Strange Days Nearly Buried Katherine Bigelow — Why You Should Watch It 30 Years Later
Strange Days is a 1995 science-fiction thriller directed by Katherine Bigelow and written by James Cameron. Released on October 13, 1995, the film stars Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett, and it centers on a virtual-recording technology called a SQUID (Superconducting QUantum Interference Device). The movie is set in the days before New Year’s Eve in the year 1999, and it deals with themes including police violence and racial tension.
Overview
Strange Days was released by 20th Century Fox on October 13, 1995. James Cameron wrote the screenplay, and he and Katherine Bigelow had been married from 1989 to 1991. The film had a production budget of approximately $42 million.
The cast includes Ralph Fiennes as Lenny and Angela Bassett as Lornette. In addition, Brigitte Bako appears as Iris. The story takes place in a near-future Los Angeles and uses a fictional VR-recording device as a central plot element.
Plot and technology
The film’s timeline is set in the lead-up to the millennium, specifically the final days of 1999. Lenny, an ex-police officer turned black-market dealer, buys and sells recorded experiences captured on removable discs. The recordings are made with a device identified in the film as a SQUID (Superconducting QUantum Interference Device).
The opening sequence is shown as a first-person recorded memory that ends with the uploader’s violent death. Subsequently, Lenny views another recording that reveals the murder of a woman named Iris, which begins the central investigation and plot escalation.
Context and themes
The screenplay references, and the film was influenced in part by, events including the 1992 Rodney King riots. As a result, the plot incorporates topics such as police brutality, racial tensions, and the societal impact of immersive-recording technology.
Reception and box office
At the box office, Strange Days grossed approximately $17 million worldwide against its $42 million budget. Therefore, it did not recoup its production costs during its theatrical run.
Critical and audience responses varied, and the film’s box office performance influenced the perception of Bigelow’s commercial prospects at that time.
Legacy and later career
Following Strange Days, Katherine Bigelow continued to direct, and she later won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Hurt Locker (2009). She subsequently directed Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Detroit (2017), collaborating with writer Mark Boal on several projects.
More recently, Bigelow worked on a film titled House of Dynamite, which credits Noah Oppenheim (screenwriter of Jackie) as its writer.
