Idw Publishing's "Crime Comics Confidential", available May 5, 2021, with 20 fully restored vintage stories, is edited by Steven Brower and illustrated by 'Golden Age' comic book artists John Buscema, Alex Toth, Gene Colan, Bernie Krigstein, Reed Crandall, Everett Raymond Kinstler and a whole lot more:
"...relive the days when ruthless, moronic gangsters ruled the streets, in this gripping collection of notorious vintage 'pre-Code' crime comics.
"True life degenerate criminals including 'Al Capone', 'Legs Diamond', 'Pretty Boy Floyd', 'Dutch Schultz', 'Lucky Luciano' and 'John Dillinger' are featured alongside colorful pulp fiction characters with rods ablaze.
"These mobsters flaunted their sexy gun molls and ill-gotten gains of big cars and fancy suits...
"...living outside the law until getting their just desserts in the end."
Illustrators include Charles Biro, Dick Briefer, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Fred Guardineer, Everett Raymond Kinstler,...
"...relive the days when ruthless, moronic gangsters ruled the streets, in this gripping collection of notorious vintage 'pre-Code' crime comics.
"True life degenerate criminals including 'Al Capone', 'Legs Diamond', 'Pretty Boy Floyd', 'Dutch Schultz', 'Lucky Luciano' and 'John Dillinger' are featured alongside colorful pulp fiction characters with rods ablaze.
"These mobsters flaunted their sexy gun molls and ill-gotten gains of big cars and fancy suits...
"...living outside the law until getting their just desserts in the end."
Illustrators include Charles Biro, Dick Briefer, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Fred Guardineer, Everett Raymond Kinstler,...
- 2/6/2021
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
At the dawning of 2021, one of the first big new releases harkens back to a movie trope that goes back nearly eighty years, the “team-up picture”. Probably 1943 really, when Universal Studios had the idea to pair two of its big “monster” properties in Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman, which proved so successful that they added Dracula for their House Of flicks before sending them out to pasture after encountering comedians Abbott & Costello. The idea would resurface in the 60s as the Japanese giant “beasties” tangled in several films (even our King Kong dropped in for one). In between those series other genres gave it a try with Westerns and crime sagas, low-cost since they’re historical figures. Most recently the franchises of Marvel and DC have converged for The Avengers (four so far) and Justice League. So, why not another “real-life re-uniting”? How about a fictional “get together” of four African American icons?...
- 1/8/2021
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
They say you Can’t Go Home Again, but Francis Coppola has pulled a real magic trick — his 1984 gangland musical ended up heavily compromised by outright racism producers that didn’t like the half of the story that favored a black show-biz drama. All the gangster action has been retained in this impressive Encore recut, but with twenty new minutes of performances and backstage intrigues. Gregory and Maurice Hines’ tap dances are extended, and musical numbers have been restored, with the terrific Lonette McKee getting special emphasis. The show was always good, and now it’s much better.
The Cotton Club Encore
Blu-ray + DVD + Digital
Lionsgate
1984-2019 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 139 min. (originally 119) / Street Date December 10, 2019 / 14.99
Starring: Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Gregory Hines, Lonette McKee, Bob Hoskins, Maurice Hines, James Remar, Nicolas Cage, Allen Garfield, Fred Gwynne, Gwen Verdon, Julian Beck, John P. Ryan.
Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt
Production Designer: Richard Sylbert
Film Editors: Robert Q. Lovett,...
The Cotton Club Encore
Blu-ray + DVD + Digital
Lionsgate
1984-2019 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 139 min. (originally 119) / Street Date December 10, 2019 / 14.99
Starring: Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Gregory Hines, Lonette McKee, Bob Hoskins, Maurice Hines, James Remar, Nicolas Cage, Allen Garfield, Fred Gwynne, Gwen Verdon, Julian Beck, John P. Ryan.
Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt
Production Designer: Richard Sylbert
Film Editors: Robert Q. Lovett,...
