Martin Scorsese's After Hours is so underappreciated, it feels like his take on a David Lynch/Kafka-esque nightmare

Submitted by nevereatpears t3_yhrm8l in movies

I really wasn't expecting After Hours to be so good. It's a dark film noir comedy, described as somewhat of 'yuppie nightmare cycle'.

The main character Paul goes through a series of misadventures late at night after going to visit a girl he met in a coffee shop, who turns out to be quite disturbed and everything goes wrong for him.

It really has the feel of auteur filmmaking, there's lots of recurring themes and motifs throughout as Paul gets into a series of scenarios and disquieting interactions. It feels so Kafka-esque as there are moments laced with such dark humour, it feels like Martin Scorsese's take on a David Lynch movie.

It all comes together so beatufilly as all the story threads fall in to place.

Fantastic performance from Griffin Dunne as well as Paul.

After watching it, I feel it's massively under appreciated. I can see why it hasn't receieved the same attention of Scorsese's other films as it's far less showy than his others and doesn't have a big star attached to it.

Terrific movie. Has anyone else got more thoughts on it they could share here?

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TheSamLowry t1_iufdly6 wrote

One of my top faves from the 1980s. If anyone wants a great representation of NYC in the 1980s, this is it. Dark, wacky, and fun. Surrender Dorothy!

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LikeCalvinForHobbes t1_iuffvgt wrote

I like this type of up all night movies. I would recommend Miracle Mile for a similar vibe.

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sudevsen t1_iugh120 wrote

Safdie Bros entire oeuvre is doing a riff on After Hours(meant as a compliment)

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urborous t1_iui38pr wrote

Interesting. I haven't seen "After Hours" but I know "Bringing Out the Dead," "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and even "King of Comedy" are all sort of masterpieces people don't even have the mental resources to quite address. It's like Scorsese made too many great movies to even track.

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riegspsych325 t1_iufjzsz wrote

in my head canon, everyone survives Miracle Mile and the 2 leads are happily married, just like Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham. No, really

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Bowfinger_Intl_Pics t1_iugalgf wrote

“Into the night,” with Jeff Goldblum is similar. Also great.

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (the 1978 version, also starring Jeff Goldblum, Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams and Leonard Nimoy) is also great, and more or less an “up all night” story (key to the film.)

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dennythedinosaur t1_iujm25y wrote

The Night Before (1988) with a young Keanu Reeves is like a teen version of After Hours

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MisterBigDude t1_iufgdw9 wrote

This is the only movie I ever remember seeing where I started laughing uncontrollably in the theater — not because any specific funny thing happened, but because it was just so weird.

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nevereatpears OP t1_iufkh49 wrote

My favourite bit was when he randomly sees the woman shooting her husband while he's running away from the angry mob and he bitterly quips 'I'll probably get blamed for that too!'.

That bit is just feel so surreal and almost detached from the rest of the movie and yet his line just ties it all together.

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Rabbitscooter t1_iufhk1v wrote

One of my favourite films, actually. It is massively underrated, I think because it's so off-kilter and so intense a film experience. This is a fantastic analysis: After Hours Analysis: Urban Wizard of Oz

https://youtube.com/watch?v=yzT28uMfPdU&feature=share

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BEE_REAL_ t1_iufnryu wrote

> This is a fantastic analysis: After Hours Analysis: Urban Wizard of Oz

It is literally an adaptation of Kafka's The Trial

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Rabbitscooter t1_iuh40wg wrote

>Kafka's The Trial

Totally. Very Kafka-esque. There's actually a line in the film, "I'll take your money 'cause I want you to feel you haven't left anything untried" that is almost a direct quote from the Kafka story, "Before the Law" in which a gatekeeper character says: “I am taking this only so that you do not think you have failed to do anything.” But I think the other references are also there, Wizard of Oz, and the descent into the Underworld. It's great mixup of classic and modern journey myths, which is why it feels, to me anyway, timeless.

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BEE_REAL_ t1_iuh4bcx wrote

The phrasing of the line in After Hours is taken directly from Orson Welles' adaptation of The Trial, which uses Before the Law as a prologue

Welles' The Trial is also (no offense to After Hours) a way better movie imo

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Rabbitscooter t1_iuh5li2 wrote

Haven't seen it in years so definitely time for a rewatch.

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nevereatpears OP t1_iufitl0 wrote

Wow, so much complexity and surreal imagery which just flew right by me. That taxi scene definitely reminded me of Dorothy's storm, come to think of it.

Thanks for making this video.

