After Hours DVD 1985 Region 1 US Import NTSC: Amazon.co.uk: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Tommy Chong, Linda Fiorentino, Teri Garr, John Heard, Cheech Marin, Catherine O'Hara, Dick Miller, Will Patton, Robert Plunket, Michael Ballhaus, Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker, Amy Robinson, Deborah Schindler: DVD

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 After-Hours 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. --Christopher J. Jarmick

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The King Of Comedy [1982] [DVD]

DVD ~ Robert De Niro

4.8 out of 5 stars (20) �3.78

Thief [DVD] [1981]

DVD ~ James Caan

4.2 out of 5 stars (6)

Bringing Out The Dead [DVD] [2000]

DVD ~ Nicolas Cage

3.7 out of 5 stars (18) �3.98

Midnight Cowboy [DVD] [1969]

DVD ~ Dustin Hoffman

4.4 out of 5 stars (15) �4.88

The Color Of Money [DVD] [1987]

DVD ~ Paul Newman

4.1 out of 5 stars (13) �3.98

› Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

quirky film

bizarre fun

martin scorsese

black comedy

new york city

noteworthy directors

john heard

very good view

up all night long

griffin dunne

goodfellas

Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good case for being home during the wee hours, 4 Jan 2003

By	Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: After Hours [VHS] [1985] (VHS Tape)

How often are you on the streets of the Big City after midnight? Have you ever wondered if maybe sleeping at night, a habit followed by "normal" people, acts as a barrier to encountering marginally functional night owls?

In the 1985 film AFTER HOURS, Griffin Dunne, an actor vaguely reminiscent of Dudley Moore, plays Paul Hackett, an anonymous computer nerd working in New York City at some mind-numbing post in a high-rise cubicle. He lives, eats, and sleeps isolated in a sterile apartment, without even a goldfish for company. Paul needs to get out more and find a fun loving girl.

Late one evening, while reading alone at a local caf�, Hackett is approached by Marcy, captivatingly played by Roseanna Arquette, who comments on his reading tastes. One thing leads to another with wild abandon, and soon she gives him her phone number thinking he may wish to buy one of her roommate's craftsy creations - a paperweight disguised as a plaster of paris bagel-with-cream cheese. Later, Paul calls. Amazingly, Marcy invites him to her place in SoHo, even though it's soon to be past midnight.

Arriving at the loft Marcy shares with her roommate, the nonchalantly sexy Kiki, Hackett is told by the latter that Marcy has stepped out for a moment to the local pharmacy. Paul asks, "Is she alright?" Kiki's answer, the disconcerting nature of which should give our hero an intimation as to what awaits him AFTER HOURS, is: "It's under control". And to whom is Kiki alluding when she casually mentions people she's known whose bodies are disfigured by horrible scars? Marcy is unblemished ... isn't she?

By the end of the film, when Paul staggers exhausted into his workplace the next day covered in plaster dust, the diversion has been watching Hackett ricochet from one situation to the next, and one denizen of the night to the next, each of which exhibits a certain disconnection with reality that Paul's coping skills can almost, but not quite, navigate. Indeed, on at least a couple of occasions, Hackett has the opportunity to become intimate with an attractive (albeit slightly askew) woman, only to have the opportunity snatched away by bizarre circumstance. Is it all a cosmic joke? Why, for instance, does the edgy blond waitress, played so appropriately by Teri Garr, surround her bed with mousetraps? (Squeak!)