- 12/24/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Francis Ford Coppola did not want to make another gangster film. He’d already made two of the most commercially successful, critically lauded organized-crime movies of all time, and though people kept saying he could have a lucrative career by simply churning out Godfather clones if he wanted to, the writer-director had no interest in repeating himself. In fact, when Coppola’s phone rang in the spring of 1983, the legendary filmmaker wasn’t sure he wanted to do anything close to a big blockbuster-style movie ever again. After gambling everything...
- 12/16/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Tony Sokol Dec 2, 2019
Crime is part of the American experience, says Paul Eckstein, creator of Godfather of Harlem.
Martin Scorsese's The Irishman appears to be a swan song for an era of the gangster film. But Epix's Godfather of Harlem, which just closed out its premiere season, is keeping the genre fresh.
The series bridges generations of actors to tell the story of a mob kingpin who bridged the criminal worlds. Bumpy Johnson, played by Oscar-winning actor and director Forest Whitaker, ran Harlem under Mafia protection in a deal brokered by "Lucky" Luciano which lasted forty years. By the time he was 30, Johnson had spent almost half his life in prison. He went back in for a 15-year stretch in 1951 for conspiring to sell heroin. The series paints him as a standup guy, who did time rather than implicate his Mafia partners.
Johnson was a poet who contributed to...
Crime is part of the American experience, says Paul Eckstein, creator of Godfather of Harlem.
Martin Scorsese's The Irishman appears to be a swan song for an era of the gangster film. But Epix's Godfather of Harlem, which just closed out its premiere season, is keeping the genre fresh.
The series bridges generations of actors to tell the story of a mob kingpin who bridged the criminal worlds. Bumpy Johnson, played by Oscar-winning actor and director Forest Whitaker, ran Harlem under Mafia protection in a deal brokered by "Lucky" Luciano which lasted forty years. By the time he was 30, Johnson had spent almost half his life in prison. He went back in for a 15-year stretch in 1951 for conspiring to sell heroin. The series paints him as a standup guy, who did time rather than implicate his Mafia partners.
Johnson was a poet who contributed to...
- 12/2/2019
- Den of Geek
Francis Ford Coppola had already cemented his Hollywood legacy after a string of critical and commercial successes in the 1970s, but discussion of his filmography seems reluctant to consider the vast body of work that proceeded. Whereas films such as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and The Conversation heralded his expertise in transforming more conventional narrative structures and filmmaking practices, it is in his later work where one finds more revealing signs of his visionary talent.
The Cotton Club, Coppola’s sprawling tapestry of the Harlem Prohibition-era jazz scene, titled after the legendary club at its center, is simultaneously a prime example of both the filmmaker’s prowess with visual and narrative experimentation later on in his career, and of the tragic circumstances that brought about his fall from mainstream celebration. Perhaps unfairly maligned as a result of both its chaotic production and box office failings (and in spite of its...
The Cotton Club, Coppola’s sprawling tapestry of the Harlem Prohibition-era jazz scene, titled after the legendary club at its center, is simultaneously a prime example of both the filmmaker’s prowess with visual and narrative experimentation later on in his career, and of the tragic circumstances that brought about his fall from mainstream celebration. Perhaps unfairly maligned as a result of both its chaotic production and box office failings (and in spite of its...
- 10/8/2019
- by Jason Ooi
- The Film Stage
Francis Ford Coppola wished his old frenemy Robert Evans could have made the trip to a screening of The Cotton Club Encore, the new version of the 1984 film that Coppola spent half a million dollars of his own money to re-edit, expand and re-release.
Coppola directed and Evans produced the original film about the famed Harlem nightclub operated by New York gangster Owney Madden, where black entertainers from Duke Ellington to Cab Calloway performed to white-only audiences.
Despite a star-studded cast, the production as he described it was a messy stew of editorial conflict, shady financing, lawsuits and too many scenes on the cutting room floor.
