edits to the film in order to avoid an NC-17 rating by removing the display of male frontal nudity.

Box office

The film debuted at No. 1 at the box office making $12.1 million in 2,093 theaters. By the second week the box office taking dropped to No. 6. ''Sliver'' eventually grossed $36.3 million domestically and $87.6 million internationally to a total of $123.9 million worldwide.

Home media

When originally released on VHS, the film was released in both its theatrical R-rated version and an unrated version which restored the cuts made by the MPAA. In March 2006, to coincide with the theatrical release of '' Basic Instinct 2'', which starred Stone, ''Sliver'' was released on DVD. Only the unrated cut was made commercially available, but the R-rated cut was distributed for rental. Although the film was theatrically shown in the 2.35 aspect ratio, the DVD features a matted, 2.10 aspect ratio transfer. In 2013, the R-rated cut was released on Blu-ray, sourced from the same 2.10 aspect ratio HD master used for the DVD release.

In 2024, Vinegar Syndrome, under license from Paramount, announced an Ultra HD Blu-ray release of the film as part of their annual Black Friday sales event, featuring a new director-supervised 4K restoration of the unrated version presented in its original 2.35 theatrical aspect ratio. The alternative scenes from the R-rated cut are also included as a bonus.

Accolades

Soundtrack

See also

* List of film accidents
* List of films featuring surveillance
* '' The Temp''
* '' The Tenants Downstairs''

References

External links

*
*

*

{{Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Picture

1993 films
1990s erotic thriller films
1990s mystery thriller films
1993 psychological thriller films
1990s serial killer films
American erotic romance films
American erotic thriller films
American mystery thriller films
American serial killer films
Films about security and surveillance
Films based on works by Ira Levin
Films directed by Phillip Noyce
Films produced by Robert Evans
Films scored by Howard Shore
Films set in apartment buildings
Films set in Manhattan
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in New York City
Films with screenplays by Joe Eszterhas
Paramount Pictures films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
Films about landlords
English-language crime films
English-language erotic thriller films
English-language mystery thriller films