THE REWATCHABLES · June 30, 2025
A 1985 noir / comedy movie directed by Martin Scorsese—and decision no. 62 in the Hanks–Cruise tape.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The opening diner encounter is framed as the start of the whole nightmare and one of the film's signature setups.
About 24 minHeld up as the movie's most rewatchable scene and a classic piece of weird dialogue construction.
About 40 minDiscussed as a funny, tension-filled scene shaped by offscreen paranoia and desire.
About 8 minPraised as a quintessential weird downtown bar scene with great set design and character work.
About 32 minThe repeated number-recall gag is called out as a great comic device.
About 40 minThe body reveal is played as black comedy, but Bill also says the sequence is one of the film's darkest turns.
About 40 minThe ending loops Paul back to his starting point and is defended as clever and satisfying.
About 40 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsScorsese movie, because of the style and his career evolution.
Sean FennesseyAlso Scorsese movie, while acknowledging its New York time-capsule quality.
Bill SimmonsYes, the throw-together ending is clever and fits the dream logic.
Sean FennesseyAgrees the ending is memorable and effective despite its reputation.
Bill SimmonsYes, she should have been used in that universe in a substantial way.
Sean FennesseyHe agrees it is an odd omission and entertains the idea.
Bill SimmonsThe 1980s may be better than both the 1990s and the 1970s.
Sean FennesseyAccepts the argument after Bill runs through the filmography.
Calls it a movie that will always appear near the top of cult-classic lists.
Opening minutesSees it as a time capsule of pre-gentrified downtown New York, especially Soho and the Meatpacking area.
Opening minutesArgues the film was made in the context of Scorsese's professional lows and was a crucial reboot.
About 16 minSays the style is a major reason he loves the movie and that it prefigures Goodfellas.
About 16 minTreats the second diner conversation, with the 'Surrender Dorothy' talk, as the movie's most rewatchable scene.
About 40 minCalls her otherworldly and a should-have-been bigger movie star.
About 32 minTouts her as a major screen presence and possible Sopranos-level casting missed opportunity.
About 32 minSays Scorsese is one of the few directors identifiable from images, editing, and music alone.
About 16 minDefends the ending as clever and thematically fitting even though it has a bad reputation.
About 40 minTreats the cancellation as heartbreaking for Scorsese but also as a productive turning point for his career.
About 16 minCredits her, along with Ballhaus, for the editing and momentum of Scorsese's later style.
About 1:12The film is treated as a portrait of pre-gentrified downtown New York, where getting lost becomes existentially threatening.
Opening minutesThe movie is framed as a restorative project after a bruising period of failures, cancellations, and studio conflict.
About 16 minThe plot is read as a male-anxiety movie about desire becoming danger whenever Paul gets close to women.
About 16 minThe episode emphasizes Scorsese's visual and editorial fingerprints as instantly recognizable and influential.
About 16 minThe movie was shot entirely at night, described as a 5-to-5 schedule.
About 8 minBill says the movie's budget was $4.5 million and it made $10.6 million.
About 40 minScorsese told Griffin Dunne not to have sex during filming so the character would seem properly desirous and paranoid.
About 48 minThe film was originally supposed to be directed by Tim Burton.
About 1:20The movie was developed from Joseph Minion's script, written when he was 21 as a senior thesis.
About 48 minRosanna Arquette was in Silverado, After Hours, and Desperately Seeking Susan in the same year.
About 32 minLinda Fiorentino later got tied up in a legal mess involving Anthony Pelicano and FBI agent Mark Racine.
About 1:20Griffin Dunne and Amy Robinson produced several notable films before After Hours, including Baby It's You and Running on Empty.
About 1:20The movie's Soho locations had to be patched with Chinatown, Little Italy, and Tribeca because the area was already changing.
About 1:20Used as the major follow-up that this film anticipates stylistically.
About 8 minDiscussed as the project Scorsese tried to make before After Hours and which was canceled.
About 16 minUsed to illustrate Scorsese's earlier critical success and personal sense of failure.
About 16 minCited as another commercial failure in Scorsese's early-80s slump.
About 16 minDiscussed as the next film and part of Scorsese's stylistic rebound.
About 24 minReferenced as Scorsese's segment in New York Stories and another stylistic precursor.
About 24 minUsed as a comparison point for great late-night New York movies.
About 1:20Referenced as a more dramatic, city-night Scorsese/New York touchstone.
About 8 minNot directly discussed; no strong reference beyond later TV comparisons. Removed.
Opening minutes · low confidenceCited as the needle drop Bill associates with the movie's emotional and comic tone.
About 56 minReferenced for the 'Last Train to Clarksville' needle drop and Terry Garr's Monkees connection.
About 56 minReferenced as a surprising cameo pair in the movie and as 80s comedy icons.
About 56 minReferenced as a New York ice-cream-truck institution and a recurring cultural image.
About 40 minReferenced as an influence on the doorman dialogue at Club Berlin.
About 1:12No clear reference; omitted.
Opening minutes · low confidenceBill and Sean joke about whether the show needed a native New Yorker on the episode and about the branding of New York month.
Opening minutesA long digression compares New York and LA navigation, cabs, and late-night wandering as life experiences.
Opening minutesBill repeatedly mocks Kael's review as a bad misunderstanding of the movie.
About 16 minBill keeps returning to annoyance about public weed smoke and city walking etiquette.
About 48 minBill repeatedly calls Kubrick 'Stan' and riffs on a hypothetical Kubrick action movie.
About 24 minBill jokes about needing to hose Chris Ryan down because of Linda Fiorentino.
About 32 min“fuck you Pauline”About 40 min
“Surrender Dorothy”About 40 min
“baby coke daddy”About 32 min
“the movie just gets nuts”About 40 min
“throw your life away hall of famer”About 1:04
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before After Hours, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill Simmons125 tracked appearances · 56 H / 64 C / 5 ties
Sean Fennessey35 tracked appearances · 15 H / 17 C / 3 tiesCATEGORY CONTEXT
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