DVD Reviews

After Hours

In 1985 Director Martin Scorsese underwent what would become the demise of his first attempt at bringing The Last Temptation of Christ to the screen. That ordeal would leave him questioning his talent as a filmmaker, and wondering if he was a true filmmaker, or just a fading wunderkind. That same year, Scorsese received a script called "Lies" which he immediately saw as an opportunity to make a film apart from the studio system, and see if he could make films as personal, and efficiently as he used to. Out of that experience, After Hours was born.

An extremely dark comedy, After Hours is the story of Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne), an uptown word processor finding himself bored with his hum-drum life. One night at a coffee shop drastically changes that, as he meets Marcy (Rosanna Arquette) a perceptively sweet and attractive person. After their chance encounter, Paul leaves the coffee shop with her phone number in hand, and decides to call her up and set up a date after midnight at her SoHo apartment. Unfortunately what Paul doesn't know is that when you're out that late at night, different rules apply. And what starts out as a seemingly sweet story evolves into a Kafkaesque nightmare involving burn victims, burglaries, a sociopath waitress, a psychotic ice cream truck driver, and bagel & cream cheese paperweights. Scorsese trades in broad comedy for almost unbearably tense scenes that leave the audiences laughing, and then choking on their own laughter the very next minute. All these wildly imaginative elements, combined with masterful direction, make After Hours one of the most original comedies of the past three decades.

Unfortunately, not as much care went into producing the DVD, as was put into making the movie. The Picture is noticeably soft, and a bit grainy at times. The Soundtrack included is the original mono track, which is a great shame, because although it's fine for what it is, this is a film with a lot of atmospheric sounds, designed to enhance the experience of the movie. One can't help but say that with today's technology, a suitable 5.1 mix could have been created for this DVD.

The extras department is lukewarm, but marginally satisfying. An audio commentary by the director, star, and producer is available; it's informative but not scene specific. A making of featurette that borders on EPK, but remains interesting enough to bypass that label is also included as well as a theatrical trailer.

Review By Shlomi Ifrah