After Hours (1985, Martin Scorsese) with Sheila O'Malley - Criterion Collection Spine #1185

Why This Film?

Why This Film?
After Hours (1985, Martin Scorsese) with Sheila O'Malley - Criterion Collection Spine #1185
Jan 03, 2026 Episode 4

"It's such an important film in his [Scorsese's] filmography. I'm so happy people are discovering it and Criterion decided to focus on it."

In this episode of Why This Film?, Ron is joined by critic and writer Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com to discuss After Hours, Martin Scorsese's dark comedy and anxiety-driven odyssey through late-night SoHo. Sheila also wrote the essay for Criterion's release of the film.

Together, they walk through the film scene by scene, tracing how the evening spirals out of Paul's control. The poor guy just wants to go home. The discussion goes from Scorsese to Hitchcock to Kafka to Mr. Softee.

And as always, Sheila answers the central question: Why is After Hours included in the Criterion Collection, and why does it still matter today?

You can find more from Sheila from the links below:

The Sheila Variations

RogerEbert.com Archive

Frankenstein by Sheila O'Malley

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