After Hours

Summary

“That was really weird… what was that all about?”

For years, people in the Blu-ray forums have been clamoring for a release of Martin Scorsese’s 1985 tragicomedy After Hours. It seemed like a sure bet for the Criterion Collection, which has had a fantastic working relationship with Scorsese over the years. A forthcoming release was even announced for the by Criterion at some point, but the years passed and there were still no signs that the film would actually ever see a major release. It became a bit of a holy grail title for film collectors. Finally, this month, Criterion has given the film a Blu-ray and 4K UHD release. I had held off viewing the film until I could see it in HD, and I went into the film without an extensive knowledge of its plot. Having heard the film name dropped so many times over the years, I excitedly put the 4K disc into my player the night it arrived. I proceeded to have a blast watching the movie.

In New York, word processor Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) shows a trainee the nuances of word processing. After work, Paul goes home to his apartment and tries to watch television, but he is dissatisfied, bored, and unable to relax. Paul ends up going out to a restaurant with his paperback copy of Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer. An attractive girl (Rosanna Arquette) at a nearby table sees Paul reading and she comments to Paul that she loves Tropic of Cancer. Her name is Marcy. After a couple minutes of polite conversation and flirtation, Marcy tells Paul that she is going to see her friend Kiki Bridges (Linda Fiorentino.) Kiki is a sculptor who makes paper mache sculptures. Specifically, Kiki makes paper mache paperweights that resemble bagels with cream cheese. Marcy gives Paul Kiki’s number if he would like to purchase a paperweight. Paul sees this as an invitation to try to reach back out to Marcy. Back at his apartment, Paul calls Kiki to enquire about the paperweights. He uses this ruse as an excuse to get Marcy on the phone. She invites him over to Kiki’s place in Soho. It’s 11:32 and it should take him forty five minutes to make it across town to see her. He starts his journey. He hails a cab. The cab driver drives so quickly and maniacally that Paul’s $20 bill flies out the window. This makes the driver furious, but there is nothing Paul can do. That was all the cash Paul had brought. After meeting up with Marcy and Kiki, Paul becomes enmeshed in several strange and legally precarious situations over the course of the evening as he attempts to make his way back to his apartment. Along the way he encounters masochists, punk rockers, bartenders, bouncers, waitresses, diner operators, concerned citizens, thieves, leather daddies, and many other oddball characters as his situation seemingly becomes worse and worse by the minute.

After Hours is a fantastically wild ride through the late night scene of Soho in the Eighties. After Hours is a totally unique comedy that rides the fine line of deadpan comedy, paranoia, and anxiety. I am trying my best not to reveal what exactly sets off Paul’s journey back to his apartment, but I want to commend Scorsese and screenwriter Joseph Minion for the film’s willingness to involve such an extreme catalyst for the actions in the second half of the film. The film is darkly comedic with a special sense of tragedy within the comedy. The adventure of the main character becomes increasingly paranoid and anxious as seemingly innocuous actions have profound impacts that build upon each other. The script by Joseph Minion is both free-wheeling and focused. The seemingly random and bizarre encounters that Paul endures are well written and consistently surprising. The humor in the writing comes across from the realistic desperation that Paul feels. This desperation is perfectly acted out by Griffin Dunne, who spearheaded the project with producer Amy Robinson (with whom he had also collaborated on Chilly Scenes of Winter.) Dunne co-produced the film and had an amazing feel for the material. Scorsese was brought onto the project by Amy Robinson (who had acted in his film Mean Streets) after Warner had halted his production on The Last Temptation of Christ. Scorsese took the place of another soon-to-be-famous director… Tim Burton. In some alternate universe, that would be an interesting film. 

Scorsese’s work with cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, shooting almost exclusively at night, is fantastic. The film is colorfully lit and has a great look. The film has numerous stylistic flourishes that will grab the eye. After Hours captures a specific moment in New York where the punk, queer, and art scenes were colliding in Soho alongside dive bars and diners. After Hours is like a time capsule. The film still feels vibrant and entertaining. The situations seem like they could still occur nearly forty years after the picture was filmed. The soundtrack to the picture by Howard Shore fits the mood of the picture perfectly with its unique rhythms. It’s great.

