Martin Scorsese Collection (6 Discs) (Widescreen) product details page

Paul is trying to get into Marcy's apartment. She tosses her keys down to him. Scorsese gives the audience the shot from the keys' point of view. They hurtle ominously towards Paul. This is a quick but quintessential moment in After Hours, a film that has the feel of a nightmare where nothing goes right and trouble can suddenly occur out of nowhere. Although lots of strange things happen to Paul over the course of his night in SoHo (he's hunted by a vigilante mob, nearly has his head shaved, and gets encased in plaster of paris to name just three), the sequences are directed with a certain amount of reality. Viewers are given the sense that the events in this film, however improbable, are possible. Griffin Dunne does a fine job with the tricky role of Paul. His character, after making the decision to go to Marcy's apartment, is almost totally passive. Events happen to him. While it would be easy to dislike such a put-upon character, Dunne makes the viewer sympathize with Paul because he always tries to extricate himself from the situation he is in without harming anyone else. He is desperate to get away from Teri Garr's beehived waitress, but the way he submits to her requests will gain the goodwill of the audience. Desperate to work on any project after Paramount cancelled The Last Temptation of Christ four days before that film was supposed to go before the camera, Scorsese quickly became attached to After Hours. Because Paul is unable to do what he wants and powerless to change his situation, it is tempting to assume that Scorsese felt a strong affinity for his protagonist. Armed with numerous stylistic touches and a noir sensibility, After Hours is a dark comedy that allowed a fine director to exorcise his career frustrations. Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Although Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore has almost none of Martin Scorsese's thematic characteristics, it draws its charm and energy from the same kind of lifelike, improvisational style common to all his films, especially in scenes between Alice and either Flo or the annoyingly articulate Tommy; star Ellen Burstyn suggested Scorsese to Warner Bros. after Francis Ford Coppola told her to see the not-yet released Mean Streets. She wound up winning the Best Actress Oscar. In its time, the movie was criticized for presenting Alice with too pat a choice between lover and career, and with making the lover too implausibly attractive in the person of Kris Kristofferson. Jodie Foster appears as Tommy's eccentric new friend Audrey. Screenwriter Bob Getchell's characters were adapted for the TV series Alice starring Linda Lavin, Polly Holliday, and Vic Tayback. Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Who's That Knocking at My Door? opens with Catherine Scorsese baking a pork calzone. A pop tune plays loudly on the soundtrack, while outside her apartment a fistfight suddenly breaks out. If ever there were a case of a director laying out his emotional and visual territory in his first feature film, this is it. Martin Scorsese's first feature-length film, which was filmed off and on for a period of five years, features Catholic guilt, sexual repression, guys hanging out, unexpected violence and, in its very first scene, Scorsese's mother cooking. These are the elements that would, in one form or another, appear in practically all of the director's future work. Not only were the themes to become familiar, but the film-making technique employed in Who's That Knocking at My Door? would become Scorsese's signature style. Pop tunes on the soundtrack, a restless camera, New York location shooting, and editing rhythms borrowed from the French New Wave are all present here as they would be throughout his career. Harvey Keitel, for all practical purposes in his first film, reveals his character's internal conflict with an economy of words, a skill that would become his specialty. His superb work in films as varied as Fingers, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Bad Lieutenant can be traced directly to this debut performance. In the scene where he picks up "The Girl," he displays the charm that viewers would see again in Smoke and The Piano. It is a rare privilege to see two great artists collaborate on their first work. If for no other reason, Who's That Knocking at My Door? holds a secure place in film history for being exactly that. Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Who's That Knocking at My Door? opens with Catherine Scorsese baking a pork calzone. A pop tune plays loudly on the soundtrack, while outside her apartment a fistfight suddenly breaks out. If ever there were a case of a director laying out his emotional and visual territory in his first feature film, this is it. Martin Scorsese's first feature-length film, which was filmed off and on for a period of five years, features Catholic guilt, ****** repression, guys hanging out, unexpected violence and, in its very first scene, Scorsese's mother cooking. These are the elements that would, in one form or another, appear in practically all of the director's future work. Not only were the themes to become familiar, but the film-making technique employed in Who's That Knocking at My Door? would become Scorsese's signature style. Pop tunes on the soundtrack, a restless camera, New York location shooting, and editing rhythms borrowed from the French New Wave are all present here as they would be throughout his career. Harvey Keitel, for all practical purposes in his first film, reveals his character's internal conflict with an economy of words, a skill that would become his specialty. His superb work in films as varied as Fingers, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Bad Lieutenant can be traced directly to this debut performance. In the scene where he picks up "The Girl," he displays the charm that viewers would see again in Smoke and The Piano. It is a rare privilege to see two great artists collaborate on their first work. If for no other reason, Who's That Knocking at My Door? holds a secure place in film history for being exactly that. Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide