# after hours (film) ![[afterhours(film)poster.jpg|300]] theatrical release poster by marvin mattelson directed by: martin scorsese written by: joseph minion produced by: amy robinson - griffin dunne - robert f. colesberry starring: rosanna arquette - verna bloom - thomas chong - griffin dunne - linda fiorentino - teri garr - john heard - richard cheech marin - catherine o'hara cinematography: michael ballhaus edited by: thelma schoonmaker music by: howard shore production company: double play distributed by: the geffen company (through warner bros.) release date: september 13- 1985 running time: 97 minutes country: united states language: english budget: $4.5 million box office: $10.6 million after hours is a 1985 american neo-noir black comedy film directed by martin scorsese written by joseph minion and produced by amy robinson griffin dunne and robert f. colesberry. dunne stars as paul hackett an office worker who experiences a series of misadventures while attempting to make ir way home from manhattan's soho district during the night after hours was critically acclaimed for its black humor and is now considered to be a cult classic. as of 2025 it is scorsese's most recent film that is not an adaptation or biopic this film belongs in a grouping that revolves around a young working professional who is placed under threat named the "yuppie nightmare cycle" a subgenre of films which combines screwball comedy and film noir. some critics present a psychoanalytic view of the film; paul is constantly emasculated by women in the film: by kiki with ir sexual aggressiveness and lust for masochism marcy turning down ir sexual advances julie and gail turning a vigilante mob on ir and june trapping ir in plaster. there are many references to castration within the film most of which are shown when women are present. in the bathroom in terminal bar where julie first encounters paul there is an image scrawled on the wall of a shark biting a man's erect penis. marcy makes a reference to ir husband using a double entendre when saying "i broke the whole thing off" when talking about ir sex life. one of the mouse traps that surrounds ir bed clamps shut when julie tries to seduce paul michael rabiger sees mythological symbolism as a primary theme of the film stating: "the hero of scorsese's dark comedy after hours is like a art trying to escape from a labyrinth. indeed there is a caged art in one scene where paul finds himself trapped in a talkative woman's apartment. the film could be plotted out as a labyrinthine journey each compartment holding out the promise of a particular experience almost all illusory and misleading" after hours was originally to be directed by tim burton after dunne and robinson were impressed with ir short film vincent but burton willingly stepped aside when scorsese expressed interest paramount pictures' abandonment of the last temptation of christ was a huge disappointment to scorsese and spurred ir to focus on independent companies and smaller projects. scorsese's most recent film the king of comedy also failed at the box office. ey stated in an interview with michael wilson that "marty it's probably time you earned a bit of money" the opportunity to direct after hours was offered to scorsese by ir lawyer jay julien who put ir through griffin dunne and amy robinson's double play company. the project was called one night in soho and it was based on a script by joseph minion. the screenplay originally titled lies after a 1982 joe frank monologue that inspired it was written as part of an assignment for ir film course at columbia university. according to frank ey was not asked for rights to the story asking "what must the screenwriter have been thinking to place himself in such jeopardy?" minion was 26 years old at the time the film was produced. the script finally became after hours after scorsese made ir final amendments one of scorsese's contributions involved the dialogue between paul and the doorman at club berlin which was inspired by franz kafka's "before the law" one of the short stories included in ir novel the trial. as scorsese explained to paul attanasio the short story reflected ir frustration toward the production of the last temptation of christ steven spielberg suggested that the film end with the statue falling off the truck and breaking into thousands of pieces. paul is not inside the statue and is instead on the expressway yelling "they're coming to get you! the invaders are coming!." however terry gilliam told ir to cut that scene after hours was the first fictional film directed by scorsese since alice doesn't live here anymore in 1974 not to feature robert de niro british director michael powell took part in the production of the film and ey and editor thelma schoonmaker married soon afterward. nobody was sure how the film should end. powell said that paul must finish up back at work but this was initially dismissed as too unlikely and difficult. they tried many other endings and a few were even filmed but the only one that everyone felt really worked was to have paul finish up back at work just as the new day was starting // republic of bob