Martin Scorsese	...	(Director)
Joseph Minion	...	(Writer)
Griffin Dunne	...	Paul Hackett
Rosanna Arquette	...	Marcy
Verna Bloom	...	June
Tommy Chong	...	Pepe
Linda Fiorentino	...	Kiki
Teri Garr	...	Julie
John Heard	...	Tom the Bartender
Cheech Marin	...	Neil
Catherine O'Hara	...	Gail
Dick Miller	...	Waiter
Will Patton	...	Horst
Robert Plunket	...	Street Pickup
Bronson Pinchot	...	Lloyd
Rocco Sisto	...	Coffee Shop Cashier
Larry Block	...	Taxi Driver
Victor Argo	...	Diner Cashier
Murray Moston	...	Subway Attendant
John P. Codiglia	...	Transit Cop
Howard Shore	...	Composer
Michael Ballhaus	...	Cinematographer

Comments: Often imitated, never duplicated. Very un-Scorses-y

When a film tries this many incredible coincidences to keep the plot rolling forward it can turn into a giant eye-roller. Martin and Griffin keep it real, due in large part to the peripheral cast who tip things so zany, but still relatable, that you give up worrying and jump on for the ride. I love that move and you have to know what you're doing to accomplish it. There's only one scene in the film that doesn't ring true. It's short but matters, still a great batting average

When the film ends it's easy to share a deep breath with the protagonist


Summary: This well-regarded cult film is a tense Kafka-esque tale concerning what happens to a likable computer guy who is in the wrong place at the wrong time in the city that never sleeps--New York. This is a New York infested with bizarre characters vividly brought to life by a once-in-a-lifetime cast. Griffin Dunne's wonderfully controlled comic performance as Paul Hackett is the glue that holds this increasingly surreal film together. Scorsese utilizes a full array of independent and underground film techniques, including special film speed manipulations, angles, and edits, deftly capturing the strange rhythms of an after-hours New York City. Many will find the jokes clever, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Some, however, will find the film an excruciating series of staged circumstances setting up a sadistically cruel dark nightmare of horrors. And there are a few lines of dialogue so poorly written they remind you how unbelievable the thin story really is. But forgive the film these few lapses--overall it's a wild, surreal ride. The most offbeat character is the beehive-sporting, Monkee-obsessed neurotic played to perfection by Teri Garr. And the moment when Griffin Dunne uses his last quarter to play Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is" and dances with Verna Bloom while an angry mob searches SoHo for him is an inspired bit of lunacy. --Christopher J. Jarmick