AFTER HOURS is not a great film by any standard, but it is darkly humorous and off-beat enough to be thoroughly enjoyable, and to remind the viewer why it was Mom and Dad cautioned one to be home by the witching hour.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEWARE OF STRANGE WOMEN IN LATE NIGHT CAFES..., 6 Jul 2005

By	Red Rob (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

The most important thing I can say to you about After Hours is - BUY THIS NOW! Probably Martin Scorceses' most underrated film and arguably his best. Weird, unnerving, tense (especially when the hero looks like the Mr Whippy lynch mob have finally cornered him. Sorry, you'll have to see the film), but most of all funny. Imagine all the weirdest nights out you've ever had, try to remember some of the strange people you've met over the years and then think for a moment what it would be like to have all that weirdness and strangeness come together on just ONE NIGHT. Well, that's what After Hours is about, the weirdest and strangest night you could ever have. Fantastic film! 10/10

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The essence of black humour, 4 Feb 2009

By	Not quite rabid (Finland) - See all my reviews

This is by far my favourite film. If I'd written the script for it, I'd die happy.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 15 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars 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. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Fritz

4.0 out of 5 stars 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. Read more

Published 13 months ago by nm1270

3.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more

Published on 13 April 2007 by I. Thomson

5.0 out of 5 stars 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. Read more

Published on 10 Dec 2006 by LorenzoStDubois

5.0 out of 5 stars After Hours
So glad to see that many others have enjoyed this dark, surreal Scorcese masterpiece. Every turn our hero takes leads him to yet another dilemma. Read more

Published on 27 Jun 2005 by Mr J Rowand

4.0 out of 5 stars After Hours
After Hours is maybe one of the strangest films I have ever seen. It begins extremely extremely slowly and I almost gave up on it after half an hour or so, all I can say having... Read more

Published on 1 Mar 2005 by Rich Milligan

5.0 out of 5 stars What a film!
I saw After Hours for the first time last week and can honestly say that it is in my top 5 films of all time. Read more

Published on 1 Mar 2005 by Andrew Morris

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly underrated
This is one of Martin Scorsese's underrated and underappreciated movies, about Paul, a quiet computer programmer who goes out on a date with a girl he meets in a coffee shop, only... Read more

Published on 2 Nov 2002 by hlgrffths

3.0 out of 5 stars A night out with Kafka, Travis Bickle and Basil Fawltey
Very, very strange. I first saw it when I was about 12, expecting it to be a zany black comedy along the lines of "Betelgeuse" but ended up disappointed. Read more

Published on 26 Jul 2002 by -meaulnes-

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a film set apart
This film manages to do two things that films rarely do at the same time; to be well structured and actually following a story while being totally inspired and surreal. Read more

Published on 5 Mar 2002

› See all 15 customer reviews...

Listmania!

Essential Scorsese. Best > Worst (seen all up 2 NY stories): A list by Ben HO "dvd_geek"
American Crime List I: A list by Jason Parkes "We're all Frankies'"
Films of the 80's: A list by Graeme '79

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

DVD & Blu-ray > Comedy
DVD & Blu-ray > Region 1

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

Make A Wish

Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

Up to 53% off Braun Series Shavers

Braun Series 3 390cc Clean & Renew System Rechargeable Foil Electric Shaver

Get in touch with your smooth side with Braun Series shavers, now with Gillette blade technology.

›Discover Braun Series at Amazon.co.uk

Treat Someone

With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

	67% buy the item featured on this page: After Hours [DVD] [1985] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] 4.5 out of 5 stars (15)
	25% buy The Martin Scorsese Collection : Goodfellas Special Edition / After Hours / Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore / Who's That Knocking At My Door (5 Disc Box Set) [DVD] 4.0 out of 5 stars (1) �10.98
	3% buy Withnail And I [1986] [DVD] 4.6 out of 5 stars (101) �2.98
	3% buy Control [DVD] [2007] 3.9 out of 5 stars (55) �4.28


Amazon Home

International Sites: United States \| Germany \| France \| Japan \| Canada \| China

Business Programs: Sell on Amazon \| Fulfilment by Amazon \| Join Associates \| Join Advantage

Customer Service \| Help \| View Basket \| Your Account

About Amazon.co.uk \| Careers at Amazon

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

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Product details

Reviews

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

Customer Reviews

Customer Discussions

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Listmania!

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Make A Wish

Up to 53% off Braun Series Shavers

Treat Someone

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History