The acting in the movie is fantastic. Beside Griffin Dunne’s excellent central performance, the ensemble cast is made up of stellar talents. Rosanna Arquette is perfectly cast as Marcy. At the beginning of the film, the character struck me as a template for the “manic pixie girl” that we would see in movies like Garden State, but I was surprised to see that the film went a different direction with her character (which was decidedly more strange and interesting.) Rosanna Arquette is as beautiful as she is talented and I was charmed by her performance. Teri Garr is very funny as a waitress who is still living largely in the past. John Heard is great as a lovelorn and upset bartender and Dick Miller is always nice to see in a small role. Linda Fiorentino bravely plays the part of the frequently topless paper mache sculptor Kiki. Will Patton plays against type as her masochistic lover. Catherine O’Hara is extremely memorable in her role as well. Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin play neighborhood thieves with a taste for fine art. Verna Bloom is also well cast. Scorsese works great with the actors and fills the film with clever stylistic flourishes. The pacing of the film is top notch thanks to the capable editing of Scorsese’s frequent collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker.

After Hours is a film where everything works. Despite the years of hype built up around this release, I felt like the film (and Criterion’s 4K release) completely delivered.

Video

Criterion Collection have brought After Hours to 4K UHD in 1.85:1 from a brand new 2023 4K scan created specifically for this release. To put it quite simply, After Hours looks fantastic. The new 4K scan is exceptional. Grain is extremely well resolved and fine detail is very solid. I viewed the film on my Epson 4K projector screen in dynamic mode. After Hours is a colorful film thanks to the numerous neon lit scenes in the film. The HDR brings out the absolute best in those colors. Color timing is exceptional. The cinematography by the late great Michael Ballhous looks wonderful in this format. This is one of the most impressive transfers I have seen this year. Beautiful. 

Audio

Criterion has always excelled at bringing the best out of their LPCM tracks. For a 1.0 LPCM track, the film has a pretty active track. Depth of field is limited by the source material, but the score by Howard Shore is fantastic. I am always a fan of expanded 5.1 or better tracks when possible, but this is a great sounding reference quality track overall.

Supplements:

4K Blu-ray Disc

• Commentary – an archival audio commentary with Martin Scorsese, actor/producer Griffin Dunne, producer Amy Robinson, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, and editor Thema Schoonmaker from 2004. This commentary now features additional comments by Dunne and Robinson that were recorded in 2023.

Blu-ray Disc

• Commentary – an archival audio commentary with Martin Scorsese, actor/producer Griffin Dunne, producer Amy Robinson, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, and editor Thema Schoonmaker from 2004. This commentary now features additional comments by Dunne and Robinson that were recorded in 2023.
• Martin Scorsese and Fran Lebowitz – writer Fran Lebowitz, who has a long working relationship and friendship with Scorsese, conducts an enjoyable interview with Scorsese about his work on After Hours, the circumstances he was going through at the time, and about how the film captures New York at that specific time. It is a fun discussion by the two old friends.
• Filming For Your Life: Making After Hours – this archival documentary from 2004 features interviews with Martin Scorsese, Griffin Dunne, Amy Robinson, and Thema Schoonmaker. This is a great look back at the making of the film from its conceptual stages to its execution. Definitely check this piece out.
• The Look of After Hours – this fantastic new piece produced exclusively for this release features audio interviews with designer Rita Ryack and production designer Jeffrey Townsend. They discuss their work on the film alongside some of the technical flourishes of cinematographer Michael Ballhous. This is an excellent piece.
• Deleted Scenes
• Trailer
• Leaflet – the illustrated leaflet features an essay by critic Sheila O’Malley.

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 4.5/5

Overall – 5/5

The hype that has built up in the Blu-ray forums over the release of Scorsese’s After Hours has been palpable. I had never seen the film in the past, but, based on the amount of enthusiasm for the release, I preordered Criterion Collection’s 4K UHD presentation. In my estimation, the film actually beat my elevated expectations. After Hours is a fantastic anxiety-inducing tragi-comedy. It is a film where every single element works well. The script by Joseph Minion is bizarre and offbeat, but still remains grounded in reality. It is a great ride, and the dark humor of the film is wonderful. Scorsese directs the film with a good amount of stylistic flourishes that still pop. After Hours was Scorsese’s first collaboration with cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, and set the stage for many great collaborations in the future. Griffin Dunne is fantastic in the role of Paul. He leads an exceptional cast with great roles for Rosanna Arquette, Teri Garr, John Heard, Catharine O’Hara and more. Criterion Collection has done an immaculate job on the video and audio for this 4K set and the special features are top notch. I loved the film and I love this release. After Hours easily earns our highest recommendation. Don’t hesitate to check it out!