BANGOR — A discussion about a samurai movie became heated Saturday night when a local transient got upset about a joke and punched the jokester in the face, Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said.

“We met him at the hospital — Eastern Maine Medical Center’s emergency room,” the sergeant said of the 54-year-old victim.

The victim said he, James Brady, 48, and another man were hanging out in The Pines, a wooded area behind the Hope House where local homeless people and alcoholics gather to drink, when the fight broke out.

“He made a joke about the movie and [Brady] got upset,” Edwards said.

Brady, who is a transient, was charged with assault.

The Hope House is a Bangor shelter for people struggling with drugs and alcohol.