The Hitman's Bodyguard is actually a rehash of this movie. In fact, towards the end of the movie as Renolds/Jackson are being pursued by the bad guys as they rush towards the courthouse, the music from Midnight Run is played.
By far, one of the most underrated comedies of the 80s. This is one of my favorite movies, not only because of the actors involved, but also because of the score, the cinematography (lots of long lenses and shallow depth of field), but also because of the relationship between the two leads and the comedic skills of Robert DeNiro. A classic film in my opinion. Great fun!!...🙂
@@tempsitch5632 OK, I did. It's 'something that has not received the merit, recognition or praise it deserves'. Now what? Hop on one foot? There's always a narcissist around to ruin someone's opinion...even when grammatically correct....🙂
@@alainvosselman9960 Yeah I agree, especially with Black Rain. One of the reasons for long lenses in that film is because many of the scenes were NOT filmed on location (too expensive among other reasons). So, they didn't want to visually give away that they weren't in Japan, but instead were on locations in Napa Valley and other parts of the U.S.
When the Duke thanked Jack at the end and Jack thanked him, Jack wasn't thanking him for the money. He was thanking him for helping him realize that his watch (his old life) had to be replaced.
R.I.P. Charles Grodin. He is truly an underrated comedy actor form the 80s. One of my favorites is called Seems Like Old Times (1980) with him, Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn. You should check that one out it is hilarious.
First watch FOUL PLAY with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn -- it makes the title of SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES more seem significant even though the stories are not related.
This is one of my favorite DeNiro movies ever, the chemistry between him and Charles Grodin was incredible as is the rest of the cast. I’ve been requesting it for over a year.😂👍
I agree. I bought the soundtrack for this film. The music was one of Danny Elfman's early work just before he became getting major blockbuster projects!
I've been waiting for this since I started watching reaction videos! P.S. Don't be embarrassed, Samantha. I always get teary-eyed when Deniro is reunited with his daughter. Part of what makes this film so special.
Finally, someone reacted to this movie. I think this is easily one of the best movies relatively few people have seen. I thought the pairing of DeNiro and Grodin wouldn't be good but it was excellent casting. And the scene with Jack's wife and daughter does give this movie so much heart.
Fun Fact: The boxcar scene where Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) and John Mardukas (Charles Grodin) discuss whether or not they could ever be friends was almost entirely improvised on-set. Regarding Charles Grodin's famous line, "You ever had sex with an animal, Jack?": he was told by director Martin Brest to come up with something that was guaranteed to make even Robert De Niro laugh. Also, Robert De Niro spent time with bounty hunters as part of his preparation for this role and John Ashton said that Robert De Niro got into his part so much that he actually hit John Ashton during the fight scene on the train.
Thank you SO MUCH for reacting to this! This is one of the smartest buddy movies. The writing, the acting, the soundtrack and the HEART. If this movie was a meal on a table it would be a Thanksgiving dinner. Director Martin Brest (also cameoed as Dorfler's Vegas airline ticket counter attendant at the end) did such a great job keeping the story GROUNDED that had the potential to get out of hand. DeNiro and Grodin played off each other so well.
One of my favourite films ever…..the comedy is great. The characters are brilliant and all well acted. I love the different types of music that starts up when different characters appear. Fantastic. I also think the film is sad at times, when Jack talks of his wife and lost marriage, and when he meets his daughter. Makes me well up a bit.
This is a movie that I remember watching with my dad as a young kid and my dad really enjoying it but I didn't get it (I was 9). Went back and watched it last year and really enjoyed it I realized what my dad saw at the time. RIP Dad....
In case you didn't recognize the Marvin character, he was played by John Ashton who also played in Beverly Hills Cop 1 and 2 playing Rosewood's senior partner Taggart.
Dennis Farina made this movie for me. His character in this, "Big Trouble" "Snatch" and "Get Shorty" are gold. Also: Charles Grodin is genius. ALSO: "Domino" is a must.
Touch tone phones produced two frequencies per number, which made a distinct combination for each number. Equipment at the telephone exchange decoded the tones. It was an analog based technology. It actually "listened" to the notes to tell what number you had dialed, in order to connect your call.
