Last week we told you about an art performance involving Martin Scorsese’s 1985 foray into comedy ‘After Hours‘. Back then, we couldn’t tell you the details of the piece, but now we can: artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and experimental composer/conductor Ari Benjamin Meyers sent 20 people to locations from the film where their adventures began.
The film tells the story a guy named Paul (Griffin Dunne) and his really bad night out in Manhattan. After he meets a girl (Rosanna Arquette) in a coffee shop, he heads down to Soho and gets stuck. As he tries to get home, his wild ride around the city paints a portrait of 1980s New York — punks, artists in SoHo, and all. They say anything can happen ‘After Hours,’ let’s see for ourselves…
The film starts at Paul’s office in the Met Life Building at 11 Madison Avenue. From there he heads to the now-closed Moondance Diner (80 Sixth Ave.), a location also featured in Friends, Sex and the City and Spider-Man. Today it’s the site of luxury condos.
His quest to get the girl takes him to an artist’s loft at 28 Howard St., in Soho. With no money in his pocket (well, 97 cents) he tries to get home on the A, C, E at the Spring Street station. Too bad, fares went up at midnight. With no hope of getting home, he heads west to the Terminal Bar, played in the film by the Emerald Pub (308 Spring St.; at 212-226-8512) at Spring and Renwick streets. A lot has changed since the bar opened in 1972, but you’ll still see that cash register. Just hope it doesn’t get stuck!
To read more about New York City in film check out Film+Travel from Museyon Guides.
Photo by GmanViz/Flickr