After Hours (1985)

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:

Coffee | New York | Mob | Suicide | Bouncer

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
Victor Argo	...	Diner Cashier
Murray Moston	...	Subway Attendant
John P. Codiglia	...	Transit Cop
Clarke Evans	...	Neighbor #1
Victor Bumbalo	...	Neighbor #2
Joel Jason	...	Biker #1
Rand Carr	...	Biker #2
Clarence Felder	...	Club Berlin Bouncer
Henry Judd Baker	...	Jett (as Henry Baker)
Margo Winkler	...	Woman with Gun
Victor Magnotta	...	Dead Man
Robin Johnson	...	Punk Girl
Stephen Lim	...	Club Berlin Bartender (as Stephen J. Lim)
Frank Aquilino	...	Angry Mob Member
Maree Catalano	...	Angry Mob Member
Paula Raflo	...	Angry Mob Member
Rockets Redglare	...	Angry Mob Member
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Scorsese	...	Club Berlin Patron (uncredited)
Martin Scorsese	...	Club Berlin Searchlight Operator (uncredited)

Directed by
Martin Scorsese

Writing credits
Joseph Minion		(written by)

Produced by
Robert F. Colesberry	....	producer
Griffin Dunne	....	producer
Amy Robinson	....	producer
Deborah Schindler	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Howard Shore

Cinematography by
Michael Ballhaus

Film Editing by
Thelma Schoonmaker

Casting by
Mary Colquhoun

Production Design by
Jeffrey Townsend

Art Direction by
Stephen J. Lineweaver

Set Decoration by
Leslie A. Pope		(as Leslie Pope)

Costume Design by
Rita Ryack

Makeup Department
Medusah	....	hair stylist
Valli O'Reilly	....	makeup artist (as Valli)

Production Management
Michael Nozik	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sarah M. Brim	....	second assistant director
Christopher Griffin	....	second assistant director
Stephen Lim	....	first assistant director (as Stephen J. Lim)
Tomaz Remec	....	dga trainee
Jeffrey Townsend	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
David Allen	....	set dresser
Tommy Allen	....	property master (as Tom Allen)
Joel A. Blumenau	....	set dresser (as Joel Aaron Blumenau)
Nora Chavooshian	....	sculptor
Anthony Dunne	....	set builder (as Tony Dunne)
Leigh Kyle	....	assistant art director
Anamarie Michnevich	....	assistant property master
Timothy Main	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Michael Berenbaum	....	apprentice sound editor
Louis Bertini	....	assistant sound editor
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Tom Fleischman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Keith Gardner	....	boom operator
Chat Gunter	....	sound mixer
Michael Jacobi	....	sound editor
Neil L. Kaufman	....	sound editor (as Neil Kaufman)
Skip Lievsay	....	supervising sound editor
Marissa Littlefield	....	assistant sound editor
Barbara Minor	....	assistant sound editor
Magdaline Volaitis	....	sound editor
Dick Vorisek	....	sound re-recording mixer

Stunts
Jordan H. Fischer	....	stunts
Harry Madsen	....	stunt coordinator
Shawn O'Neil	....	stunts
Shawn O'Neil	....	stunt driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Florian Ballhaus	....	second assistant camera
Jan Sebastian Ballhaus	....	second assistant camera (as Sebastian Ballhaus)
Arthur Blum	....	key grip
Stefan Czapsky	....	gaffer
David M. Dunlap	....	first assistant camera
Anthony Dunne	....	grip (as Tony Dunne)
Morris Flam	....	best boy
Charlie Marroquin	....	grip
Larry McConkey	....	Steadicam operator
Michael Papadapolous	....	electrician
Susan Starr	....	second assistant camera
Michael Trim	....	electrician
Barry Wetcher	....	still photographer
Gilles Fortier	....	best boy (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Paulette Aller	....	wardrobe assistant (as Paulette Aller Shelton)
Barbara Shulman Breslin	....	assistant to costume designer
John A. Dunn	....	assistant to costume designer (as John Dunn)
Charles Scorsese	....	wardrobe assistant
Deirdre N. Williams	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Deirdre Williams)

Editorial Department
Molly Bernstein	....	editing intern
Arthur Blum	....	editing intern
James Y. Kwei	....	second assistant editor (as James Kwei)
Victoria Martin	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Thomas S. Drescher	....	music editor (as Thomas Drescher)

Transportation Department
Joseph Fanning	....	transportation captain (as Joe Fanning)

