FilmBuff1994 Talk Radio is a great movie with a very well developed plot and an excellent cast. It is a very engrossing film mainly because of how character based it is. The main focus is on Barry, who is an immensely well written character, by the end of the movie we gain a very clear and concise understanding of how his mind works. I did find it to be a tad too Barry based, I understand that the play is obviously that way and they wanted to stay true to it. However, I think with a film it would be a lot more effective for us to gain a deeper understanding on his relationship with other characters, rather than merely how he thinks and feels. It would have been to have seen more scope to the likes of Ellen or Stu. The closing monologue is the most effective part of the film, it is hard hitting and delivered with pure passion by Eric Bogosian. He delivers each line with great power and clearly put a lot of thought in to this character he created, it is the icing on the cake of a film experience that is truly unique. It makes you think about the world and can also make you laugh, I love a movie that can do that. Dramatic, well written and acted, Talk Radio is worth the watch for anyone looking for a good drama. A controversial radio talk show host soon becomes shock by the hatred he receives. Best Performance: Eric Bogosian

popcorninhell If ever there was a director who exemplified the liberal Hollywood attitude that many people scour at, Oliver Stone is that man. Since gaining prominence in the 1980's for such classic and caustic socio-political statements as Wall Street (1987), Platoon (1986) and Salvador (1986), Oliver Stone has since become a mouthpiece for issues ranging from the importance of Wikileaks to Scientologist rights in Germany.Whatever you may think of his politics you have to admit his films are powerful and poignant pieces of art; not the least of which is his tiny 1988 indie-flick Talk Radio. Released a year after the influential Wall Street and a year before the infamous Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Talk Radio never really made waves or felt especially important except for those familiar with the subject matter.The film is primarily based off of two main sources; the play Talk Radio written by Eric Bogosian and the book Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg written by Stephen Singular. Incidentally Bogosian earnestly plays the lead role surly shock jock Barry Champlain, a role he first starred in when the play showcased in Oregon. You may remember him, as I did the first viewing, as the bad guy in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995). I remember thinking the man had a sinister vibe and a great voice. Both traits serve him well in the role of Barry but his emotional investment in the character, no doubt from years of playing him, creates a level of unseen yet often felt intensity.It is that intensity that becomes the spirit of Talk Radio. You match it with the whims of a singularly passionate director and you have yourself a story that's way, way, way too big for its britches. This is not altogether a bad thing. The claustrophobic atmosphere of a fishbowl radio studio coupled with the incessant calling of a masochistic listening public dialing on the phone every two seconds makes things almost too hard to bare. The tension leads to a boiling point and catharsis near the end of the film when Barry finally looses it and spits bile into the airwaves. He chastises and insults his listeners with a barrage of taunts and pessimistic musings all of which falls on deaf ears.While Talk Radio is essentially a one-man-show, supporting cast does include the versatile Alec Baldwin as well as the enigmatic and underutilized Ellen Greene. One would wish that in a movie so filled to the hilt with rub-against-the-grain cynicism, calmer heads would give the story and audience a much needed respite. This is not the case in Talk Radio however. The only time we see Barry or anyone for that matter outside of the studio is briefly at a basketball game and in a flashback.That kind of overwhelming energy flow however can be forgiven given the subject matter. Barry isn't just a churlish radio personality but a target of anti-Semitic harassment. Many of the callers Barry is charged with communicating on his program are neo-Nazis and racists whom he gives airtime for the soul purpose of cutting them down the size. In those moments Barry is seen as a man of conscious but far from a good man in general.Just like in Salvador, Born on the Fourth of July, et al., Talk Radio is ultimately a character study about a man who has lost his faith in humanity. He sees a sliver of hope and salvation but finds it dashed by fate and the powers that be. Few main characters from the works of Oliver Stone come from favorable stock. They are our antiheros, the cautionary tales; the men we don't want to be.Oliver Stone is certainly a man I don't want to be. While I say what I must, I am far from a firebrand and polemic figure of the Hollywood elite. Yet Stone is a fascinating figure that draws my attention both in his movies and in his political advocacy. Some cannot divorce the man from the artistry but I implore you that even if you're not a fan of Oliver Stone, you take a good look and listen to Talk Radio.http://theyservepopcorninhell.blogspot.com/

