Talk Radio

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Talk Radio

R,

1988,

1h 50m,

Drama

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Watchlist

85%

53 Reviews

Tomatometer

80%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

53 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

On-air radio personality Barry Champlain (Eric Bogosian) likes to push buttons -- and the envelope. The talk show host has gained popularity by being controversial, and now his show is going national. But as Barry enjoys his professional success, his personal life is unraveling. He is still battling with his ex-wife (Ellen Greene), and also receiving sizable amounts of hate mail. When Barry hits the airwaves for a lengthy session, he gets a deranged caller who just may prove to be his match.

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Critics Consensus

The gripping union of a director and star at the peak of their respective powers, Talk Radio offers the viewer a singularly unlikable character and dares you to look away.

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Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

Mar 13, 2015

3.5/4

The film has a purposefully repellent but fascinating quality. Bogosian`s performance, based on his stage play, is spectacularly demented.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Tribune

Mar 13, 2015

3/4

As a director, Stone has a way of merging with the point of view of his protagonists, which is to say that his films are as jittery, wired-up and fragmented as they are.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Mar 13, 2015

The overall effect is disturbing yet mesmerizing; most of the movie takes place in the radio studio while the hero is on the air, and the moral questions raised by his incendiary brand of broadcasting are left provocatively open.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

May 24, 2026

3.5/4

A fine paranoid drama, claustrophobic and nervous, always moving and cutting.

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Frank J. Avella

The Contending

May 7, 2026

B+

Stone and his amazing DP, Robert Richardson (JFK) moves the camera in dizzying fashion, keeping us anxiety-ridden and uncomfortable for most of the claustrophobic ride. It’s an intense and tantalizing work.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Mar 8, 2026

4/5

'...a remarkably intense movie to watch, claustrophobic and rarely stepping outside the daylight free confines of the radio studio…Talk Radio has theatrical origins, but also compelling in its consideration of the extreme forces at work in modern-day USA…

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Draco M

Aug 1, 2018

Rough, intense, honest: loved it. The script is very good and amazing dialogs. Still, I wonder how much better could have been (or maybe worse?) cutting up the central part, the off-radio part. Would have made the work a bit too boring? I think that part broke the intensity of it. Nevertheless a great watch.

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Luke S

Sep 25, 2017

Sometimes a cut short story will do well, but though this film is probably missing something too.

Finn S

Feb 13, 2017

I really like it when a movie has no action in it, just dialogue-based, and keeps you interested from beginning to end, that's what this movie does. Talk Radio is an underrated drama with really good dialogue, a great performance by Eric Bogosian, and nice direction from veteran director Oliver Stone.

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Poe P

Feb 13, 2017

I really like it when a movie has no action in it, just dialogue-based, and keeps you interested from beginning to end. That's what this movie does. Talk Radio is an underrated drama with really good dialogue, a great performance by Eric Bogosian, and nice direction from Oliver Stone.

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Oliver Stone

Director

Eric Bogosian

Barry

Alec Baldwin

Dan

Ellen Greene

Ellen

Leslie Hope

Laura

John C. McGinley

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Synopsis

On-air radio personality Barry Champlain (Eric Bogosian) likes to push buttons -- and the envelope. The talk show host has gained popularity by being controversial, and now his show is going national. But as Barry enjoys his professional success, his personal life is unraveling. He is still battling with his ex-wife (Ellen Greene), and also receiving sizable amounts of hate mail. When Barry hits the airwaves for a lengthy session, he gets a deranged caller who just may prove to be his match.

Director: Oliver Stone
Producer: A. Kitman Ho, Edward R. Pressman
Screenwriter: Oliver Stone, Eric Bogosian
Production Co: Cineplex-Odeon Films
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 23, 1988, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 8, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.3M
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Surround

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