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‘25th Hour’ With Bill Simmons and Wesley Morris

July 16, 2020 · 25th Hour (2002) · Drama · 1:45:14

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

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What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 6:38The movie's handling of 9/11 as ambient presence without heavy-handedness, making it 'really the only movie that fully figured it out' in terms of incorporating 9/11 into a New York story
Wesley Morris▶ 3:47Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography and Terrence Blanchard's score - 'my favorite Terrence Blanchard, Spike Lee score. My favorite music in a Spike Lee movie'

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 54:35Lists multiple scenes: opening dog scene, feds busting Monty, bathroom mirror speech, Ground Zero scene with Pepper and Hoffman, bar scene, fight scene between Frank and Monty, and dream sequence
Wesley Morris▶ 1:02:11The nightclub sequence - 24 minutes from when they enter to when they leave

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:19:15Tobey Maguire — Brittany Murphy was originally lined up to play Mary (Anna Paquin's character); Tobey Maguire bought the rights and was supposed to star but chose Spider-Man instead, staying as producer. Movie wouldn't be as good with Tobey as Monty.
Wesley Morris▶ 1:19:26Brittany Murphy — Brittany Murphy could have been Rosario Dawson's character instead; believes Tobey Maguire is a 'dark horse' who surprises, praising his performances in Brothers and Spider-Man films

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:23:07Sarah Gousa

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:25:25Patrice O'Neal

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 1:27:09Fight Club — Ed Norton - Fight Club
Wesley Morris▶ 1:27:24Fight Club — Ed Norton - Fight Club

Picking Nits

Bill Simmons▶ 1:31:05Would being ugly really help you in prison? Questions whether this plot point makes sense, but theorizes the beating wasn't about prison help but rather the character wanting punishment from a friend because he was upset at letting his life get away
Wesley Morris▶ 1:31:29Agrees with another host's theory that the character wanted to be beaten up by his friend as self-punishment rather than for prison protection

Best Quote

Bill Simmons▶ 1:31:49I've been in three prisons in three countries and you know what I learned? Prison is a bad place to be.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:32:40Is this movie better if Matt Damon is in the Barry Pepper part? Thinks the ceiling gets higher with Damon and it would be taken more seriously as an awards movie
Wesley Morris▶ 1:33:33Thinks Matt Damon would change the stakes and require fleshing out the character more. Also asks what Philip Seymour Hoffman's character's Monday would be like

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:39:05Spike Lee — Spike Lee hands down
Wesley Morris▶ 1:38:21Spike Lee — Spike Lee (first place), with Terrence Blanchard (second) and Rodrigo Prieto (third)

Movies Referenced (47)

Gangs of New York (2002)

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris▶ 34:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chicago (2002)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris▶ 34:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Do the Right Thing (1989)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris▶ 11:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Inside Man (2006)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris▶ 16:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fight Club (1999)

5 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons▶ 24:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Malcolm X (1992)

5 mentions · Wesley Morris▶ 1:10:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

World Trade Center (2006)

5 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons▶ 51:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

American History X (1998)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 23:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Boiler Room (2000)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 28:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Hulk (2003)

4 mentions · Wesley Morris▶ 1:27:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Red Dragon (2002)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 17:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Battlefield Earth (2000)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:35:12IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (14)

Spike Lee

79 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, She's Gotta Have It▶ 0:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ang Lee

6 mentions · Wesley Morris · Known for Life of Pi▶ 1:21:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Quentin Tarantino

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, From Dusk Till Dawn▶ 42:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tony Scott

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for Unstoppable, True Romance▶ 44:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Martin Scorsese

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for Taxi Driver, Killers of the Flower Moon, Mean Streets▶ 3:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Frank Capra

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for It's a Wonderful Life, It Happened One Night▶ 52:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Mann

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Insider, Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans▶ 1:03:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Steven Spielberg

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for Schindler's List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Saving Private Ryan▶ 37:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Brian Finn

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for War of the Worlds, Face/Off▶ 24:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Joel Schumacher

1 mentions · Wesley Morris · Known for The Phantom of the Opera, 8MM▶ 16:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Oliver Stone

1 mentions · Wesley Morris · Known for Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon, JFK▶ 52:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Paul Thomas Anderson

1 mentions · Wesley Morris · Known for Punch-Drunk Love, Licorice Pizza, There Will Be Blood▶ 1:13:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (45)

Edward Norton

46 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for Fight Club, American History X, Primal Fear▶ 0:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ed Harris

36 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for The Truman Show▶ 23:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Barry Pepper

18 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for True Grit, The Green Mile▶ 0:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Philip Seymour Hoffman

18 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris▶ 0:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Anna Paquin

12 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons · Known for X-Men▶ 0:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rosario Dawson

12 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons · Known for Rent, Sin City▶ 0:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tobey Maguire

8 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons · Known for Spider-Man, Wonder Boys▶ 1:19:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Matt Damon

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for Good Will Hunting, The Martian, The Departed▶ 1:32:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Brian Cox

5 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Troy▶ 0:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Patrice O'Neal

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for 25th Hour▶ 1:25:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Malkovich

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for In the Line of Fire, Being John Malkovich, Burn After Reading▶ 1:26:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mariachi El Bronx

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for We Bought a Zoo▶ 56:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (6)

David Benioff

17 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris▶ 5:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bruce Springsteen

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Wrestler, Philadelphia▶ 48:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Joyce Carol Oates

2 mentions · Wesley Morris▶ 1:13:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Stephen King

2 mentions · Wesley Morris · Known for Maximum Overdrive▶ 1:13:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Philip Roth

1 mentions · Wesley Morris▶ 1:13:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 54:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Rodrigo Prieto

3 mentions · Wesley Morris · Known for Brokeback Mountain, The Wolf of Wall Street, Killers of the Flower Moon▶ 3:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