Into the Night

Plot synopsis:
Upon discovering that his wife is having an affair, depressed insomniac Ed Okin (Jeff Goldblum) drives to LAX on his friend Herb's (Dan Aykroyd) suggestion. There he is surprised by a beautiful jewel smuggler, Diana (Michelle Pfeiffer), who lands on his car and begs him to drive her away from four Iranians who are chasing her. She persuades him to drive her to various locations, and he becomes embroiled in her predicament. After becoming increasingly exasperated with her demands, he discovers that Diana has smuggled priceless emeralds from the Shah of Iran's treasury into the country, and is being pursued by various assorted assailants, including the aforementioned agents of a criminal Iranian expatriate and a British hitman (David Bowie).
The couple's caper gets increasingly out of hand, until Diana is eventually taken hostage by the thugs at the airport; here, Ed shares his ennui with the man holding a gun to Diana's head. The man shoots himself instead. Taken to a motel room by federal agents, they are given a fortune in cash from one of Diana's wealthy friends via a federal agent. Diana showers and Ed finally sleeps. He wakes up after a full night's rest to an empty hotel room, with most of the money gone. However, when he leaves the room, Diana is waiting for him... with the money, a smile, and an offer of a ride.

Tags: psychedelic, humor, murder

Review:
It is filled with laughs, some brilliant physical humor (who knew John Landis was a comic-action actor?), sudden surprises and a phenomenal cast.And, as a little teaser to make you rent the theatrical version, Michelle Pfeiffer's only known nude scene!
Probably his best role ever.The amazingly diverse cast includes Dan Aykroyd, David Bowie, Jim Henson, Paul Bartel, Carl Perkins, Bruce McGill (as Elvis!), Irene Papas, Vera Miles, Richard Farnsworth, Kathryn Harrold, Jake Steinfeld (Body By Jake) and even Clu Gulager!
From my second viewing of it I thought it was John Landis' best film, so when I got the DVD, I was hoping that it would be as good as I remembered it to be.
With the likes of Irene Papas, Paul Mazursky, Roger Vadim, Richard Farnsworth, John Landis, David Bowie, Kathryn Harrold, Clue Gulager, Dan Aykroyd, Vera Miles and Carl Perkins.
The ruthless drive for efficiency that makes Okin's aerospace company so demanding, the 'me' approach to relationships that results in Ed's wife's adulterous behaviour, the worship of fortune that dominates Diana's life and drives her so relentlessly - until Ed brings her something a little more worthwhile.It had the right look, the right feel and the right cast to make you smile and go along with the goodtimes and the in-jokes between peers of the movie establishment.
OK, it's no major classic, just some lightweight fun, but after almost 20 years (I'm writing this in 2004) I recall few other films that for me match this one for "Oh, that was a cool flick; I think I'll watch it again."  If you missed this I highly recommend it, without reservation..
Pfeiffer has smuggled perfect emeralds into the country for a promised fee, except that everybody is now after her and willing to kill to get them.There are some great, quirky moments in this film, and one of my favorites occurs when Ed and Diana walk into the apartment of her brother (Bruce McGill) which is wall to wall Elvis.
One faction looking for the emeralds come off like the Middle Eastern version of the Stooges, particularly in a beach house scene where, trying to get out of a door, one of them keeps hitting himself in the face with it.The unique thing is that director John Landis has cast many of his fellow directors: Lawrence Kasdan, Jonathan Demme, Paul Mazurski, Amy Heckerling, David Cronenberg, Roger Vadim, Jonathan Lynn, Jack Arnold, Don Siegel, Andrew Marton, Richard Franklin, Colin Higgins, Jonathan Kaufer and Carl Gottlieb - that's a partial list.
He runs into feisty Pfeiffer who's running for her life and what follows is his most memorable night ever.While director Landis isn't always 100% successful at balancing the humor with explicit violence, Into the Night has enough memorable moments to fully compensate and make it a fun filled and suspenseful ride.
Goldblum and Pfeiffer play extremely well off each other and supporting actors are plenty and all very good; David Bowie especially memorable in a small cameo and those assassins are quite literally hilarious.It's rather nasty at times and some scenes kinda' leave you with a bad taste in your mouth, but overall it's a well written yarn that always keeps you on the edge of your seat..
This is a dark L.A. story, not a comedy, but I rank it as one of the best late-night movies ever made.Landis made the film he wanted to make and that's the first test of the director's skill.
In my mind this one of the best films ever, John Landis has already created one masterpiece (American Werewolf in London) and some other classics (Blues Brothers, Trading Places) but this single film brought together all the themes that he obsessed about in all his great films in the best way, and it did it without imposing his ideas on his viewers, most of his great films can be seen as straight forward comedies (or whatever other genre they belong to) without losing an iota of fun.
Regarding to the main actors, Michelle Pfeiffer plays her normal somewhat-seedy role and Jeff Goldblum's "Ed Okin" does so many stupid things that a person would simply never do in situations, that it gets ludicrous.All in all, a curiosity piece worth seeing but I am reluctant to recommend it.
I suppose the only reason people bother to watch this anymore is the presence of the young Michelle Pfeiffer and her very brief nude scene.Some film students might want to study this one as a lesson in how not to do it but the rest of us will pass, thankyou..
Ed Okin (Jeff Goldblum) is a middle class man with a boring job, a case of insomnia and, to top it all off, he just found out that his wife is cheating on him.This film is a good one simply because of the cast.
All the cameos are fun, if completely unnecessary.Despite this, and even with the great John Landis in charge, there really is not much going on, which makes the movie sort of forgettable.
But it carries very much the same tone as After Hours, so that should give you some indication as to what to expect.While I do watch a lot of movies on a weekly basis, with a lot of them being great, I can't remember the last time I was this surprised, enthralled and in love with a film experience.
It's kind of like a dark, surreal odyssey through 80's Hollywood in the span of about 2 nights, with so much happening and so much being thrown at you, all in a very unconventional way that you don't really know how to take it all in until it's over, and then it just kind of hits you all at once and you realized you just had one of the most interesting movie experiences you've ever had.I absolutely loved and adored every single aspect of Into the Night, right down to it's title font.
This was the first film John Landis directed after the Twilight Zone: The Movie tragedy, and if I'm not mistaken, he may have even been in the middle of court proceedings during this time.
Ed Okin (Goldblum) can't sleep.But insomnia isn't his only problem He also has a dull job and his wife is cheating on him.Then one night his life changes.He goes driving ending up in a parking garage of LA airport.Suddenly a beautiful woman called Diana (Pfeiffer) jumps into his car and four Iranians are chasing them.Ed's life takes an exciting turn.Perhaps even too exciting...John Landis' Into the Night from 1985 is a good film of action and comedy.Jeff Goldblum is excellent in the lead.Michelle Pfeiffer makes a perfect woman lead.Then there are many other known names in the movie.Dan Aykroyd plays Herb.Bruce McGill plays the Elvis crazed brother Charlie.Michelle's sister Dedee Pfeiffer plays Hooker.The music man Carl Perkins plays Mr.Williams.Another music man David Bowie plays Colin Morris.Richard Farmsworth plays Jack Caper.Vera Miles plays Joan Caper.Art Evans plays Jimmy.There are also several director cameos.Landis himself plays one of the SAVAK villains.David Cronenberg is Group Supervisor.Roger Vadim is Monsieur Melville.Don Siegel is Embarrassed Man.Lawrence Kasdan is Detective #2.Jonathan Demme is Federal Agent.Paul Mazursky is Bud Herman.Amy Heckerling is Ships Waitress.Jim Henson is Man on Phone.Several songs are heard by the legendary B.B. King.Into the Night offers many thrilling moments.A perfect movie for a sleepless night..
A lot of movies start with a nobody who gets swept up into a big adventure -- but generally (like in Star Wars and a million others) the nobody comes to love the adventure, and turns out to be made for that new world.Not so here.
Jeff Goldblum's character barely fits into his own world (he's in trouble at work, his wife may be looking around...), and when he falls into his adventure, he never gets his balance, and we're kept off balance with him, for two thrilling and intense hours.One of my all time favorites..
He finds himself at the airport one night, just in time to save the beautiful damsel in distress (Michelle Pfeiffer - who is just fantastic) jewel smuggler who is being chased by arab killers.
Although she has grown as an actress since then, I think she did her best stuff around this era, (Ladyhawke, Scarface).Besides Goldblum and Pfeiffer there are some really funny and unexpected supporting actors; Dan Akroyd as Ed's best friend, David Bowie as the lethal "frenchman", Carl Perkins as a casino worker, John Landis (himself) as one of the "arabs", and Bruce McGuill as Diana's brother.Ad to this a coasy environment (night time L.A.) and two excellent songs performed by B.B. King.
It's too bad the whole movie doesn't surround just one night.The only thing I don't like about the film is the ending.
And what can i say about John Landis, he was very believable as a Iranian Gangster, and his use of other directors as cameos was great and really made the film..
This movie was certainly light years ahead of Landis' other film of that year, the laugh less and dull "Spies Like Us." Anyway, I digress--the film is about a yuppie named Ed (Jeff Goldblum--who puts his deadpan style to great use here) bored with his life and job to the point of chronic insomnia.
Jeff Goldblum, always one of my favorite actors, portrays a wonderful insomniac (something that I can relate to right now.)  The action is well-paced, and Landis does a great job putting something into every scene.
John Landis' casting of major directors in small roles doesn't for one second make this film-fiasco forgivable.A so-called "comedy-thriller", it's long,incoherent and very frustrating to watch..
full of in jokes and great cameos maybe one day like me you will discover this lost gem and perhaps Landis best film.
I mean you can play spot the director(always fun in a Landis film)and you get to see Jeff Goldblum being relatively normal.
A fun-filled light/dark comedy with strong performances by the leads: Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeifer; a solid performance by Irene Pappas; several surprising cameo performances by David Bowie, Roger Vadim, Dan Ackroyd, Carl Perkins, Clu Gullager, Bruce McGill, Vera Miles, Richard Farnsworth, Dedee Pfeifer and Jake Steinfeld (too many to mention); and a comedic performance by John Landis himself, as the clumsy,accident-prone member of the Savat.This film is always moving; the film never slows down.If you lived in L.A. in the eighties before the aerospace companies shut down and left town; if you remember when the Ayatollah took over Iran; if you ever ate at "Ships" in Hollywood after clubbing; if you remember late night movies sponsored by Cal Worthington and Pete Ellis Dodge; you will really enjoy this film.This was one of the first video tapes I ever bought; and it is still one I enjoy watching over and over..
I never saw The Hunger, so I don't know how he was in that movie.If given a choice to watch The Fly or Into The Night, I'll take this film every time..
You will probably be a little confused, you will definitely be a little amused, but really, any movie which has Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, and David Bowie in it can't fail to be worthwhile on some level..
Goldblum and Pfeiffer are both great (and Pfeiffer has a rare nude scene) and there are plenty of directors in brief cameo roles that make it fun for film buffs (like me).
There are also some great actors in small roles (Vera Miles and Irene Papas stand out), And B.B. King wrote a song for the movie called "Into the Night" which perfectly captures the mood and tone.
Jeff Goldblum's character in 'Into The Night' suffers from insomnia, but if you do, just try sitting through this waste of time and talent..
Landis himself plays a supposedly funny bad guy and gives himself plenty of screen time, yet wastes great actors like Richard Farnsworth, Vera Miles, Clu Gulager and Irene Papas in thankless supporting roles.
Lively comedy-thriller from director John Landis, who has filled many of the supporting roles with his filmmaker friends (and given himself a plum part as well); nevertheless, his movie loses its bearings whenever it becomes too realistically violent, although leads Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer turn out to be an affable romantic match.
Certainly it has elements of domestic drama and comedy, melodrama, and sometimes detective and thriller, if you, like the movie's protagonist, ready to run "into the night."Perhaps, "Into the Night" includes all what a real escapist appreciates: a cold-blooded hero who does not want to be a hero (always detached and ironic intellectual Jeff Goldblum fits as he was born for this role), but finally decided to exchange his comfortable prison of day to dangers of freedom of night; beautiful and strange girl (Michelle Pfeiffer is truly beautiful in the prime of her beauty) - witty beauty who is living an easy life and at last acknowledged the existence of something more valuable than money; escape from prison of everyday life and compromises with your conscience into freedom and suspense of the night; fighting with challenges of destiny and overcoming your fear; lack of misanthropy; subtle humour, sometimes, however, turned into slapstick of classic comedies of the 1920th; music of B.B. King; retribution for the crimes of those who committed them, and a happy ending for those who do right.
Maybe Hollywood movie producers eat in on Sunday afternoons to spot the next big thing, or maybe UPN was preparing us for works in production, but this movie features Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Goldblum both just before their careers really took off.
Nor is it all that funny when members of an Iranian hit squad (featuring "Night"'s director John Landis) spot Goldblum while being fitted for suits and charge out into the street sans pants.
One night he goes out for a drive and he runs into a very young Michelle Pfeifer who's on the run from some international thugs (one of them played by the film's director John Landis).
INTO THE NIGHT (1985) *** Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, David Bowie, Dan Aykroyd, Richard Farnsworth, Irene Pappas, Kathryn Harrold, Paul Mazursky, Carl Perkins, Clu Gulager, Bruce McGill.
Jeff Goldblum is fun as usual, and it was cute to see that so many directors made brief appearances in the film as well.
"Into the Night" unfolds into a string of events from a chance meeting of two people who compliment each other as companions, even if they have different personalities and come from completely different backgrounds.Ed Okin--a bored urbanite with a dead end job and nothing new going on with the day to day, apart from his cheating wife--goes out for a neighborly spin in his car in the middle of the night and finds trouble in all the right places with a blond named Diana on the run from crazy Iranians and other goons looking to get back precious jewels she has.
Some, like Paul Mazursky and Roger Vadim have key parts, and others like David Cronenberg, Don Siegel, Jonathan Demme, and the rest, are some of the famous faces within the context of the film.The best attitude to take with the film is just to go for a ride through Los Angeles at night with excellent company.Jeff Goldblum is perfect for Ed Okin.
The engaging story is funny and one attraction is to identify the cameo of directors and other personalities, such as David Cronenberg, John Landis, Don Siegel, Jonathan Demme, and Lawrence Kasdan working with names like Vera Miles, Irene Papas, David Bowie and Dan Aykroyd among others.
This is really the most important aspect of the film; the American quandary:  we have everything materially, but know that something is missing, but are too shallow or self-absorbed or busy or whatever to figure out what it is.The acting:  there are a lot of good cameos in this movie, and not just by directors.
See it to see how that moment works, I can't explain it verbally.The cameos:  From Landis himself, to Jonathan Demme, Jim Henson, even Paul Mazursky and Roger Vadim (the guy who directed "Barbarella"), this movie is filled with famous people whose movies you've watched, yet you don't know what they look like.
Ed(Jeff Goldblum), an insomniac who just found out about his wife's extramarital affair, is greeted by a frightened woman,Diana(Michelle Pfeiffer, who is simply beautiful)running from Iranians who just killed her friend.
The film is riddled with famous Hollywood directors in cameo roles, but my favorite scene is where Goldblum's Ed has a problem finding a place to rest up against when he awaits Diana(whose in a trailer talking to a friend)constantly crashing through props that look real.
Jeff Goldblum is great as always and fun to watch, because he clearly doesn't quite register what's happening around him, or often doesn't care that much.The plot is engaging and doesn't rely all that much on humor, it's surprisingly downbeat and even bleakly violent at times, which fits the story, but makes for a weird tone.I all in all enjoyed "Into the Night", it's charming, sometimes funny, and the lead characters are great, and most of all, it's unique....
Upon discovering that his wife is having an affair, depressed insomniac Ed Okin (Jeff Goldblum) drives to the airport where he is surprised by a beautiful jewel smuggler, Diana (Michelle Pfeiffer), who lands on his car and begs him to drive her away from four Iranian secret police agents who are chasing her.
...as one of those films you go to see, knowing nothing about it, except that you like the stars: i.e., Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer.I was also wanting to get together with a friend I hadn't seen in a while.Does the fault lie in my expectations or in the impression that the ads led me to believe the film would be about.If it is a spoiler to expect to see a madcap comedy with two actors who are really good at madcap comedy, and get a very bleak, Brechtian story, then I am guilty..