Thirty-five years later, Coppola has reinserted 35 minutes of footage he said distributors weren’t comfortable with at the time.
“They said. ‘It’s too long, there’s too much tap dancing, too many black people,...
Coppola directed and Evans produced the original film about the famed Harlem nightclub operated by New York gangster Owney Madden, where black entertainers from Duke Ellington to Cab Calloway performed to white-only audiences.
Despite a star-studded cast, the production as he described it was a messy stew of editorial conflict, shady financing, lawsuits and too many scenes on the cutting room floor.
Thirty-five years later, Coppola has reinserted 35 minutes of footage he said distributors weren’t comfortable with at the time.
“They said. ‘It’s too long, there’s too much tap dancing, too many black people,...
- 10/6/2019
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Godfather of Harlem goes after the American Dream by any means necessary.
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Godfather of Harlem is a modern look into the past which is both unflinching and hopeful. It's a crime drama, yes, but the law-breaking cuts both ways. Forest Whitaker plays real life New York Crime boss Bumpy Johnson after he got out of Alcatraz prison for taking the fall for the mob in a heroin deal.
The series leaves out one true fact which could have been extremely cinematic. When Johnson got out of Alcatraz, the people of Harlem threw him a ticker tape parade. It wasn't planned. It happened spontaneously. That's how much Bumpy was loved in the hood. His family moved to Harlem when Bumpy was 10 years old. His brother William was accused of killing a white man in Charleston, South Carolina. Born on Halloween 1905, he got the nickname “Bumpy” because he had a slightly deformed head.
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Godfather of Harlem is a modern look into the past which is both unflinching and hopeful. It's a crime drama, yes, but the law-breaking cuts both ways. Forest Whitaker plays real life New York Crime boss Bumpy Johnson after he got out of Alcatraz prison for taking the fall for the mob in a heroin deal.
The series leaves out one true fact which could have been extremely cinematic. When Johnson got out of Alcatraz, the people of Harlem threw him a ticker tape parade. It wasn't planned. It happened spontaneously. That's how much Bumpy was loved in the hood. His family moved to Harlem when Bumpy was 10 years old. His brother William was accused of killing a white man in Charleston, South Carolina. Born on Halloween 1905, he got the nickname “Bumpy” because he had a slightly deformed head.
- 9/20/2019
- Den of Geek
Roger Corman’s ferocious gangster epic (more squibs!) bounces back in a UK Region B edition, noisier and bloodier than ever. Jason Robards, George Segal, Ralph Meeker and a couple of dozen top-notch hoods replay the ugly events that led up to the notorious 1929 gangland slaying — which now almost seems tame — where gun massacres are concerned, today ‘Every Day Is a Holiday.’
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1967 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 min. / Street Date April 30, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring Jason Robards, George Segal, Ralph Meeker, Jean Hale, Frank Silvera, Joseph Campanella, Richard Bakalyan, David Canary, Bruce Dern, Harold J. Stone, Kurt Kreuger, Joe Turkel, John Agar, Celia Lovsky, Tom Reese, Jan Merlin,Alex D’Arcy, Reed Hadley, Gus Trikonis, Charles Dierkop, Alex Rocco, Leo Gordon, Russ Conway, Jonathan Haze, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Dick Miller, Barboura Morris, Jack Nicholson, Joan Shawlee.
Cinematography Milton Krasner
Art Direction Philip Jefferies,...
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1967 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 min. / Street Date April 30, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring Jason Robards, George Segal, Ralph Meeker, Jean Hale, Frank Silvera, Joseph Campanella, Richard Bakalyan, David Canary, Bruce Dern, Harold J. Stone, Kurt Kreuger, Joe Turkel, John Agar, Celia Lovsky, Tom Reese, Jan Merlin,Alex D’Arcy, Reed Hadley, Gus Trikonis, Charles Dierkop, Alex Rocco, Leo Gordon, Russ Conway, Jonathan Haze, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Dick Miller, Barboura Morris, Jack Nicholson, Joan Shawlee.
