Hard Eight (film)

Hard Eight
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaul Thomas Anderson
Written byPaul Thomas Anderson
Based onCigarettes & Coffee
by Paul Thomas Anderson
Produced byRobert Jones
John Lyons
Starring
CinematographyRobert Elswit
Edited byBarbara Tulliver
Music byJon Brion
Michael Penn
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 20, 1996 (1996-01-20) (Sundance)
  • February 28, 1997 (1997-02-28) (United States)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3 million
Box office$222,806

Hard Eight (originally titled Sydney) is a 1996 American crime film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson in his feature directorial debut, and starring Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Samuel L. Jackson. An expansion on Anderson's 1993 short film Cigarettes & Coffee, it follows the bond between a senior gambler and a homeless man. It premiered at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival.

The film's title refers to a "hard eight," a wager in the casino game of craps that the shooter will roll two fours before a seven or any other combination totaling eight.