Talk Radio (DVD, 2000)

Talk Radio is my all time favorite film. It was first released in the late 1980's and is still as relevant today. Eric Bogosian masterfully becomes Barry Champlain, talk show host at station KGAB. You really get to know the character and almost feel like you are a friend or relative. I am a broadcast professional and was impressed by the authentic studio setting. Radio can be a lonely business and you really see that aspect of the business in the KGAB studio.
This movie is gripping from beginning to end.

I am not generally a fan of Oliver Stone movies. I did see, however, the movie "Talk Radio" a few years ago and was intrigued. As I had watched it on rainy weekend day on one of those "Saturday at the Movies" slots on a local cable television channel, I had missed the beginning and it was interrupted by commercials. Moreover, I was not sure what had been edited from the movie. So, I looked on ebay for the title and, sure enough, there it was--fairly priced and easy to buy. Needless to say, provided the opportunity to watch it again, I was even more satisfied watching the entire movie, unedited, on DVD. Ebay provides a wonderful opportunity to catch those classic movie titles which the big dvd retailers, rental stores and online services do not offer. The movie pits freedom of speech, for-profit-business, bigotry and the lonliness of the night and the human condition each against the other in an absolutely wonderful backdrop. Eric Borgosian stars and is inimitable in his role as a late night on-air talk show host.

Sandwiched between his Oscar-winning films WALL STREET and BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, Oliver Stone brilliantly blends co-writer/actor Eric Bogosian's original stageplay with the real life murder of Denver radio show host Alan Berg in what will be his most underrated film to date.

Dallas radio show host Barry Champlain's penchant for abusing and pushing people's buttons has lead him to an offer he couldn't refuse...

A chance for taking his show to national syndication. Upon hearing the news, Champlain subjects ex-wife (Ellen Greene, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL) along with his co-workers to an unforgettable night of offending his audience. But somewhere, a mysterious killer is lurking in the shadows...

Bogosian gives proably his best performance as the arrogant host with intense energy and bravura presence.

Another actor that also stands out is Michael Wincott (THE DOORS, THE CROW) as the airheaded metal kid who somehow ended up as an unscheduled guest.

At the center of this chaos is Ellen Greene who brings sincerity and concern to her performance as Champlain's ex-wife.

Stone delivers a live-wire satire on "shock radio" and the politics of adjusting Barry Champlain's abusing persona for the masses. However, the issue of media predominance would later be revisited in NATURAL BORN KILLERS six years later.

TALK RADIO is a film that gets you to the core. A film that never becomes pretenous and boring. And an experience that you will never forget.

this has been a favorite of mine for a long time but i have not found it til now.

eric bogosian is an awesome actor. you will get a behind the scenes look at a latenight host and the crackpots that may call. ...also what can happen when u r just not nice.

love this movie one of my favorite films.

john

Eric Bogosian's tour de force performance. I never get tired of watching him in this 1988 film, which I believe is an American classic.