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Rabbitscooter t1_iufjh9h wrote

>https://youtube.com/watch?v=yzT28uMfPdU&feature=share

I definitely didn't make the video. Not that clever. It's the work of a YouTube film channel called Film Formula. Unfortunately, she hasn't been posting in a few years, which is a shame. Her videos are excellent.

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nevereatpears OP t1_iufjwn8 wrote

You're too modest. Oh and that's a shame, hope she's okay.

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DoubleReveal8794 t1_iufngd7 wrote

Wow! 😍😍 I certainly wasn't expecting to see a post about 'after hours'. I saw it in the early 2000s and it stuck with me more than most Scorsese films. It is a gem and it does have that surreal element/atmosphere (particularly the ending).

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[deleted] t1_iufqfgq wrote

[removed]

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nevereatpears OP t1_iufqpco wrote

I'd put it up there with Taxi Driver and Goodfellas. Fantastic movie. Those films are way more appreciated.

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Ru4pigsizedelephants t1_iug9y8v wrote

I love After Hours and actually just rewatched it a couple months ago, but let's back it out a half turn there fella/lady.

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Cramtastic t1_iufsrpw wrote

Saw this with a friend and when he asked me what I thought about it when credits started rolling, I said it was the saddest movie I've ever seen and he broke down laughing.

The dude goes through an absurdist Dante's Inferno layers of hell, just because he wanted to get laid.

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HardSteelRain t1_iufx8cx wrote

Griffen Dunne rocked....After Hours,Johnny Dangerously, American Werewolf in London,Who's That Girl

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heebro t1_iug3ck8 wrote

while we're on the unlikely topic of under-appreciated Scorsese films, I'd like to bring up: The Age of Innocence. Please watch it whenever you get a chance

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KMoosetoe t1_iufrhqe wrote

It's nothing like Lynch

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Sreg32 t1_iufv179 wrote

One of those movies I took a chance on way back. A diamond in the rough as they say. The movie just never stopped. I think I enjoyed it so much because at that time in my life I could envision the same thing happening to me. Characters were great. Kind of a subdued film, but my god, so funny. Never knew Scorsese made it

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Bodymaster t1_iug5fxo wrote

I'd say more Terry Gilliam than David Lynch, but yeah, fun movie.

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-Why-Not-This-Name- t1_iuge977 wrote

Griffin Dunne and American Werewolf In London next on your list?

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MidnightCustard t1_iughuxg wrote

I did it the other way around I watched American Werewolf a coupla days ago and it reminded me I need to rewatch After Hours. Great movie. Dunne should have had more success

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-Why-Not-This-Name- t1_iugi14l wrote

It was nice to see him in the Didion doc. Now I also clearly need to rewatch After Hours.

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creativeusernvme t1_iufepbs wrote

Great flick. It really doesn’t feel like a Scorcese movie at times but I often forget how diverse his catalogue is

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nevereatpears OP t1_iufhpcb wrote

Yup, this and say Aviator is just worlds apart

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creativeusernvme t1_iufmf8e wrote

No kidding. Has he directed a movie in every genre? Sure seems like it anyways.

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bonniemac79 t1_iufrhew wrote

I remember loving this movie! I have to watch it again! Griffin Dunne was excellent!

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WhereIsThatElephant t1_iuftex7 wrote

that movie is pretty much how you often get home from a pub on a weekend in Manhattan

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BoiledFroglet t1_iufxfl8 wrote

Agreed, it’s a fantastic film. To this day, when I arrive a work on a Monday after a busy weekend, I think of the scene where the guy is dumped from the car, having been encased in plaster at one point and covered in the dust, in front of his office.

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coochie_queen t1_iufzflt wrote

i feel like there's some real political implications too.. white upper-class corporate guy wandering into the perceived underbelly of the city (prosts, gay clubs, punk scenes, artists, etc) and feeling like its dangerous...

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blondeOtt t1_iug1hkf wrote

I always liked it. Could never really explain why I always think they're stealing a toilet though.

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the_racecar t1_iug1htl wrote

One of my all time favorites

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discgman t1_iug71zx wrote

This movie was exceptionally crazy and odd. Loved it. Might have to watch it again

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Bowfinger_Intl_Pics t1_iuga502 wrote

I can’t recommend it highly enough.

It’s a great, but almost invisible film.

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sudevsen t1_iuggtl6 wrote

I wish Scorsese did more comedies amd movies in contemporary settings cause I love After Hours and WOWS

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AlfaBetaZulu t1_iugqw86 wrote

The king of comedy is super underrated too.

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Gatorbait_Jones t1_iugtded wrote

I just remember him in the bedroom listening to the girls whisper while he's trying to look at her prescription cream...? I was like what is this movie haha

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high_revs t1_iugx5ba wrote

It’s well known that Scorsese was deep into a nasty coke addiction by this point. The movie is so kinetic and frenetic I imagine the sound guy had a hard time muffling out the sound of the crew snorting lines off camera. It’s a wild ride.

Edit: well, I’ll be a monkeys uncle. After Hours is the film Marty made after getting sober. I never would have thought that.

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loserys t1_iuio5zr wrote

I’ll probably get blamed for that.

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Gary_Vigoda t1_iuj3lll wrote

Griffin Dunne was in Johnny Dangerously too. Guy was hilarious.

After Hours is a trip. It absolutely is a dark Kafka-esque adventure into New York's boho underground. I like the ending.

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Fragahah t1_iuj8m44 wrote

It's my favorite Scorcese film and shows such a wild 80s NYC. The fact that Tim Burton almost directed this and that this movie heavily inspired Good Time makes it inspirational to many other people as well.

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themuntik t1_iujo5lz wrote

Ted Lasso had a great tribute episode to this movie.

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[deleted] t1_iufe870 wrote

[deleted]

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nevereatpears OP t1_iufeo3f wrote

I don't know a single person who has watched it. Yet Scorsese's other movies are iconic.

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ComprehensivePiano81 t1_iuffjru wrote

Didn’t mean to delete comment. Maybe just a age thing, I’m 45. Love love the film, criterion had it streaming with the big nyc film collection last sept.

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atopix t1_iuffv18 wrote

"Underappreciated" or "underated" is usually the term people use when they watch a movie they loved, and they had never heard much fuzz about it, but trust me, this movie is not obscure, it's plenty appreciated within the circles where this kind of movie would be enjoyed, which is obviously not for the masses.

And yeah, it's amazing and unique.

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MissGruntled t1_iugj6ck wrote

Agree with that. I first watched it in an undergrad Film Studies course. People who know, know.

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nevereatpears OP t1_iufl4fq wrote

I'd argue that it's a pretty obscure movie, forgotten in the wealth of Scorsese's back catalogue. I don't know a single person who has seen it and never see any discussions about it or reference to it in movie discourse.

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ImportantPainting t1_iufsi5x wrote

I see it discussed pretty often in various film circles and it has 146k views on Letterboxd, especially compared to movies of the same niche like Miracle Mile. Besides I don't think a film by Martin Scorsese, who's one of the most popular and acclaimed directors of all time, can ever be considered "obscure".

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atopix t1_iufmk2f wrote

Well, Scorsese has made a ton of movies, include some big commercial hits with critical acclaim and which left a dent in the culture. You check the Scorsese's popularity rank in Letterboxd and After Hours is 14th, ahead of movies like Cape Fear and Mean Streets (both of which were parodied and referenced in pop culture), The Age Of Innocence and The Last Temptation of Christ (both of which garnered a lot of critical acclaim and nominations/awards).

You check how many "fans" it has and it has 2k, well above the 700 Hugo has, which was a far bigger movie, aimed at the general public and with a big marketing machinery behind it.

Like I said, After Hours is obviously not a movie meant for mass appeal and most people in the general public will not have heard of it, but that hardly means it's truly obscure. Not being popular doesn't mean it's obscure it just means it's not popular.

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nevereatpears OP t1_iufps2s wrote

It's an obscure movie from the 80s

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AshgarPN t1_iug3rbo wrote

I watched it a shitload in the ‘80s. Pretty sure HBO played it once a week for a few months. Not Scorsese’s highest profile film but definitely not “obscure”.

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atopix t1_iufq6r1 wrote

I'd say it's a weird movie from the 80s. Projecting your own perception of how you think it's seen based on the fact that you personally don't know anyone who has brought it up, is pretty meaningless.

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BEE_REAL_ t1_iufnv6g wrote

> It feels so Kafka-esque

It is an adaptation of The Trial

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TwilightFanFiction t1_iugbhha wrote

This might have been a hot take in the 80s, but it’s ice cold now. Film bros have come WAY back around on this film

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duende_master t1_iugh3l5 wrote

my screenwriting teacher told us to watch it and i was excited cause i like Scorscese, and knowing it was a comedy hyoed me uo cause i love wolf of wallstreet. then i just didnt enjoy it at all. like always about to be and do something funny and interesting but that never happens and its just dumb not in a fun way. idk. i really wanted to like it.

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LeighCedar t1_iufrvv1 wrote

I only watched it once at a film group, and was left just kinda going "huh".

Wasn't my type of humour at the time, didn't really care about the plot, so I've never felt any reason to give it a second shot. Mostly faded from memory now. Does he get turned into a paper mache statue at some point? Taxis? That's all I've got.

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