‘25th Hour’ With Bill Simmons and Wesley Morris
July 16, 2020 · 25th Hour (2002) · Drama · 1:45:14 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Categories
What's Aged the Best
Bill SimmonsThe 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▶ 6:38
Wesley MorrisRodrigo Prieto's cinematography and Terrence Blanchard's score - 'my favorite Terrence Blanchard, Spike Lee score. My favorite music in a Spike Lee movie'▶ 3:47
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill SimmonsLists 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▶ 54:35
Casting What-Ifs
Bill SimmonsTobey 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.▶ 1:19:15
Wesley MorrisBrittany 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▶ 1:19:26
Picking Nits
Bill SimmonsWould 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▶ 1:31:05
Wesley MorrisAgrees with SPEAKER_01's theory that the character wanted to be beaten up by his friend as self-punishment rather than for prison protection▶ 1:31:29
Best Quote
Bill SimmonsI've been in three prisons in three countries and you know what I learned? Prison is a bad place to be.▶ 1:31:49
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Bill SimmonsIs 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▶ 1:32:40
Wesley MorrisThinks 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▶ 1:33:33
Who Won the Movie
Wesley MorrisSpike Lee — Spike Lee (first place), with Terrence Blanchard (second) and Rodrigo Prieto (third)▶ 1:38:21
Movies Referenced (47)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gangs of New York (2002) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | ▶ 34:52 |
| Do the Right Thing (1989) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | ▶ 11:50 |
| Inside Man (2006) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | ▶ 16:00 |
| Fight Club (1999) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons | ▶ 24:07 |
| Malcolm X (1992) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Wesley Morris | ▶ 1:10:31 |
| World Trade Center (2006) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons | ▶ 51:14 |
| American History X (1998) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 23:47 |
| Hulk (2003) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Wesley Morris | ▶ 1:27:33 |
| Red Dragon (2002) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 17:24 |
| Catch Me If You Can (2002) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 37:13 |
| The Pianist (2002) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 34:56 |
| About Schmidt (2002) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 36:26 |
Directors Referenced (14)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spike Lee | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 79 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, She's Gotta Have It | ▶ 0:53 |
| Ang Lee | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Wesley Morris | Life of Pi | ▶ 1:21:50 |
| Quentin Tarantino | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, From Dusk Till Dawn | ▶ 42:25 |
| Tony Scott | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | Unstoppable, True Romance | ▶ 44:02 |
| Martin Scorsese | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | Taxi Driver, Killers of the Flower Moon, Mean Streets | ▶ 3:33 |
| Frank Capra | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | It's a Wonderful Life, It Happened One Night | ▶ 52:40 |
| Michael Mann | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | The Insider, Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans | ▶ 1:03:54 |
| Steven Spielberg | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | Schindler's List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Saving Private Ryan | ▶ 37:30 |
| Brian Finn | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | War of the Worlds, Face/Off | ▶ 24:10 |
| Joel Schumacher | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Wesley Morris | The Phantom of the Opera, 8MM | ▶ 16:45 |
| Oliver Stone | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Wesley Morris | Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon, JFK | ▶ 52:21 |
| Paul Thomas Anderson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Wesley Morris | Punch-Drunk Love, Licorice Pizza, There Will Be Blood | ▶ 1:13:32 |
Actors Referenced (45)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Norton | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 46 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | Fight Club, American History X, Primal Fear | ▶ 0:44 |
| Ed Harris | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 36 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | The Truman Show | ▶ 23:36 |
| Barry Pepper | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 18 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | True Grit, The Green Mile | ▶ 0:53 |
| Philip Seymour Hoffman | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 18 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | ▶ 0:53 | |
| Anna Paquin | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 12 | Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons | X-Men | ▶ 0:53 |
| Rosario Dawson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 12 | Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons | Sin City | ▶ 0:53 |
| Tobey Maguire | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 8 | Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons | Spider-Man | ▶ 1:19:35 |
| Matt Damon | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | Good Will Hunting, The Martian, The Departed | ▶ 1:32:40 |
| Brian Cox | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons | Troy | ▶ 0:53 |
| Patrice O'Neal | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | 25th Hour | ▶ 1:25:19 |
| John Malkovich | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | In the Line of Fire, Being John Malkovich, Burn After Reading | ▶ 1:26:28 |
| Mariachi El Bronx | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | We Bought a Zoo | ▶ 56:59 |
Writers Referenced (6)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Benioff | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 17 | Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris | ▶ 5:20 | |
| Bruce Springsteen | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | The Wrestler, Philadelphia | ▶ 48:01 |
| Joyce Carol Oates | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Wesley Morris | ▶ 1:13:09 | |
| Stephen King | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Wesley Morris | ▶ 1:13:21 | |
| Philip Roth | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Wesley Morris | ▶ 1:13:26 | |
| Roger Ebert | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 54:00 |
Cinematographers Referenced (1)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodrigo Prieto | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Wesley Morris | Brokeback Mountain, The Wolf of Wall Street, Killers of the Flower Moon | ▶ 3:25 |