Trees Lounge

Trees Lounge
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySteve Buscemi
Written bySteve Buscemi
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLisa Rinzler
Edited byKate Williams
Music byEvan Lurie
Production
companies
Distributed byOrion Classics[1]
Release dates
  • May 11, 1996 (1996-05-11) (Directors' Fortnight)
  • October 11, 1996 (1996-10-11) (United States)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
LanguageEnglish
Box office$749,741[2]

Trees Lounge is a 1996 American comedy-drama film[1] and the debut of Steve Buscemi as writer and director. It was produced by Brad Wyman and Chris Hanley and features a large ensemble cast of actors, including Buscemi, Anthony LaPaglia, Chloë Sevigny, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film's black humor is based on examination of characters' self-destructive behavior, revolving around their shared hangout of the eponymous bar and lounge.

Critical reception was mostly positive. Trees Lounge has also been cited as an influence by The Sopranos creator David Chase, who later hired Buscemi to direct "Pine Barrens" and three other episodes of the show, and to star as Tony Soprano's cousin Tony Blundetto during the show's fifth season.[3][4]

It was filmed in Glendale, Queens, Brooklyn and Valley Stream, New York.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Trees Lounge". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  2. ^ "Trees Lounge (1996)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  3. ^ "Steve Buscemi (II)". The Guardian. London. July 17, 2001.
  4. ^ Ressner, Jeffrey (2007). "Shooting the Sopranos". DGA Quarterly.
  5. ^ "A New Leaf: 'Trees Lounge' Lets the Multi-Faceted Steve Buscemi Flex His Directorial Muscles". Morning Call. February 28, 1997. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.