After Hours (1985)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writer:

Joseph Minion (written by)

Release Date:

13 September 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

What is the very worst night you ever had...? [UK Video]

Plot:

An ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho whom he met that evening at a coffee shop.

Plot Keywords:

New York | Coffee | Mob | Subway | Punk

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Griffin Dunne	...	Paul Hackett
Rosanna Arquette	...	Marcy Franklin
Verna Bloom	...	June
Tommy Chong	...	Pepe (as Thomas Chong)
Linda Fiorentino	...	Kiki Bridges
Teri Garr	...	Julie
John Heard	...	Thomas 'Tom' Schorr
Cheech Marin	...	Neil
Catherine O'Hara	...	Gail
Dick Miller	...	Diner Waiter (Pete)
Will Patton	...	Horst
Robert Plunket	...	Street Pickup
Bronson Pinchot	...	Lloyd
Rocco Sisto	...	Coffee Shop Cashier
Larry Block	...	Taxi Driver

Also Known As:

A Night in SoHo (USA) (working title)
Lies (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Brazil:16 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Italy:VM14 | Peru:18 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Australia:M | Iceland:12 | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

128 Spring Street, Soho, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Geffen Company, The

Trivia:

The "key drop" shot, where the camera drops vertically while tracking on Griffin Dunne, was done in two takes. In the first take, the camera lens was put through a hole in a wooden board and then the board was dropped from the roof with bungee cords. After the first take was done, producer Amy Robinson, director Martin Scorsese, and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus refused to do the shot like that again for fear of Dunne's safety. According to Robinson, the bungee cords started smoking. Dunne, on the other hand, was oblivious to the danger and was ready to do another take. Ballhaus filmed the second take with a fast crane move.

Goofs:

Continuity: When confronted by Tom's neighbors, Paul says he's a friend of Tom's, but during their initial meeting in the bar, Paul and Tom do not exchange names.

Quotes:

Paul Hackett: What's your name?
Julie: Julie.
Paul Hackett: My name's Paul.
Julie: Rough night, Paul?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kabluey (2007)

Soundtrack:

Symphony in D-Major, K-73N, 1st Movement

Scorsese does Comedy

After Hours, originally a Columbia thesis script by Joseph Minion tells the story of Paul Hackett's crazy adventure in Soho.

A friend described After Hours as a movie he always saw the cover for at the video store back in the day, and always thought it was a silly 80s comedy. It wasn't till years later he realized it was a Scorsese movie.

The movie came in the WB Box Set released with Goodfellas, Mean Streets, and a few other of the filmmakers lesser known, earlier films. I was happy when I finally popped After Hours into the DVD player, it is a darkly funny, well written downtown New York Adventure.

Hackett meets Marcy in a café, who passes her number off to him. Clearly a bored word processor seeking adventure, Hackett calls Marcy, who invites him over, he peers at his watch, 11:30pm, and his night has just begun. So begin's his crazy adventure, meeting peculiar character after peculiar character. The theme of the movie is that the whole world is different after midnight, from the people who inhabit it, to the rules which govern it.

Hackett has lost his money, and is so far from his home uptown, that he is virtually stuck in Soho. It's a fun movie, and worth seeing, if just for what Scorsese was up to between Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ.