Customer Reviews

The Late Shift

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a terrific video with Kathy Bates absolutely hateful as Leno's manager. The actors portraying Leno and Letterman are good but try too hard to mimic rather than portray each.

The video is great at showing the behind the scenes maneuvering that allowed Leno to steal The Tonight Show from David Letterman. That may be harsh but I don't think there is any other way to describe what happened. The rightful heir to Carson was Letterman. Leno was (and still is) a poor pretender to the throne.

That being said, the intrigue and lies used to move the transfer of the Tonight Show to Leno is great. CBS's decision to enter the late night market and lure Letterman is played out realistically. It's interesting to note that if Letterman got the Tonight Show, CBS was ready to go after Leno.

The video is a good companion to the book. The book provides much more detail and inside information but the video hits the highlights. If interested, you may want to read the book before viewing the video.

Look forward to seeing this on DVD hopefully with some extras.

This is a fascinating movie. It attempts to accurately depict the battle over the coveted position which was opening up after Johnny Carson announced his retirement from the Tonight Show. The actors all give good performances, but the true standout is Kathy Bates. She is absolutely one of the best actresses fo her generation, and gives a brilliant performance as Jay Leno's wild manager Helen Kushnick. She transforms this movie from a really good one to a great one. HBO has done it again with The Late Shift.

I had this movie originally on a rare LaserDisc, & was delighted when it appeared as a DVD release - in it's original aspect ratio & 16x9 enhanced to boot! The role of David Letterman is surprisingly accurate and after a while you forget this isn't the REAL Letterman. If you didn't know the story of how Letterman & Leno came to be where they are now in their career, it's a facinating incite into the harsh workings of corporate television. Worth the purchase price as you'll revisit this story often...

I remember back when this all happened. The Leno people screwed Johny Carson, and David Letterman. And Leno was rewarded with a hit late night TV show.

This was a movie made by HBO for HBO. I loved this movie since I first saw it new on HBO. I am sure there were some exaggerations in this movie for entertainment purposes, but the main storyline was on the money. John Michael Higgins as Dave, and Daniel Roebuck as Jay are good actors, and did their characters justice, right down to Leno's chin, and Letterman's tooth gap. They even have their habits and movements down pat. But I don't remember Letterman ever having red hair. Kathy Bates is fantastic as Leno's hot headed, back stabbing, foul mouthed bi*ch of a manager. You just want to smack the skin off her face.

The movie fills in a lot of gaps about what happened behind the scenes. I was just glad to see David Letterman move to CBS and get away from the NBC scumbags that screwed him over. The people who play the NBC executives are true to form, and show just how the TV biz really works.

And now Leno has pulled the same BS on Conan O'Brien. I can't understand why people still watch this back stabber. I can't wait for "The Late Shift II" about how Leno once again screwed another good talent out of the "Tonight Show". It's amazing what people will do for ratings and money. Leno should hang his head in shame. But first he needs a heart and a conscience.

The DVD is good quality widescreen, but the sound is only Dolby Pro-Logic stereo. I guess they didn't have 5.1 at HBO back then. But the stereo soundtrack is good quality.

If you like Letterman like I do, and are into movies with good poetic justice for the ending like I am, this movie is for you. You can't beat the price for this kind of entertainment.

Home Box Office (HBO) has always produced top quality films made-for-television, and "The Late Shift" is no exception. Originally airing in 1996, the film is a behind-the-scenes look at Jay Leno and David latterman's battle for the host of "The Tonight Show" after Johnny Carson left the series in 1992. The actors playing Leno and Letterman are excellent and Rich Little does an amazing Johnny Carson, but it is Kathy Bates who steals the entire film. If you loved her in "Misery" and "Dolores Clairborne" you will love her in this movie. Bates plays Helen Kushnick, Jay Leno's agent, who was known as an arrogant and abusive woman in Hollywood. She continued to be Leno's agent when he got "The Tonight Show" gig, and she ultimately became the show's executive producer. It was while she was producing "The Tonight Show" that Kushnick's behavior became even more unbalanced as she harrassed backstage personnel and abused network executives and other agents who wanted their acts on the ahow. Eventually Kushnick was fired by NBC. Kathy gives a virtuoso performance and she would ultimately win a Golden Globe for her hair-raising portrayal. Buy the movie for the sole purpose of seeing Bate's amazing acting.
The DVD doesn't come with an extras.

This film offers a good overview of what happened when NBC chose Jay Leno over David Letterman and Letterman moved to CBS. However, many of the inside details in the excellent book aren't even touched upon in this film. And parts of many scenes are fictionalized for "dramatic" purposes; others are altered from the book.

Also, the Leno and Letterman characters are played as caracitures, and just don't ring true. Overall, the movie is poor quality and poorly edited and directed. But it isn't without its moments.

In other words, read the book.

The battle of the late night stars, also known as, "who will succeed Johnny Carson" in 1992, is fascinating, and, from all published accounts, truthful in many aspects of this story. It is a scathing look at the high cost of cut throat competitiveness in Tinseltown and The Big Apple. Jay versus Dave is engaging fun from beginning to end, with the added plus of the uncanny imitations of the two stars. These two guys are really excellent impersonators of their characters. Fun to watch. The twists, turns, and long road to stardom, with both men looking to catch the brass ring that was The Johnny Carson Tonight Show is a study of humorous, conniving, egocentric personalities and their various flunkies who doted on their eccentricities for the sake of a paycheck. Kathy Bates is especially good as Jay's power-hungry agent. Don't miss this one.

One afternoon zapping channels I watched the last twenty minutes of this movie and I was hooked anb obsessed to discover the whole story. Recent events like the Conan and Leno war could not be more perfect into understanding what goes own behind GE's corporation. So if you are curious to understand more about the war for the latenight show, please watch this and understand what kind of person Jay Leno really is. Conan and Letterman I will forever be rooting for you.

I like the touch of casting several Seinfeld supporting actors in roles here. Brings NBC full circle.

Given all that is happening with late night comedy these days, "The Late Shift", a review of the first rivalry flare-up between Letterman and Leno, (and NBC and CBS) is worth a second look... or a first look if you haven't seen it before. One wonders how many of the same behind-the-scenes activities are going on at present, as was offered in this film.

There are many fine performances in "The Late Shift", but Kathy Bates really shines here. Her role as Helen Kushner, the hard-driving agent behind Jay Leno, is forceful and convincing. This film really reminds viewers that what one sees onstage at 11:30 each night is the outcome of often intense discussion, negotiation and infighting backstage. "The Late Shift" captures this in a big way and I recommend viewing it, especially in today's light.