Cinematography Milton Krasner
Art Direction Philip Jefferies,...
- 4/21/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Tony Sokol Nov 28, 2019
You think your family is crazy? There are no families like mob families, and food scenes in gangster movies will kill you before they do.
Everybody knows the importance of food in mafia movies. The spread they lay out in The Godfather alone is enough to get your mouth watering. Sarah Vowell wrote an entire book deliciously entitled Take the Cannoli and she doesn’t even have a vowel at the end of her name. On TV, HBO’s The Sopranos put so much effort into the simple act of pouring wine that the very sound made me reach for peasant red.
These stories come out of real life. Mob bosses and captains did actually cook for and feed, not only their men, but the cops who were keeping surveillance outside. Not all of them, but enough. I happen to read a lot of true crime books,...
You think your family is crazy? There are no families like mob families, and food scenes in gangster movies will kill you before they do.
Everybody knows the importance of food in mafia movies. The spread they lay out in The Godfather alone is enough to get your mouth watering. Sarah Vowell wrote an entire book deliciously entitled Take the Cannoli and she doesn’t even have a vowel at the end of her name. On TV, HBO’s The Sopranos put so much effort into the simple act of pouring wine that the very sound made me reach for peasant red.
These stories come out of real life. Mob bosses and captains did actually cook for and feed, not only their men, but the cops who were keeping surveillance outside. Not all of them, but enough. I happen to read a lot of true crime books,...
- 11/24/2014
- Den of Geek
EXCESS BAGGAGE
Sony
Tone trouble seriously trips up "Excess Baggage", a sort of comedy, sort of caper, about an attention-starved teen (Alicia Silverstone) whose scheme to orchestrate her own kidnapping backfires when she finds herself being nabbed for real.
Despite some quirky asides and a promising start, the slight script leaves viewers with precious little to root for and even less to care about. As a result, "Excess Baggage" ends up going nowhere fast.
After a number of attention-getting stunts fail to get her billionaire daddy (Jack Thompson) to take notice of her, brazen Emily Hope (Silverstone) thinks she's got him this time by holding herself for ransom.
Unfortunately, her elaborate scheme -- involving electronically altering her voice when she phones in her demands and even doing her own self-binding, handcuffing and gagging before tossing herself into the trunk of her BMW -- goes horribly awry when professional car thief Vincent Benicio Del Toro) makes the fateful mistake of claiming said vehicle as his next parking lot heist.
Director Marco Brambilla ("Demolition Man") choreographs what little action there is with a sturdy but not particularly inventive touch (HR 8/29-31).
Michael Rechtshaffen
U-TURN
Sony
Oliver Stone has turned around with "U-Turn", a dicey noir that careens wild and tight like a good old-fashioned B movie. It's snub-nosed Stone, a raucous entertainment that doe not aim for the philosophical or political fences.
In tone and telling, "U-Turn" most akin to the filmmaking of Luis Bunuel, rife with undercurrents of degeneracy and human avarice and crested with outrageous humor.
Bobby (Sean Penn) has time to kill when his Mustang breaks down in a sleepy desert town. Trouble eventually comes in the beauteous form of the local femme fatale, Grace (Jennifer Lopez). She's a sizzler and it's downright obvious that her sexuality is her Trump Card, and she has her geezer of a hubby (Nick Nolte) whipped into a dither with paranoid jealousy. Right away, Bobby is in the thick of things.
Crackling with juicy dialogue and ambling up all the right, wrong roads, John Ridley's screenplay is a smartly lubricated blend of genre parts. It keeps us on our heels and more than a little on-edge in where it's going -- in short, it's darn good storytelling. What makes "U-Turn" special, though, is the characters, as sidewinding a bunch of varmints as you would ever want to encounter (HR 8/29-31).
