Synopsis
A rude, contemptuous talk show host becomes overwhelmed by the hatred that surrounds his program just before it goes national.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Eric BogosianBarry Champlain
- Ellen GreeneEllen
- Leslie HopeLaura
- John C. McGinleyStu
- Alec BaldwinDan
- John PankowDietz
- Michael WincottKent / Michael / Joe
- Linda AtkinsonSheila Fleming
- Robert TreborJeffrey Fisher / Francine
- Zach GrenierSid Greenberg
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
Talk Radio is based on a play Bogosian wrote and starred in, and it was the right decision to star him in the movie, too, instead of some famous film actor. He feels this material from the inside out, and makes the character convincing. That’s especially true during a virtuoso, unsettling closing monologue, in which we think the camera is circling Bogosian - until we realize the camera and the actor are still, and the backgrounds are circling. - 100
Orlando Sentinel
Stone and Bogosian have gotten hold of a disturbing, even frightening, subject here, and they ride it for all they are worth. Talk Radio says that the depravity of the mass media is fed and surpassed by the roar of the maniac crowd. - 90
Los Angeles Times
As a transcription of Bogosian's theater piece, Talk Radio is tense, packed and crackling with life. As a dramatic investigation into Alan Berg and his murder, it's shallow and dubious. But as a synthesis of those two disjointed halves into a volatile whole--a comic-paranoid nightmare about media success, media myths, prejudice and the pathological relationship between performers and their audience--the film is an often dazzling success. Bogosian and the cast are bravura performers; Stone a director with guts and talent. - 90
Variety
Bogosian commands attention in a patented tour-de-force. Supporting performances are all vividly realized, notably Michael Wincott’s drug-crazed Champlain fan invited to the studio for a tete-a-tete with the host. - 90
Chicago Reader
The overall effect is disturbing yet mesmerizing. - 80
Empire
A riveting portrait of a complex man who, like Stone himself, struggles with being a favourite of the institution(s) he attempts to rebel against. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
Fueled by a brilliant performance from Bogosian, TALK RADIO is an intense experience that will leave most audiences feeling drained. - 75
Chicago Tribune
Issues are raised and dismissed with dizzying, dismaying speed.
