This ’80s Martin Scorsese Gem Captures NYC’s Nightmarish Side

It is the mid-1980s. New Hollywood is a thing of the past. Franchise blockbusters dominate movie theaters. The King of Comedy was a major commercial and critical flop. Paramount Pictures canceled the production of The Last Temptation of Christ over the weariness of public outrage. For Martin Scorsese, all of this turmoil has the feeling of a nightmare. As a filmmaker prone to be drawn to the darkest subconscious of humanity, Scorsese was determined to use this reset period of his professional career to realize these manic, Kafkaesque sensations. As the perennial New York filmmaker, this extensive nightmare would be complete when his hometown setting was no longer a place of comfort and familiarity. Enter, After Hours, the most exotic, harsh, and purgatorial depiction of the city of New York the director has ever put to screen.