itamarscomix Talk Radio is a heavy-handed treatment of Eric Bogosian's superb stage play; Oliver Stone has never been famous for his subtlety or minimalism and he's having a hard time dealing with it, adding dramatic camera angles and lighting effects that don't always compliment the dialog. But it's still understated compared to Stone's other films, and his over-the-top touches aren't enough to really detract from the excellent text or from Bogosian's brilliant performance, that makes every expression and every facial twitch count, although they do spoil the ending. The film's great moments are its smallest, the ones where Bogosian is alone with his microphone, and in those moments it's truly a disturbing pleasure. With a more fitting director - maybe Scorsese, maybe Jarmusch or Lumet - it could have been a masterpiece, instead it's a solid and effective film that has stood the test of time surprisingly well and still packs a punch.

Terrell Howell (KnightsofNi11) Everybody loves a good cynical movie, right? Right? Well if you don't then Oliver Stone's Talk Radio probably isn't for you. It tells the story of talk radio host Barry Champlain whose local Dallas, Texas show is about to go into national syndication. Barry is cynical, rude, obnoxious, yet truthful. He tells people how it is and he doesn't hold back if he thinks that someone deserves to be told off. Because of this he is becoming one of the most hated figures in Dallas. People call into his radio station with threats, dark remarks, and strong opinions about what Barry is doing. And he feeds off of all of it. But the growing hatred of his persona causes Barry to slowly break down as his coworkers at the station watch on, unable to connect to the man in any way. It is a tragically fascinating story.Any movie with a such a fast paced and snappy script I will automatically fall in love with. Thus after about fifteen minutes of Talk Radio I was star crossed. The dialouge in this film is excellent and it carries so well from start to finish. This film isn't flashy and grand. It is pretty limited on location and, in fact, about 85 percent of the film takes place in the radio station. The script is what shines in this film and it's very obvious. It excellently blends its element of short staccato dialouge with incredibly eloquent monolouges. The whole film is built from its sharp script.But where would a script be without fantastic actors and actresses available to deliver the witty lines. All I can say is thank god for Eric Bogosian, the actor who plays Barry. He is incredible in this film. He delivers all of his lines with a poignant eloquency that carries so well throughout the film and makes some scenes absolutely riveting to watch. This is a powerful film and Bogosian's incredible performance makes it all the more memorable. He also has that perfect radio voice. It's robust, it's articulate, and it is stern. He's a person I could listen to for hours on end, as many people do in this film, that is, the few who actually like Barry's radio show and aren't deeply offended by it. Bogosian plays this highly unlikeable character to perfection and makes him very enjoyable and fascinating to watch.This film was shaping up to be something that was amazingly mind blowing. That was until the ending. The final event of the film is hinted at throughout and you are in high anxiety while anticipating it. And when it finally happens it ended up being really cheesy and extremely disappointing. The film then ends with about five minutes of city pans with voice over that I found completely unnecessary. The voice overs are also coupled with a really lame soundtrack that just made me hang my head in shame. I felt the last five minutes of the film negates everything from the beginning and it really disappointed me. I adored everything about this film until those final few minutes when I was just sorely disappointed.Talk Radio is a fantastic film that needs more recognition than it has. It is compelling, riveting, and even pretty hilarious at times. It is masterfully made up until those last five minutes where my opinion of the film just started to plummet. But it doesn't mean I'm going to ever think of this film as a bad film because it is not. The other hour and forty five minutes are incredible. So much so that if it had succeeded in resolving well this could have made it into the list of my favorite movies. But instead it is just going to end up being a very good film that I won't forget, but won't revere as one of the greatest films ever made.