After Hours [Criterion Collection] [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray]

Director: Martin Scorsese Martin Scorsese

Overview

Martin Scorsese's After Hours is a dark, tragi-comic tale of a fish out of water, centering on an uptight, white-bread computer consultant from uptown Manhattan who finds himself in the nightmarish and incomprehensible (to him) world of Soho after dark. The ordeal begins when Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) gets lonely and decides to leave the posh East Side and search the Soho streets for some loving from Marcy (Rosanna Arquette), the pretty young woman he met in a downtown cafe. He has her phone number and works up the nerve to call. She wants to see him, and so Paul grabs $20, hails a taxi and sets out. The weirdness begins when he loses his money during the high-speed cab ride. His visit to Marcy's loft, where he meets her crazed artist roommate Kiki (Linda Fiorentino), is a disaster, as is his encounter with the beehive-wearing retro waitress Julie (Teri Garr).

Product Details

Release Date:	07/11/2023
UPC:	0715515285414
Original Release:	1985
Rating:	R
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	3

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Griffin Dunne	Paul Hackett
Rosanna Arquette	Marcy Franklin
Verna Bloom	June
Linda Fiorentino	Kiki
Teri Garr	Julie
John Heard	Tom, the Bartender
Cheech Marin	Neil
Catherine O'Hara	Gail
Dick Miller	Waiter
Bill Patton	Horst
Robert Plunket	Mark
Bronson Pinchot	Lloyd
Rocco Sisto	Coffee Shop Cashier
Larry Block	Taxi Driver
Mary Colquhoun	Actor
Victor Argo	Diner Cashier
Murray Moston	Subway Attendant
John Codiglia	Transit Cop
Clarence Felder	Bouncer
Henry Baker	Jett
Margo Winkler	Woman With Gun
Clarke Evans	1st Neighbor
Vic Magnotta	Dead Man
Robin Johnson	Punk Girl
Victor Bumbalo	2nd Neighbor
Bill Elverman	Neighbor
Stephen J. Lim	Club Berlin Bartender
Frank Aquilino	Angry Mob
Joel Jason	1st Biker
Maree Catalano	Angry Mob
Rand Carr	2nd Biker
Paula Raflo	Angry Mob
Rockets Redglare	Angry Mob
Martin Scorsese	Club Berlin Searchlight Operator,Actor
Tommy Chong	Actor

Technical Credits

Joseph Minion

Martin Scorsese	Director
Robert F. Colesberry	Producer
Griffin Dunne	Producer
Amy Robinson	Producer
Joseph Minion	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Paul is trying to get into Marcy's apartment. She tosses her keys down to him. Scorsese gives the audience the shot from the keys' point of view. They hurtle ominously towards Paul. This is a quick but quintessential moment in After Hours, a film that has the feel of a nightmare where nothing goes right and trouble can suddenly occur out of nowhere. Although lots of strange things happen to Paul over the course of his night in SoHo (he's hunted by a vigilante mob, nearly has his head shaved, and gets encased in plaster of paris to name just three), the sequences are directed with a certain amount of reality. Viewers are given the sense that the events in this film, however improbable, are possible. Griffin Dunne does a fine job with the tricky role of Paul. His character, after making the decision to go to Marcy's apartment, is almost totally passive. Events happen to him. While it would be easy to dislike such a put-upon character, Dunne makes the viewer sympathize with Paul because he always tries to extricate himself from the situation he is in without harming anyone else. He is desperate to get away from Teri Garr's beehived waitress, but the way he submits to her requests will gain the goodwill of the audience. Desperate to work on any project after Paramount cancelled The Last Temptation of Christ four days before that film was supposed to go before the camera, Scorsese quickly became attached to After Hours. Because Paul is unable to do what he wants and powerless to change his situation, it is tempting to assume that Scorsese felt a strong affinity for his protagonist. Armed with numerous stylistic touches and a noir sensibility, After Hours is a dark comedy that allowed a fine director to exorcise his career frustrations.

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert