Kopfüber in die Nacht

Goldblum plays an insomniac who one night goes to the airport on a whim, thinking' about going to Vegas. 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.

Jeff Goldblum plays a man with a boring job, a cheating wife, and insomnia. One night beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer enters his life on the run from trouble of her own. The two have a wild night ahead of them as they run from irate Iranians. That makes more sense than it sounds, trust me. Lots of cameos from directors such as David Cronenberg, Jonathan Demme, and Don Siegel. Also a fun cameo by David Bowie. Goldblum and Pfeiffer are great. A solid comedy from John Landis; good escapist fun. Great soundtrack including the title song from B.B. King. Also worth checking out for a very rare (but brief) Pfeiffer nude scene.

A man's depression and insomnia drive him "Into the Night" and a lot of trouble in this enjoyable 1985 film. Goldblum is Ed Okin, an LA aerospace engineer whose sleep problems are causing him difficulty on his demanding job. His friend (Dan Ackroyd) suggests that the next time he has insomnia, he head for Las Vegas where no one sleeps. After he sees his wife cheating on him, that's just what he does. Then Diana (Michelle Pfeiffer) jumps into his car and his night turns into a dangerous adventure. 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. Then her brother walks in - he's an Elvis impersonator. Priceless. Diana and Ed take his car which has the words THE KING LIVES painted across it. 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. They're all good, too.

The always terrific Jeff Goldblum gives us a shell-shocked Ed who seems to take each moment as it comes with what is either calm or numbness - it's unclear which, but it works in the role. Pfeiffer is a young beauty in this - she has a very brief, distant nude scene - and is certainly the type of gal a man would go out of his way to help. She's very appealing. Old-timer Clu Gulager also makes an appearance toward the end, and David Bowie has a menacing role as one of the people after the emeralds. There are some fun shots of Los Angeles like Hollywood Boulevard in front of Frederick's of Hollywood that are a real kick.

"Into the Night" is offbeat and fun with enough violence to make it somewhat edgy. A real find.

Plenty to enjoy here in this escapist movie. Goldblum & Pfeiffer are fun in the main roles. Suspend belief and take the exciting journey that Goldblum has with Pfeiffer. Look out for the running joke with many famous directors in cameo roles. Look out for David Bowie and Carl Perkins in a knife fight (is this a metaphor for traditional rock v glam rock?). Although an escape action drama it has plenty of amusing scenes eg. the hoods eating peanuts and breaking candy with their guns.

And the title track and soundtrack by the worlds best blues guitarist -BB King.

An excellent little gem of a movie, perfect for vidoe-rental for late night. Landis's direction (and his star turn) are both crisp and well paced. Is Los Angeles a land of secret places and pleasures? Maybe yes, maybe not. Probably depends on who you know or how much money you have. But this little fantasy about a Californian bored with his job and unhappy in his marriage hits the notes as his all night adventure unfolds. Wonderful cameos from a slew of stars. Some excessive violence at times, but put there for a point, the point being the nature of Iran's old idiot-terror police, the Savak. Maybe Landis knows of wherefore he speaks.

As for nudity, almost enough. More would have been better. Vidiot after vidiot has tried to stop action vidcap the too fast shots of naked Michelle. The lovely Kathryn Harold keeps her clothes on but gets a gruesome Hollywood send-off, the single most difficult part of the film to watch. Don't hate this film if you don't get it. 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. If you peruse thru the comments list and get past Mr. too-boring-for-him, then take my word and watch this film. It's perfect for a night when your troubles are keeping you up. The film has a lot to say.