Duane Byrge
HOODLUM
MGM
This gangster effort from director Bill Duke ("Deep Cover", "A Rage in Harlem") brings to light a little-known character and a fascinating chapter in black mobster lore. But the picture suffers from haphazard pacing and excessive length; not quite good enough to qualify as quality drama nor kinetic enough to satisfy thrill-seeking action-movie audiences, it faces an uphill road comercially.
The story follows the violent 1934 Harlem turf war between Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) and Bumpy Johnson (Laurence Fishburne), a gangster who fought to maintain control of Harlem's numbers rackets. Bringing Johnson to life is the film's chief distinction. He is depicted as a tough-as-nails ex-con who is also a poet, chess player, ladies man and Robin Hood type. Whether this characterization is accurate is open to debate; there is not much documentation on Johnson.
But with the exception of a couple of scenes that approach a Tarantino level of humor, the screenplay never takes off. And with its 142-minute running time, "Hoodlum" is eventually more wearying than exciting.
Frank Scheck
Other reviews
Also reviewed last week were "Murmur of Youth" (HR 8/27) and "Trojan Eddie" (HR 8/28).
Sony
Tone trouble seriously trips up "Excess Baggage", a sort of comedy, sort of caper, about an attention-starved teen (Alicia Silverstone) whose scheme to orchestrate her own kidnapping backfires when she finds herself being nabbed for real.
Despite some quirky asides and a promising start, the slight script leaves viewers with precious little to root for and even less to care about. As a result, "Excess Baggage" ends up going nowhere fast.
After a number of attention-getting stunts fail to get her billionaire daddy (Jack Thompson) to take notice of her, brazen Emily Hope (Silverstone) thinks she's got him this time by holding herself for ransom.
Unfortunately, her elaborate scheme -- involving electronically altering her voice when she phones in her demands and even doing her own self-binding, handcuffing and gagging before tossing herself into the trunk of her BMW -- goes horribly awry when professional car thief Vincent Benicio Del Toro) makes the fateful mistake of claiming said vehicle as his next parking lot heist.
Director Marco Brambilla ("Demolition Man") choreographs what little action there is with a sturdy but not particularly inventive touch (HR 8/29-31).
Michael Rechtshaffen
U-TURN
Sony
Oliver Stone has turned around with "U-Turn", a dicey noir that careens wild and tight like a good old-fashioned B movie. It's snub-nosed Stone, a raucous entertainment that doe not aim for the philosophical or political fences.
In tone and telling, "U-Turn" most akin to the filmmaking of Luis Bunuel, rife with undercurrents of degeneracy and human avarice and crested with outrageous humor.
Bobby (Sean Penn) has time to kill when his Mustang breaks down in a sleepy desert town. Trouble eventually comes in the beauteous form of the local femme fatale, Grace (Jennifer Lopez). She's a sizzler and it's downright obvious that her sexuality is her Trump Card, and she has her geezer of a hubby (Nick Nolte) whipped into a dither with paranoid jealousy. Right away, Bobby is in the thick of things.
Crackling with juicy dialogue and ambling up all the right, wrong roads, John Ridley's screenplay is a smartly lubricated blend of genre parts. It keeps us on our heels and more than a little on-edge in where it's going -- in short, it's darn good storytelling. What makes "U-Turn" special, though, is the characters, as sidewinding a bunch of varmints as you would ever want to encounter (HR 8/29-31).
Duane Byrge
HOODLUM
MGM
This gangster effort from director Bill Duke ("Deep Cover", "A Rage in Harlem") brings to light a little-known character and a fascinating chapter in black mobster lore. But the picture suffers from haphazard pacing and excessive length; not quite good enough to qualify as quality drama nor kinetic enough to satisfy thrill-seeking action-movie audiences, it faces an uphill road comercially.