Other crew
Bomani Yusuf Ali	....	production assistant
Kimberly Auslander	....	production intern
Elizabeth Benjamin	....	promotion/research assistant
Marion Billings	....	publicist
Judith Lyn Brown	....	assistant production office coordinator
Fred Cassidy	....	craft service
Adam Cohen	....	production assistant
Jem Cohen	....	production assistant
Lydia Dean Pilcher	....	location assistant (as Lydia Pilcher)
Jonathan De Camp	....	production assistant
Claudia Doring	....	assistant: Mr. Scorsese
Bill Einsel	....	production intern
Bettiann Fishman	....	production assistant
Evelyn Fitzgerald	....	craft service
Geoffrey George	....	production intern
John Goldsmith	....	production intern
Richard Guay	....	assistant production auditor
Lisa Hsia	....	promotion/research assistant
Mary A. Kelly	....	script supervisor
Richard Kurtz	....	production assistant
Peter R. Livingston Jr.	....	production intern
Barbara Lucey	....	production auditor
Kathleen McCoy	....	production office assistant
Nellie Nugiel	....	production executive
John O'Toole	....	production assistant
Dan Perri	....	title designer
Denise Pinckley	....	production office coordinator
John Pirozzi	....	production assistant
Angela Salgado	....	production assistant
David Sardi	....	production assistant
Catherine Scorsese	....	production assistant
Gary Weiner	....	location manager
Amy Wells	....	production assistant
Susanna Virtanen	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Dan DeCarlo	....	special thanks (as Dan De Carlo)
Tom Fleischman	....	special thanks
Antonio Sodda	....	special thanks
Nancy Sullivan	....	special thanks
Todd M. Thaler	....	special thanks (as Todd Thaler)
Robert Warshavsky	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Geffen Company, The
• Double Play

Distributors

• Geffen Company, The (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Computer Opticals  opticals
• Data General Corporation  on camera computer system
• Ferco  location services
• Mark Baron Company, The  publicity
• Sylvia Fay Casting  extras casting
• Trans / Audio  sound re-recording

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 | Spain:7 | Portugal:M/16 | 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 conversation between Paul and the bouncer at Club Berlin is mostly from Franz Kafka's "Before The Law."

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Neil and Pepe emerge from June's underground apartment, a street sign directly behind them says Spring St. According to Kiki, Club Berlin is on the corner of West Broadway and Grand, several blocks south of Spring.

Quotes:

Marcy: I was raped once. As a matter of fact it happened right here in this very room. I lived here once. He came in through there on the fire escape. He held a knife to my throat and said if I made a move, he'd cut my tongue out. He tied me to the bed... he took his time... six hours.
Paul Hackett: My god... Was he, uh... did they get this guy?
Marcy: No. Actually it was a boyfriend of mine. To tell you the truth, I slept through most of it. So... there you are.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Dawson's Creek: After Hours (#5.21)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

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

A unique experience.

To get an understanding of the caliber film we're dealing with, you have to imagine some of the finest elements of other films being wound into a tight 95 minute package and directed by the incomparable Martin Scorsese. After Hours reminds this critic in many ways of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. But somehow it seems to be about the best elements of that film. Our film deals with a mild-mannered Manhattan office worker taking a late night trip to the Soho district to meet up with a beautiful woman he first encountered earlier in the evening. So, much like with Tom Cruise in EWS, we have a protagonist searching for love in a world completely foreign to him. But instead of a never ending and overly talky film, we get a tightly wound and much better paced film from Scorsese. When the film does slow down for conversations, the ones we're treated to are comparable to the best Tarantino ever wrote for any of his films. Fortunately we don't get too many of them, like we would in a Tarantino film, however.

Griffin Dunne plays Paul Hackett, who is bound and determined to hook up with Marcy (Rosanne Arquette) whom he met in a restaurant earlier that evening. Once he makes it to Soho, Paul quickly realizes this spur-of-the-moment rendezvous may have been a terrible idea. Apparently Soho is (or was in 1985) a macabre place full of eccentric artists, bondage enthusiasts, and vigilante mobs made up of mostly gay people. Not only does Paul fail to score with Marcy, he ends up being stranded in the neighborhood with no money to get home, and being blamed for several apartment break-ins by a crowd that wants his blood! Every place or person he turns to for help seems to get him deeper and deeper into danger. There are all kinds of famous or soon to be famous people popping up in little roles here and there. Will Patton as a leather clad bondage enthusiast may be the most odd. Also look for Scorsese in a nightclub sporting a beard and shining a spotlight down on the rowdy patrons.

Unlike many Scorsese films, this one does not rely much at all on violence to get the point of danger across. I believe there is only one violent death, and the victim is not a main character. But in true Scorcese form, the scene produces a laugh! More than anything else, this film has a claustrophobic feeling. It's as if the world is crumbling all around Paul Hackett, and the next door he walks through may be his last. By the final fifteen minutes, he finds himself in the apartment of a gay man he picks on the street. To the man's obvious disappointment, Hackett simply wants someone to tell his story to. Before the scene has any type of logical conclusion, Hackett finds himself back on the street running for his life once again. His momentary attempt at finding compassion shattered in the blink of an eye. The whole film is kind of like that.

After Hours may not be for all tastes, but this critic first saw it back in junior high and never forgot what a treasure it is. 10 of 10 stars.

The Hound.