After Hours [DVD] [1985] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
This well-regarded cult film is a tense Kafka-esque tale concerning what happens to a likeable computer guy who is in the wrong place at the wrong time in the city that never sleeps--New York. This is a New York infested with bizarre characters vividly brought to life by a once-in-a-lifetime cast. Griffin Dunne's wonderfully controlled comic performance as Paul Hackett is the glue that holds this increasingly surreal film together. Scorsese utilises a full array of independent and underground film techniques, including special film speed manipulations, angles and edits, deftly capturing the strange rhythms of an IAfter-Hours/I New York City. Many will find the jokes clever and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Some, however, will find the film an excruciating series of staged circumstances setting up a sadistically cruel dark nightmare of horrors. And there are a few lines of dialogue so poorly written they remind you how unbelievable the thin story really is. But forgive the film these few lapses--overall it's a wild, surreal ride. The most offbeat character is the beehive-sporting, Monkee-obsessed neurotic played to perfection by Teri Garr. And the moment when Griffin Dunne uses his last quarter to play Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is" and dances with Verna Bloom while an angry mob searches SoHo for him is an inspired bit of lunacy. I--Christopher J. Jarmick/I

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2009-02-04 rating:
The essence of black humour
This is by far my favourite film. If I'd written the script for it, I'd die happy. br / br /I love the symmetry of its structure. It starts as Paul leaves his tedious job at the end of the day and ends as he fetches up at the office again the morning. We are therefore given two glimpses of Paul's ordinary daily life, but in between the film plunges us into a weird dreamlike hinterland. This involves curious funny/sad encounters that make no sense on a rational level but are perfectly in keeping with the dream world - that might be a reflection of Paul's own subconscious desires as much as the reality of night-time New York - the film so stunningly creates. br / br /It's also perfectly balanced on the divide between humour and the genuinely disturbing. It is a wildly funny film, with almost every scene based on some completely absurd premise. For instance, Paul unties Kiki, thinking that he is rescuing her, only to find that he's just interrupted a bondage session with her Teutonic lover, Horst ('That was rude, Paul. You really should be ashamed of yourself'). But this humour comes out of disturbed and alienated lives, and we're never allowed to forget that. The scene where Marcy tells Paul about her husband's Wizard of Oz fixation ('He just couldn't stop. He just couldn't stop. He just couldn't stop') is hilarious, but there's something about the manic intensity with which she tells the story that is quite unsettling - and this uncomfortable mix of humour and the genuinely disturbing is pursued mercilessly throughout the film. br / br /Ultimately, it's a very Kafkaesque movie (one of the scenes even uses dialogue from a Kafka novel) - it creates a labyrinth in which Paul is thwarted at every turn by people whose motivations are never entirely clear and by situations that remain inscrutable. br / br /Some have criticised After Hours on the basis that the sequence of encounters Paul is subjected to are not realistic - too contrived and coincidental. I think this is missing the point - it's a bit like saying that most court cases are not conducted in the way that the case against Josef K in Kafka's 'The Trial' is conducted. The point is that these encounters are not realistic within the context of ordinary life, but they are in keeping with the very defined frame of reference of the film they are designed (i.e. exaggerated) in order to bring us face to face with the illogicality of the world and the illogicality of our subconscious desires. The hinterland Paul wanders through is as much a dreamscape as reality the logic of the encounters he's involved in is largely dream-logic.

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review by: Fritz date: 2008-09-21 rating:
Brilliant and Original Black Comedy
This film, for me, is great film making. It stands completely on its brilliant, original story plus great acting from all. There are no "formula" additives of big star, big budget, over-the-top story, or any other Hollywood chemicals to artificially sweeten the product. br / br /It is a night in the life of an ordinary hum-drum office worker that becomes a surreal rollercoaster ride of mishaps and coincidences, after reading a book on his own in a cafe leads to him meeting a charming but mysterious strange woman. The night slowly turns into a neverending nightmare - funny, as long as these acts of fate arent happenning to you! br / br /I found this film a hoot, really watchable and recommend to anyone looking for some lighthearted fun.

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review by: date: 2008-06-14 rating:
Scorcese's Most Underrated Work.
It's a shame this DVD is only available at a high price or as part of a Martin Scorcese box set in the UK as it is a superb and underrated film. br /'After Hours' was released in September 1985,Friday the 13th to be exact which is very apt for this bleak,black comedy. br /Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) is a bored office worker who needs to unwind after a stressful shift.He decides to embark on a relaxing night in Manhattan but what follows is anything but relaxing. br /He meets a girl (Rosanna Arquette) and they arrange to meet at her wierd friend's apartment but he loses his taxi fare en-route and when he eventually arrives there they argue,he walks out and she then commits suicide.Panicking and afraid of being accused of murder or manslaughter he flees the scene into the pouring rain and seeks solace in a bar only to discover the bar owner is the partner of the deceased.Seeing that he needs to dry himself and freshen up the bar owner gives Hackett the keys to his apartment,when Hackett lets himself into the apartment the neighbours think he's responsible for a recent spate of break-ins and turn vigilante chasing him through the streets of New York's Soho district.This is just the beginning of a series of nightmare-like events where we see Paul Hackett stumble from one bad experience to the next in the darkness of night hence the film title 'After Hours'. br /It is a brilliant,uncomfortable 90 odd minutes of comedy,paranoia and suspicion.The acting is great and the camera work as with all Martin Scorcese films is exceptional,a very dark comedy indeed. br /

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review by: The music, book and film fanatic date: 2007-04-12 rating:
I wanted to like this, but.........
After the failure of the King of Comedy, Scorsese needed to become inventive and became part of the 80s parade, which was his only way of encouraging people to look at his often hard-hitting and controversial pieces. br / br /Produced by David Geffen and funded by his own company, The Geffen Company. After Hours was born. br / br /Paul works in an office and when in a bar late at night, meets a girl who wants him to come over to her place. Problem, is this is where the nightmare begins.......... br / br /Scorsese's direction emphasised New York's dark abandoned hideaways, the dirt, the flith and an entrepreneur yuppie obbessive society. This is credited as a semi-indie underground work. After Hours seems to be a very weird piece, where it seems Paul is sacrified by giving into strangers he doesn't know, a string of others follows and he cannot think straight nor know properly how to escape the situation. Neno plays a big part, it is striking to the eye, the flashy colours also indicate a place of comfort, warm and safety, a place for redemption. br / br /I wanted to like After Hours, but the film is tugged along, too many things happen at once and it is "very" difficult to keep up or even understand. After Hours is rather tedious because of this, as well as the material becoming patchy once half away through and the entertainment value slowly loses it's value. After Hours also looks very dated nowadays and i'm very surprised nobody on amazon has brought this up, which is probably another reason why my viewing was disturbed. It's odd, maybe too odd for someone like me. A middle of the road film that doesn't quite click. br / br /I will however not critise what Scorsese has done here, this is "still" misunderstood and is best suited as a good study aid into how people see relationships, fear and redemption for their film studies courses at University. br / br / br / br /


review by: date: 2006-12-10 rating:
So Surreal
I agree with the previous reviewers. The first time I watched this film (and the best)was in the wee small hours one night when, as it happens, I couldnt sleep. br /The dream-like situations, with an all too familiar nightmarish background of being chased for no apparent reason, are executed with all the consummate skill of a director at the top of his game. The cast are terrific too. br /Despite its low profile, this film deserves to be better known and will always be amongst favourites. Something of a bargain too!

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Similar categories

Video . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . Comedy . All Comedy
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Special Features . Region 1
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . DVD
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Region(feature_browse-bin) . Region 1
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1980 - 1989
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English

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