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The boxcar scene

Every scene is called rewatchable, so a few are thrown out: the counterfeit-twenties con in the bar (the 'litmus configuration' test), Jack visiting his daughter, the coffee-shop scene with the chorizo and the 53-cent coffee where the Duke needles Jack about Serrano, the boxcar scene, and the late chase where Jack loses the Duke, stops the car under the helicopters and says he has come too far.

The boxcar is the pick for both: it is where the two finally break down and become real friends, a cathartic release after the car chase through the desert, apparently mostly improvised, and a lived-in, funny, genuine scene between two great actors; any scene with Farina or Pantoliano is a rewind, but the boxcar is the rewatchable one.

"Here come two words for you. Shut the fuck up"

The whole movie is quotable, but the one iconic quote is the exchange where the Duke tells Jack he is a grown man with control over his own words and gets two words back; it is hilarious and timeless and the one said most often.

The film

Midnight Run (1988)

Directed by Martin Brest · Action

126 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Robert De Niro Jack Walsh
Robert De Niro Jack Walsh
Charles Grodin Jonathan Mardukas
Charles Grodin Jonathan Mardukas
Yaphet Kotto Alonzo Mosely
Yaphet Kotto Alonzo Mosely
John Ashton Marvin Dorfler
John Ashton Marvin Dorfler
Dennis Farina Jimmy Serrano
Dennis Farina Jimmy Serrano
Joe Pantoliano Eddie Moscone
Joe Pantoliano Eddie Moscone
Richard Foronjy Tony Darvo
Richard Foronjy Tony Darvo
Jack Kehoe Jerry Geisler
Jack Kehoe Jerry Geisler
Tracey Walter Diner counter man
Tracey Walter Diner counter man

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

Sources

The episode

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Movie facts

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