The story follows the violent 1934 Harlem turf war between Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) and Bumpy Johnson (Laurence Fishburne), a gangster who fought to maintain control of Harlem's numbers rackets. Bringing Johnson to life is the film's chief distinction. He is depicted as a tough-as-nails ex-con who is also a poet, chess player, ladies man and Robin Hood type. Whether this characterization is accurate is open to debate; there is not much documentation on Johnson.
But with the exception of a couple of scenes that approach a Tarantino level of humor, the screenplay never takes off. And with its 142-minute running time, "Hoodlum" is eventually more wearying than exciting.
Frank Scheck
Other reviews
Also reviewed last week were "Murmur of Youth" (HR 8/27) and "Trojan Eddie" (HR 8/28).
This gangster effort from director Bill Duke ("Deep Cover", "A Rage in Harlem") brings to light a little-known character and a fascinating chapter in black mobster lore. It also benefits from excellent performances and a superb visual evocation of the period. But the picture suffers from haphazard pacing and excessive length; not quite good enough to qualify as quality drama nor kinetic enough to satisfy thrill-seeking action-movie audiences, it faces an uphill road commercially.
Chris Brancato's screenplay details the story of the violent 1934 Harlem turf war between Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) and Bumpy Johnson (Laurence Fishburne), a real-life gangster who fought to maintain control of Harlem's numbers rackets. Also figuring prominently in the plot are such real figures as Italian gangster Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia); the exotic Stephanie St. Clair (Cicely Tyson), Bumpy's mentor and queen of the numbers; and Manhattan prosecutor Thomas Dewey (William Atherton), shown here as being in cahoots with the mob.
The film's chief distinction is bringing to life the unheralded Johnson, who is depicted as a tough-as-nails, hardened ex-con who was also a chess aficionado, an amateur poet, a gallant ladies' man and a Robin Hood who poured much of his illegal gains back into the community. Whether this characterization is true is open to debate -- there is not much documentation on Johnson.
He is nonetheless a highly intriguing central character, and Fishburne plays him with his usual brand of physical grace and restrained power.
As his nemesis, Roth invests his portrayal of Schultz with the same flair and humor that he brought to his Oscar-nominated turn in "Rob Roy", and he provides some of the film's most entertaining moments. In a smaller role, Garcia is much quieter as Luciano, while Tyson brings some real shadings to her St. Clair, balancing her portrayal with a canny mixture of toughness and tenderness.
Vanessa Williams, playing Johnson's fictional love interest, brings her classic beauty and poise to a confusingly written role.
The many supporting performers play their gangster roles with colorful abandon, with particularly sterling work coming from Chi McBride as Johnson's cousin and partner in crime; Loretta Devine as a devoted, good-hearted girlfriend; Clarence Williams III as Dutch's black enforcer; Richard Bradford as a crooked cop; and Paul Benjamin as the ominous-voiced Whispers.
Particularly fun are Mike Starr and Beau Starr as a pair of large-bodied, machete-wielding hit men whose mantra is, "Let's do some damage". Their scenes -- including an encounter with Schultz (hearing their price, the gangster laments about the inflationary cost of a hit) and a harrowing assassination attempt on Johnson -- are the highlights of the film.
Despite its superb production design (numerous locations in Chicago doubled for 1930s-era Harlem), evocative musical score by Elmer Bernstein and colorful cast of characters, the film never quite ignites, settling shortly after its beginning into a repetitive series of violent shootouts and profanity-laden verbal encounters.
With the exception of a couple of scenes that approach a Tarantino level of humor, the screenplay never takes off. And with its 142-minute running time -- far more than the story requires -- "Hoodlum" is eventually more wearying than exciting.
HOODLUM
MGM
A United Artists Pictures presentation
Director Bill Duke
Screenplay Chris Brancato
Producer Frank Mancuso Jr.
