Search - After Hours on DVD

Makes you wish scorsese would make more comedies

Rocco Dormarunno | Brooklyn, NY | 04/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Uptown east side guy finds himself in an entirely new world, even though it's on the same island of Manhattan. This is not a new theme but I doubt if I've ever seen it carried out as far as Scorsese's AFTER HOURS. Griffin Dunne is perfect as the Everyman from a safe neighborhood who, on the hunt for a date (Roseanne Arquette in a very eerie role), finds himself in the artsy/clubby/s&m world of SOHO and the West Village. The result is a hilarious black comedy with great performances, including a cameo by Cheech and Chong. Scorsese' pacing is breathtaking and right on the money. One of my favorite moments is when a large group of would-be vigilantes try to chase down Griffin Dunne, and their "armored vehicle" is an ice cream truck. There is too much going on here to describe in one review. Just give this one viewing, and you'll be glad you stayed up late to watch."

Watch this before you die

realwriter | London | 10/13/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This film was one of the many things that my boyfriend and I found in common when we first met. When we first started dating we would go out into Soho and have 'After Hours' nights, although not quite to the surreal extent of this film, obviously! As unlikely, bizarre and downright WEIRD as the sequence of events in this film is, I find it completely inspirational. Our cities are full of strange characters and odd goings-on, but most of us walk around in little bubbles, oblivious (or blind) to it all. After watching this film, I opened my eyes a little wider.Teri Garr is fantastic - nice but scary. Rosanna Arquette plays the role of her career. And New York itself is irrestistible - not the shiny slick metropolis that we are usually presented with, or the gangster-ridden crime land, but a human, vulnerable, strange and at times silly city full of secret compartments and surprises. A star! I want to watch this film at least once a year, for the rest of my life. It's a classic."

Quirky Comedy From Scorsese

David Baldwin | Philadelphia,PA USA | 08/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After tackling heavy topics in his previous films, Scorsese made a departure from form and directed a comedy. But even for Scorsese, a comedy entails a word processor's date with a nice girl turning into an infinitely Kafka-esque nightmare where one bad episode follows another. I recall seeing "After Hours" at the time and considered it to be unlike any film I'd ever seen. It still holds up well. The only films akin to the work Scorsese has done here may be the work of the Coen brothers. Griffin Dunne is great as the harried lead and he is complemented with a great supporting cast. A minor criticism of the film is that the indignities heaped on Dunne may be a little overdone at times."

Best Dark Comedy Ever

Craig Schott | Redlands, CA | 09/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a perfect movie. I can't believe they haven't released this on DVD yet. One of Scorsese's best movies, and that's saying a lot. Griffin Dunne is brilliant in this. So rich in detail and the cinematography is excellent. So many great shots... His only $20 flying out the window of the cab. The keys being thrown from the roof. And I LOVE the look on his face when he meets Horst. You can only see one wide eye over Horst's shoulder as Paul tries to assess his safety and the weird bondage scene he has just walked in on, while Horst makes him apologize for being rude. I've never seen so much expression out of just a quarter of someone's face. As I said, this is a perfect movie from start to finish. Every minute of it. I loved this movie so much when I first saw it, that my first fake ID in high school carried the name Paul Hackett. Hehe. Plus, it's hard not to identify with Paul for a lot of us. He doesn't lead the most exciting existence, and ALL HE WANTS TO DO is meet up with this beautiful woman that seems interested in him (to his amazement), only to have her turn out to be a total freak (and worse) and have EVERYTHING go wrong. He is SO out of his element the entire movie. So funny and surreal. A true masterpiece."