Verdict
Summary
A nerve-wracking drama with a thriller aspect, Talk Radio was based on a play by Bogosian and a book called “Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg,” but was adapted for the screen by Bogisian and filmmaker Oliver Stone, who directed this. It’s a film with lots and lots of talk (which is perfectly captured by Stone’s edgy camerawork), and Bogisian completely immerses himself in this scuzzy role, for which he was born to play. It’s not a “big” movie, but rather an intimate one, looking deep in the black soul of this man whom everyone loved to hate.
Plot:
The rise of a shock radio host culminates in self-realization and tragedy.
Review:
Barry Champlain (Eric Bogosian, also this film’s co-writer) was plucked out of obscurity to a plum position as a talk radio host. His voice and his acerbic point of view on all things – sex, religion, race, politics, and everything else under the sun – get him noticed when he appeared on the radio on a complete fluke to advertise his clothing store, and all of a sudden, he’s elevated to a prime time talk show host in the sweet spot of his life. Young, advantageous, bold, and married to a supportive wife (Ellen Greene), Barry almost instantly becomes a celebrity in Chicago, and in a few short years his show is listened to by millions of people every night. His producer (Alec Baldwin) practically made him a star single-handedly, but Barry’s fame and combative persona practically derail his life on a nightly basis with increasingly unnerving and dangerous on-air callers, who threaten him and despise him, sometimes mailing him packages that could be bombs … or dead animals in shoeboxes, just to rattle him. When his producer gets him some serious interest in a syndicated deal, which would entail many more millions in pay and increased viewership across the country, Barry feels the pressure to be even more controversial on the air, which also means more deranged callers and even more than a handful of crazed fans who show up for an autograph … or hold a mirror to Barry’s ravaged soul.
A nerve-wracking drama with a thriller aspect, Talk Radio was based on a play by Bogosian and a book called “Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg,” but was adapted for the screen by Bogisian and filmmaker Oliver Stone, who directed this. It’s a film with lots and lots of talk (which is perfectly captured by Stone’s edgy camerawork), and Bogisian completely immerses himself in this scuzzy role, for which he was born to play. It’s not a “big” movie, but rather an intimate one, looking deep in the black soul of this man whom everyone loved to hate.
Kino Lorber reissues Talk Radio on Blu-ray in a new HD master from a 2K scan of the 35mm interpositive, and it’s an upgrade from the Twilight Time Blu-ray, which is now out of print. The disc comes with an audio commentary by film historians, an interview with Stone, and the trailer, plus a slipcover.