Glad to see this get a reaction from a bigger reaction channel. I kinda feel like this is a forgotten film when it's really terrific and should be seen by everyone. Not one of the greatest buddy comedies but definitely a worthy one, and one that showed DeNiro has the chops for comedy as well as drama.
This film has one of the greatest retorts and rants in screen history, and who better to deliver the absolutely rhythmic and unmistakable sounds of swearing than the King... Robert Deniro.
As much as I love the back and forth between Deniro and Grodin, my favorite exchange is when the ticket agent asks Marvin, "Smoking or non-smoking?" And Marvin (with a cigarette hanging from his mouth) says, "Take a wild guess."
I have a soft spot for Charles Grodin (you said it right, Samantha!) - he was in The Great Muppet Caper, where he fell in love with Miss Piggy lol It was so hilarious.
As someone who grew up in the 80's, it's weird to see which movies stuck in pop culture and which ones didn't. This movie was huge in my high school, everyone quoted it ("I've come too f*n far", "see you in the next life," "Serrano's got the disks! Serrano's got the disks!") but then somehow it disappeared off the face of the earth while other movies stayed famous, and I don't know why. Glad to see that you guys liked it and hopefully will re-introduce it to a whole new audience!
So glad you finally got to watch it, and I'm soo happy so many people requested it, I recommended it a heap especially when Yaphet Kotto & Charles Grodin both passed away last year, because I knew you'd really like it. The Duke's trolling of Jack is annoyingly hilarious, like he's a disapproving parent henpecking their son. The relentless set ups of travel and passing of information for characters must have been fun to come up with for the writers. Most of all it has action, comedy and heart in the right proportions. Thanks for the fun reaction. ❤
This movie stands up to multiple re-watches, and if you do, which I hope, you will see that the Duke is extremely smart, very observant as far as character, and is being annoying to Jack on purpose. Remember that his objective from second 1 is to get away from Jack and to safety before he's killed by Serrano. He is deliberately wearing Jack down, wearing us down, and getting to know Jack's character and weaknesses. Remember too that he is not a criminal. As he explains in Amarillo, he thought he was working for a legit company and, when he found out he wasn't, he did something about it - Jack admits he was on the Duke's side until his own objective came into the picture. Once you know this, you can watch the strategies by which the Duke operates on Jack, and how, what ends up happening is that very reluctant mutual appreciation. And you'll see the Duke's own desperation build and his character become less needling and more direct after the train confession from Jack: there's a new dynamic between them now; also they're getting closer to LA, the Duke is running out of time and strategies. He can't afford the psychological games he's been playing anymore. And, clearly, after "I hope it's a nice coffee shop, Jack", Jack's wheels are seriously beginning to turn. The writing and the casting for this movie is terrific. On first watch, my sister and brother both appreciated the helicopter shooting and told me it was one of the smartest arial killings they'd ever seen in a movie. Things call back wonderfully, too: that last bit at the airport where Marvin's back is to the gunmen, and Jack is desperately telling him to look out is payback for the many times Jack did that to Marvin before, and finished with a punch to Marvin. It's a boy who cried wolf situation. There are other little character gems, too.
One of my favorites so glad you folks got to watch it ☺️ Edited after watching : my brother-in-law was a mechanic in the Marines during desert shield he told me ,"Helicopters are always in the process of crashing, the pilot keeps them in the air and I make sure they get to retirement but if they had it their way they'd hit the ground every time they go up!". The blade in the rear of the copter pushed the center plain of the copter in the opposite direction of the larger blade on tops spin, without the little blade the engine starts to rotate the copter's body because the small blade is no longer there to push against it and the new plain becomes the connection between the engine and blade. The small blade can be so much smaller than the large blade because the engine transfers a lot of its power to the rotation of the large blade but without the small blade even the small amount of power makes the engine and large blade move away from each other at the connection and thus... Boom. So yup! You remove the small blade the copter gets it's wish to crash !😔
Yes, yes, yes! This is one of the BEST comedies of all time! DeNiro and Grodin were brilliant together, and the supporting cast is top notch! I'm so happy this is getting more attention now, because when it came out it was hailed as a masterpiece, but, for some reason, it slowly faded into obscurity by the 2000s. Another movie you need to do is The Freshman. It's a different movie from Midnight Run, but its one of those great comedic masterpieces that drifted into the background sometime after it came out.
FYI, yes, 1000 dollar bills do exist, though they were discontinued in 1969. Now they are like rare collection currency, meaning if you find one, it is worth more than face value, ie a 1000 bill could be worth 10,000 now, based on condition, authenticity and validity, which is done by a FRA.
Y'all are so close to 100k fam, it's been really cool to watch the channel grow and see more of yalls personalities come out in the last year and a half that I've been subscribed...also, fantastic reaction to a great movie.
So to answer TBR and Sam's question about phones... My grandmother had an old fashioned rotary phone. Those had a circle dial face in which you turned with your finger for every number needed for the number you were dialing. As the dial spun around it sent the number of "clicking sounds" along the line to the phone company. The phone company could determine what number you were dialing based on the amount of clicking noises for each specific individual number. Sorry, it's hard to explain this any easier for non-rotary phone users. 🤷 When push button dial phones came out, the phone company needed a different tone for each individual number, to determine what phone number you were trying to dial, since the rotary "clicking" sound did not exist anymore.
“Touchtone” phones. We first had them at our new house in 1971. My sister and I would play “songs” on the keypad and had to quickly hang up when it started ringing. 😳 😅
@@rustybarrel516 As a kid in the late 70s/80s that was the type of phone my parents had. My grandparents still had the old rotary phones. I was fascinated by the rotaries and always asked if I could call someone when we went to visit them. I had forgotten that they were called "touchtone" phones. That was a long time ago.
New York World's Fair; AT&T had a push-button phone mounted next to a rotary phone, with timers mounted above each, and fair goers were invited to "dial" on the new push-button phone and see how much faster dialing on the new phones was. So high tech!!
This was 1988 abd Planes, Trains and Automobiles was 1987. The chicken conversation was adlibbed by Grodin. Gridin is great. See Seems Like Old Times with him, Chevy Chase and Goldy Hawn. Marvin wasTaggart in the Beverly Hills Cop films. Mosley was in Alien. Serrano (Dennis Farina) was in Snatch. Farina is a former Chicago cop (18 years). Eddie Moscone is Joe Pantalonio from The Matrix/Memento. Tom Irwin was one of Mosley's top guys, whom I knew as Angela Chase's dad in My So-Called Life. So many of the cast have been in a lot of things. $1000 bills were printed until 1969.
RIP, Charles Grodin. He's hilarious in this action buddy cop comedy film! There were talks of a Sequel to the 1988 film but may have been cancelled following Grodin's death in 2021 at age 86. There have been direct to video movies with Christopher McDonald, Shooter McGavin, as Jack Walsh.
Sam, I was weeping right along with you! I remember when this movie came out, that scene being singled out. De Niro really shows what he brings to the table because we've seen this movie a million times before! And like you guys said at the end: the acting and the script really elevates this movie. (Yaphet Koto from Alien is great as Mosley, and Joe Palatano from Memento is also great). Seeing DeNiro in an out-and out comedy was seen as novel.....but he did do "The King Of Comedy" before this, and that movie is crazy! (A non-mob Scorsese/De Niro collaboration). He also was in Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" (in a small part). But this was a specific type of comedy: a commercial, action, buddy movie with lots of car chases and stunts. It was definitely seen as a departure.
It's amazing to say this but this could be robert deniro's best performance. Did it all here. He was very believable, Very funny, serious, angry, sympathetic. Very multi dimensional stuff.
You guys remind me how much time has passed. Charles Grodin is one the the greatest, hilarious, insidious, dramatic and well known character actors of my generation. Everyone who saw this movie back then couldn't see their chemistry together and didn't see it working ...neither did I. But boy was everyone so shocked and ever so pleasingly surprised. "By far, one of the most underrated comedies of the 80s." -Paul G 🥰 He couldn't have put it any better!
"I'm a white collar criminal..." This movie doesn't really fall into the buddy cop category, but it has the same vibe, and I hope you start down that road, 'cause there's a lot of fun stuff there - 48hrs, Lethal Weapon, Running Scared. There's even some sci fi ones - The Hidden (which I love), I .Come in Peace. Fun reaction as always!
I am very pleasantly surprised! I saw this roughly 4-5 months ago, and I found it to be one of the more surprising gems I've ever found! I love the acting with everyone, and the plot was wonderfully crazy as things began rolling. I am super glad the fans of this channel recommended it!
You probably remember the actor who played Eddie as the guy that played Cypher in The Matrix & Teddy in Memento. Grodin had a big career in comedies all throughout the 80s & 90s.
Charles Grodin was famous for portraying really annoying, grouchy characters. Look up his appearances on the David letterman show. It always looked like he was really mad at letterman and vice versa but it was all a put on. He'd talk to David before the show and tell him what he was going to do and David would play along. He would never let anybody see his real persuading, he was always "on". And I think he was totally hysterical, he was so good at it
This is the movie that Leonardo Di Caprio's dad took him to in a theater to introduce him to Robert De Niro. A couple yrs later Leo would end up starring opposite De Niro.
One of my favorite 80s buddy road-trip movies. RIP Charles Grodin. That guy was a pretty big star back in the 70s & 80s. He was the dad in the dog movie, Beethoven. Midnight Run was also a short lived tv show in the 90s which I also watched and found to be good.
500 (William Mckinley ) 1,000 (Grover Cleveland) 5,000 (James Madison) 10,000 (Salmon P. chase) and 100,000 (Woodrow Wilson). all these bills existed. it was a fun movie. thanks for the review.
Remember the guy who plays Eddie Moscone the bails bondsman. Since your watching Sopranos...also the airport ticket clerk who talks to Marvin is the director Martin Brest
When they were fighting who lied first, I thought Duke lied first, but your wife said John lied about the FBI first and I totally forgot about it. You have a really smart wife.
Thank you thank you thank you for reacting to this! I dropped everything I was doing to watch this reaction. I LOVE this movie. A great comedy, wish some good tense parts.
Oh my gosh! I am stoked beyond belief to see your reaction for this! 🤩🥰♥ But my watch says it's after 2am, I'll need to wait till tomorrow. 😭 Sometimes you gotta get yourself a new watch.
Hello guys. I'm 63, male, and black. I just wanted you to know that you guys are two of my favorite hosts! I really appreciate your intellect and humor as well as your relationship. It is a real pleasure to watch people who understand the nuances and intricacies of filmmaking while still being able to appreciate the finished product. I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis of Enter The Dragon because of your ability to appreciate the film in its context, while recognizing the amazing talent of Bruce Lee. Kudos for your always entertaining and enlightening perspectives. Please keep it up! PS: I realize that I'm responding to a different film; my apologies.
The rear propeller on a helicopter is what stabilizes it; if it's sufficiently damaged, the chopper will go into an uncontrollable spin. The same thing happened in Blackhawk Down when the choppers got hit in the tail with RPGs.
Thanks for watching this you guys. I love Midnight Run - Fun action movie with heart. I remember seeing this in the theater in 1988. Loved in then too. Cheers.......
The scenes in the diner, when he wanted to eat chorizo and eggs to when they have a run in with the two mafia guys was filmed in a town twenty miles from where I grew up. My mom, brother, aunt and I were in the Salt River Canyon the day they were filming the chase scene, this is the closest I have ever seen Robert DeNiro.
As many others have said, this was a movie I absolutely loved when it came out in the cinemas but had almost completely forgotten about in the intervening decades. Nice to get a reminder about its quality. Just a really well acted movie. All the important characters are nailed by their respective actors, and DeNiro and Grodin have amazing chemistry. I do also remember everyone going crazy (in a good way) about DeNiro's comedic skills. Like you said, it's still DeNiro,, just less intense.
What's next for you and Deniro, Analyze This (1999)? Fits in with your Sopranos affection, a Mob Boss seeing a psychiatrist, in this case Deniro seeing Billy Crystal.
4:51 Yes, it was absolutely intentional that push tones were individually recognizable. The reason is because those tones were part of an automated audio system that could identify those tones and connect calls accordingly, which is what put those old-fashioned phone operators out of business. It's also how modems would 'handshake' with ISPs/BBSs back in the very early days of the Internet to connect with each other - phone lines didn't have the extra components to them that they do today so computers just had to play sounds to relay that initial data instead.
