Taglines: Billy Brown just got out of jail. Now he’s going to serve some real time. He’s going home.
Buffalo 66 movie storyline. Having just served five years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo) kidnaps a young tap dancer named Layla (Christina Ricci) and forces her to pretend to be his wife. Layla allows herself to be kidnapped and it is clear she is romantically attracted to Billy from the start, but Billy all the while is compelled to deal with his own demons, his loneliness and his depression.
The subplot of Billy seeking revenge on the man indirectly responsible for his imprisonment, Scott Wood, is a reference to a former Buffalo Bills kicker, Scott Norwood, who missed the game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXV against the New York Giants in 1991.
Buffalo ’66 is a 1998 comedy-drama film that is writer-director Vincent Gallo’s full-length motion picture debut. Vincent Gallo and Christina Ricci star in the lead roles and the supporting cast includes Mickey Rourke, Rosanna Arquette, Ben Gazzara, and Anjelica Huston. Gallo also composed and performed much of the music for the film.
The film received critical acclaim and Empire listed it as the 36th-greatest independent film ever made. It was filmed in and around Gallo’s native Buffalo, New York in winter. The film uses British progressive rock music in its soundtrack, notably King Crimson and Yes.
The title refers to the Buffalo Bills football team, with the number referring to the statement, “They haven’t won a championship since 1966.” This is critical to the plot which focuses on the Super Bowl in which the Bills, in the early 1990s, came very close to winning, but the game was blown with a missed field goal.
Buffalo 66 (1998)
Directed by: Vincent Gallo
Starring: Vincent Gallo, Christina Ricci, Ben Gazzara, Mickey Rourke, Rosanna Arquette, Jan-Michael Vincent, Anjelica Huston, Kevin Pollak, Alex Karras
Screenplay by: Vincent Gallo
Production Design by:
Cinematography by: Lance Acord
Film Editing by: Curtiss Clayton
Costume Design by: Alexis Scott
Set Decoration by: Jeanne Develle
Art Direction by: James Chinlund
Music by: Vincent Gallo
MPAA Rating: R for language, strong violent images and scenes involving nudity.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: June 26, 1998
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