Executive producers Bill Duke,
Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland
Co-producers Paul Eckstein, Chris Brancato
Director of photography Frank Tidy
Editor Harry Keramidas
Music Elmer Bernstein
Color/stereo
Cast:
Bumpy Johnson Laurence Fishburne
Dutch Schultz Tim Roth
Francine Hughes Vanessa Williams
Lucky Luciano Andy Garcia
Stephanie St. Clair Cicely Tyson
Illinois Gordon Chi McBride
Bub Hewlett Clarence Williams III
Captain Foley Richard Bradford
Thomas Dewey William Atherton
Pigfoot Mary Loretta Devine
Running time -- 142 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Chris Brancato's screenplay details the story of the violent 1934 Harlem turf war between Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) and Bumpy Johnson (Laurence Fishburne), a real-life gangster who fought to maintain control of Harlem's numbers rackets. Also figuring prominently in the plot are such real figures as Italian gangster Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia); the exotic Stephanie St. Clair (Cicely Tyson), Bumpy's mentor and queen of the numbers; and Manhattan prosecutor Thomas Dewey (William Atherton), shown here as being in cahoots with the mob.
The film's chief distinction is bringing to life the unheralded Johnson, who is depicted as a tough-as-nails, hardened ex-con who was also a chess aficionado, an amateur poet, a gallant ladies' man and a Robin Hood who poured much of his illegal gains back into the community. Whether this characterization is true is open to debate -- there is not much documentation on Johnson.
He is nonetheless a highly intriguing central character, and Fishburne plays him with his usual brand of physical grace and restrained power.
As his nemesis, Roth invests his portrayal of Schultz with the same flair and humor that he brought to his Oscar-nominated turn in "Rob Roy", and he provides some of the film's most entertaining moments. In a smaller role, Garcia is much quieter as Luciano, while Tyson brings some real shadings to her St. Clair, balancing her portrayal with a canny mixture of toughness and tenderness.
Vanessa Williams, playing Johnson's fictional love interest, brings her classic beauty and poise to a confusingly written role.
The many supporting performers play their gangster roles with colorful abandon, with particularly sterling work coming from Chi McBride as Johnson's cousin and partner in crime; Loretta Devine as a devoted, good-hearted girlfriend; Clarence Williams III as Dutch's black enforcer; Richard Bradford as a crooked cop; and Paul Benjamin as the ominous-voiced Whispers.
Particularly fun are Mike Starr and Beau Starr as a pair of large-bodied, machete-wielding hit men whose mantra is, "Let's do some damage". Their scenes -- including an encounter with Schultz (hearing their price, the gangster laments about the inflationary cost of a hit) and a harrowing assassination attempt on Johnson -- are the highlights of the film.
Despite its superb production design (numerous locations in Chicago doubled for 1930s-era Harlem), evocative musical score by Elmer Bernstein and colorful cast of characters, the film never quite ignites, settling shortly after its beginning into a repetitive series of violent shootouts and profanity-laden verbal encounters.
With the exception of a couple of scenes that approach a Tarantino level of humor, the screenplay never takes off. And with its 142-minute running time -- far more than the story requires -- "Hoodlum" is eventually more wearying than exciting.
HOODLUM
MGM
A United Artists Pictures presentation
Director Bill Duke
Screenplay Chris Brancato
Producer Frank Mancuso Jr.
Executive producers Bill Duke,
Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland
Co-producers Paul Eckstein, Chris Brancato
Director of photography Frank Tidy
Editor Harry Keramidas
Music Elmer Bernstein
Color/stereo
Cast:
Bumpy Johnson Laurence Fishburne
Dutch Schultz Tim Roth
Francine Hughes Vanessa Williams
Lucky Luciano Andy Garcia
Stephanie St. Clair Cicely Tyson
Illinois Gordon Chi McBride
Bub Hewlett Clarence Williams III
Captain Foley Richard Bradford
Thomas Dewey William Atherton
Pigfoot Mary Loretta Devine
Running time -- 142 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/27/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Don't expect ''Billy Bathgate'' to clean up at the boxoffice. This amazing pool of talent somehow fails to live up to our expectations.
