After Hours

I can vividly remember the first time I saw After Hours at the cinema on its release in the Eighties. I remember feeling completely exhausted at the end. The level of tension created in this nightmare tale is almost unbearable. Its a story that plays out over one late night in NYC about a young man who stumbles from one accidental incident or encounter to the next and gets more and more deeply into trouble. Its directed by Martin Scorsese, although its seldom remembered in lists of his great films. Its said to be at least partly autobiographical reflecting the time of his life when he was trying to get The Last Temptation of Christ made, reflecting the series of problems that cropped up on the way to getting that film made. In any event, its an absolute cracker of a movie. I was delighted to rediscover it on DVD. It still has the power to completely draw you in.