I haven’t seen AFTER HOURS for about a decade. I really liked it as a teen. Thanks for reminding of it. I will have to check it out again.
I have a strong nostalgic feeling for this one.. used to watch it endlessly as a kid.
Of the films of hi I’ve seen, this one is my favorite. Griffin Dunne acts as a proxy for Scorsese himself through his rather passive attitude toward the events that transpire around him, mirroring Scorsese’s feelings of disillusionment after Paramount cancelled his Last Temptation of Christ. This movie made me fall in love with Rosanna Arquette – if only for the fact that she resembled a coworker of mine at the time I had the hots for – and it’s one of the best, if not the best, up-all-night movies. I didn’t much care for Cheech and Chong in the film, but that’s more because of their previous films than their usage in After Hours. The movie has a superb ending, where it seems as if Dunne never actually left his office building and the whole thing was some feverish nightmare.
I’ve seen all of his films with the exception of a couple documentaries and one of his student films, and I must say that of the 20+ films he’s made it is easily one of my 5 favorites of his. I think it is completely brilliant.
Yes, I do. I put this together with the 1/3 of NEW YORK STORIES he did as him just having a little cinematic fun.
I love this filn, too – all those re-occurring blondes, all that dark comic tension, the repeating nightmare like quality, the bizarre street scene where everyone is combing the street for Griffin Dunne – how creepy is that? A miniature Scorcese masterpiece – funny, creepy and surreal all at the same time. Thanks for mentioning it.
I LOVE THIS FILM! FUNNY and DARK, yes. It’s also got this weird sort of underlying TENSION to it that I’ve never felt in any other film before or since… it’s as if the film is on a very tentative path. While watching the movie, one gets the sensation that it could veer off and abandon the comedic aspect of the story at any given moment and take a more menacing route.
I saw this back in the ‘80s and hated it. I don’t know how I’d react today. When I re-watched KING OF COMEDY on cable a few years ago, another ‘80s Scorsese film I didn’t like, it played much better than it had originally. Maybe it was better on the small screen. But I generally hated the ‘80s anyway. My favorite ’80s films were all things I discovered in the ’90s—anime like Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpieces of that decade and OAV like Crying Freeman, Gunbuster, Peacock King, Vampire Princess Miyu, etc., and Hong Kong action films like PEKING OPERA BLUES, A BETTER TOMORROW, A CHINESE GHOST STORY, THE BIG HEAT, CITY ON FIRE, etc.
YES! Great film, nightmarish but hilarious.
Like some others, I loved it as a teenager; it had a jittery energy that I found compelling. I watched it again a couple years ago and found the film uneven. The first half’s terrific; by the last half-hour or so, it seems like cameos are being trotted in through revolving doors.
If you like it, I recommend one that came out around the same time: “Into the Night” with Jeff Goldblum.
Yeah, I love this movie. One of his best films, in my opinion. Really, he should go back to making films like this.
Just saw this. Quite blown away.
Interesting that, aside from it’s explicitly Kafkaesque DNA, it also projects a specifically Lynchian quality in its humor that wouldn’t really be seen from Lynch until Wild At Heart and Twin Peaks.
Definitely a glaring oddity in Marty’s canon, but one we’re the better for.
I saw this when I was working at a local video store. It looked like a fun nighttime farce.
When I saw Martin Scorsese’s name, I was intrigued.
When I finished the film, I was blown away!
Some probably would say it’s not his best film, but it’s my personal favorite.
My personal favourite as well. I’d argue it’s his best, but then again I also think Welles’ best is The Trial, so I’m obviously biased toward Kafkaesque misadventures.
Heh, I also have a real weakness for Kafkaesque misadventures. I love the Trial as well, and it moves me more than CK, even if I recognize intellectually it’s maybe slightly inferior. Definitely under-appreciated.
Its a great movie ,very odd but Scorseses genius shines through.
And Last Train to Clarksville on the soundtrack
I loved it when I was a student but haven’t watched it for years. I’ll also check it out again. Thanks for bringing it up!
I liked it. It’s been awhile though. Marty still quite adept at capturing the fear of NYC. Maybe, not my favorite. It’s a more commercial take on comedy than King of Comedy was and for the most part works better too and sticks to its theme.
Yeah, the moment of Griffin Dunne looking out the window and seeing the guy getting shot is going to be one of my favorite moments in a movie…this month.
i love this movie! I cannot forget the scene where two burglars are talking about art.
One of them says something like “we should have stolen a stereo” and the other one replies “what do you know man, stereo is a stereo. art is forever”
And aren’t those burglars played by Cheech and Chong, phenomenal artists in their own right. Meta, man.
More Scorsese, eh?
fong chuen ming
I like this this masterpiece very much!
The script is so darkly, funny and look like Kafka style, when it mixed with Scorsese’s technology, the production is extremely great!
Unfortunately, when I introduced this film to my mon and friends, they said it is boring.
Do someone like this film too?