Incredible ending....it was perfect. To answer their question..yes.... helicopters do work that way. The back blade stabilizes the vehicle. Without it, it would have no control and would twist out of control just like you saw.
The technology of a touchtone keypad on a phone was actually ENTIRELY based on the tones. The tones are how the system knew what number to connect you to. People with perfect pitch could even whistle the tones to reach a specific number, once they got an open line.
Another De Niro comedy is " The King Of Comedy " 👑. The actor who plays the part of " The Duke " was also in the movie " KING KONG " from the late 70's .
So happy you've reacted to this. I'm one of those that has been recommending this forgotten gem. A few suggestions for some of the actors... (if you haven't seen them...) DeNiro... Meet The Parents, Analyze This Grodin... Catch-22 (in a smaller supporting role, but crazy movie) John Ashton.. Beverly Hills Cop, Some Kind Of Wonderful Dennis Farina... Snatch, Big Trouble (please, please, please) Phillip Baker Hall... Magnolia
I love this movie and I'm so glad you both finally watched it. For what it's worth, I really liked the Duke. I can see how he'd drive you crazy, but he really did convenience Robert DeNiro that he was an OK guy by the end. And yes, those $1000.00 bills were real.
Such a great movie and I forgot how big a cast this had. Planes, trains...was just the year before Midnight Run; and the cop car carnage always reminds me a bit of the Blues Brothers mocies
There are films like this, The Princess Bride, Blazing Saddles etc that are able to do 'warm fellowship' so perfectly. There's a kindness to these films that feels bigger and more rooted than Hollywood, that makes them a pure pleasure to watch.
Lethal Weapon. 48 Hours. No. This is the underdog of 80's buddy movies. I saw this at the age twelve and loved and still do. So underrated, but i love that you covered this GEM to bring it to a wider audience. Lots of love...
PLANES, TRAINS DID DAN! 😊 87, THIS WAS 88 BUT ALSO THIS WAS JUST DIFFERENT FROM PLANES, TRAINS JUST WITH DENIRO ALONE! 😊 SO THIS WAS DIRECTED BY ( MARTIN BREST ) WHO DID THE 84 CLASSIC EDDIE MURPHY COMEDY ( BEVERLY HILLS COP ) 😊 ANYWAY, VERY NIIICCEEE! DAN AND SAM, HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON TO YOU GUYS, MANYYYY BLESSINGS TO YOU!
Great reaction as usual, guys! While it's only a supporting role for DeNiro, can I suggest "Angel Heart"? Fantastic film, probably Mickey Rourke's best performance as well.
Underrated gem of the 1980's with a huge huge known cast in a really well written smart action road trip buddy cop style film. Loved seeing you both start to enjoy this gem
And he played a Chicago cop in Crime Story (1986-89) and one in Code of Silence (1985) with Chuck Norris, also set in Chicago where director Andrew Davis is from.
Lots of fun and heart, great reaction guys! ♥ Fab soundtrack on this film, Danny Elfman. Another superb comedy starring De Niro is 'The King of Comedy' (1982 - Dir by Martin Scorsese). Is pretty dark black comedy / satire and totally genius. "...the film focuses on themes such as celebrity worship and American media culture." 3:37 Very bright, self-aware child. 😆♥ 6:18 "Super easy, the movie's gonna be over in no time." Afraid not, they're not even hungry or dirty yet and they've barely been shot at. 😋 10:23 Hahaha, De Niro says the exact same thing later in the film. 17:07 🤗
So glad you watched this film ... I don't know how you cannot love Charles Grodins part from the instant.... its one film that can make me tear up instantly . Thanks, I enjoyed it..
A firm favourite from the 80s. As I previously mentioned, Charles Gordon was a similar character in another cult 80s comedy Taking Care Of Business with James Beluehi (who also had a couple of great comedy movies in the 80s, Red Heat being a great Buddy comedy with Arnold Schwarzenegger).
Cape fear. Deniro will creep you the F out. The man has a lot of range. The whole time I was watching it I had to keep reminding myself that it was Deniro.
