Amazon.com essential video: While caught up in the scandal resulting from the accident on the set of The Twilight Zone movie that killed actor Vic Morrow and two children, director John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) made this manic nighttime L.A. thriller with rising stars Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer. Goldblum plays an office worker with a dead-end job, an unfaithful wife, and a bad, bad case of insomnia. Unable to sleep, his midnight wanderings take him to the L.A. airport, where beautiful jewel smuggler Pfeiffer literally lands on his car. Fleeing Iranian terrorists (one is played by Landis), the two hit the road, and their adventures lead them to murder, mayhem, one scary hit man (David Bowie in a lurid, terrific cameo), and, of course, romance. Perhaps because of--or in spite of--the turmoil going on in his life, Landis fashioned a film unlike any of his previous (or later) safe Hollywood products; this is inventive, darkly comic, sincerely romantic, and L.A.-style sultry all the way. Landis's greatest success is perhaps in the mood of the film: he manages to convey that weary, dreamlike insomnia feeling of adrenaline bordering on exhaustion. Goldblum is at his deadpan best and, despite a bad haircut and '80s wardrobe, Pfeiffer shows the spark and beauty that would later make her a star. In support of Landis during his time of trouble, numerous directors, including David Cronenberg, Paul Mazursky, Don Siegel, Jonathan Demme, Lawrence Kasdan, and Jim Henson, made cameo appearances. --Mark Englehart
A great movie This is one of my favorite movies from the 80's. "Into the Night" is a wonderful combination of bizarre plot twists, endearing actors, and wild characters that is hard to resist. Given that it is 20+ years old, and some of the comical aspects of this movie are the cultural remnants of the 80's, some of the humor may not translate well for those who didn't live in the 80's - but it's still a great movie that I watch fairly frequently and still watch on VHS tape for effect. Highly recommended.
completely forgettable This movie plays like a longer and much more boring episode of "Moonlighting," only without the humor, and with less of the glamour. Jeff Golblum is an insomniac electrical engineer with a boring job. Michelle Pfeiffer plays a mistress/good time girl who has smuggled some precious stones into the country for a friend. She meets up with Goldblum at the airport, as some middle-eastern-looking thugs are trying to kill her, and they are chased around L.A., from the Marina, to Hollywood, to Beverly Hills, to Malibu, etc. by various thugs of unknown identity and motivation.
It isn't clear whether the filmmakers were trying to achieve comedy or suspense, but they achieved neither. The pacing is too slow. The plot grows more absurd and untenable with every passing minute. By the time you find out who is trying to kill them and why, you will have long since lost interest. I had started to fast forward.
For me, as an Angeleno, comparing the way the city looked 23 years ago, as opposed to now, was interesting, but not nearly interesting enough. The other highlight is some brief nudity from the luminously beautiful, young Michelle Pfeiffer. But these don't make up for what is simply a bad, forgettable movie.
A classic What blew me away when I first saw this film was Jeff Goldblum's interpretation of an engineer. It was just so on. Matter of factly taking apart that his wife was cheating on him ... then running into this creature who in "real life" would never give him the time of day and calmly rolling through things already wildly out of control so they don't go any more crazy than they have to. David Bowie as the undercover rubbing shoulders with him in the middle of the night trying to figure out who the heck he's up against. It is a great joy to finally have this classic on DVD.
"Into the Night" I owned this film on VHS for years, and when it mysteriously disappeared I ordered it on DVD. It's a sort of cult film with an amazing array of cameos and is one of my favorites. It's quite violent in spots, but I like the story, and Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Goldblum are excellent. I loved the ending, which I won't spoil for you. Simply put, if you like a good suspenseful yarn with a lot of action, you'll love it, too.
Into the Night This is one of Jeff Goldblum's first movies and raising star Michelle Pfeifer's best rolls. Jeff's roll is about a husband in a marriage on the rocks, and this drives him to being an insomniac as he discovers his wife is cheating on him, which almost costs him his aerospace engineering job. After passing one sleepless night, he decides he will find a place to park and get a few winks. He meanders around LA, winding up at LA International Airport blurry-eyed and almost falling asleep. He parks in a parking structure, sure he can now get a little sleep, when out of the elevator door walks Michelle Pfieffer and her Persian boyfriend. Suddenly a car pulls up and three men get out. They kill the boyfriend and are going to kidnap Michelle when she gets away from them and runs directly into Jeff's car, who is stunned, awakened by her screaming at him to get her out of here. The action is fast as the plot unfolds and the twists and turns never stop. Many co-stars make this an intriguing movie worthy of a place in your library. Directed by John Landis, this movie is R rated for good reason. If you ask me if I love this flick, or what, I'd would probably say "or what".
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