Maybe that's part of the problem. With Dustin Hoffman starring, Robert Benton directing and Tom Stoppard adapting, one does expect greatness. Which is why goodness just doesn't cut it.
''Billy Bathgate'' is good, but the feeling that it could have been better makes watching it an unsettling experience. We keep hoping throughout that things will click into place, but it never fully happens. Everything, from the performances to the story line, seems slightly out of step. It's difficult to pinpoint what exactly the problem is, but there's something wrong.
The one constantly right thing in the film, however, is veteran actor Steven Hill's engrossing performance. His is such a solid, quietly powerful presence that we end up wishing he had more screen time.
The casting of Hoffman is a curious coup. Obviously, his star power is a considerable draw. But Dutch Schultz was a big, intimidating man, and although Hoffman acts big, it takes a while before we can comfortably accept him in this role.
As always, Hoffman tries to get into the skin of his character, but this time it's as if we can almost see him doing it. Whether it's the magnitude of his fame, or the inaccessibility of his character, there is a problem.
Yet, at the same time, it is always a pleasure to watch Hoffman perform. His sense of timing never falters, and as he turns Schultz into a humorous enigma, he never steps out of character. His effort is so complete that we wish we could share his conviction, so to speak.
The story takes place in Depression-era New York. Streetwise kid Billy (Loren Dean) sees gang life as his ticket out of obscurity. When Schultz takes a liking to him, it's like a dream come true.
The dream takes on nightmarish qualities as Billy witnesses several killings and the bad side of Mr. Schultz. He also gets to witness Drew Preston (Nicole Kidman) in several degrees of undress, which naturally turns his head and his heart.
After sort of inheriting her from ex-partner Bo Weinberg (Bruce Willis), Dutch carelessly entrusts Drew to Billy, leaving the poor kid with an incredibly tough dilemma: Is she worth dying for? The jury is still out on that one.
The less-than-usual violence is still vividly intense and realistic. It's pretty easy to spot it coming, but Dutch's violent eruptions are startling in their viciousness. Hoffman is most convincing during these moments.
''Billy Bathgate'' is certainly entertaining on several levels, but it never ascends to the level of greatness it seemed destined to reach. Going in with not-so-great expectations is your best bet.
BILLY BATHGATE
Touchstone Pictures
Director Robert Benton
Writer Tom Stoppard
Based upon the book by E.L. Doctorow
Director of photography Nestor Almendros
Editors Alan Heim, Robert Reitano
Music Mark Isham
Color
Cast:
Dutch Schultz Dustin Hoffman
Billy Bathgate Loren Dean
Drew Preston Nicole Kidman
Bo Weinberg Bruce Willis
Otto Berman Steven Hill
Irving Steve Buscemi
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Maybe that's part of the problem. With Dustin Hoffman starring, Robert Benton directing and Tom Stoppard adapting, one does expect greatness. Which is why goodness just doesn't cut it.
''Billy Bathgate'' is good, but the feeling that it could have been better makes watching it an unsettling experience. We keep hoping throughout that things will click into place, but it never fully happens. Everything, from the performances to the story line, seems slightly out of step. It's difficult to pinpoint what exactly the problem is, but there's something wrong.
The one constantly right thing in the film, however, is veteran actor Steven Hill's engrossing performance. His is such a solid, quietly powerful presence that we end up wishing he had more screen time.
The casting of Hoffman is a curious coup. Obviously, his star power is a considerable draw. But Dutch Schultz was a big, intimidating man, and although Hoffman acts big, it takes a while before we can comfortably accept him in this role.
As always, Hoffman tries to get into the skin of his character, but this time it's as if we can almost see him doing it. Whether it's the magnitude of his fame, or the inaccessibility of his character, there is a problem.
Yet, at the same time, it is always a pleasure to watch Hoffman perform. His sense of timing never falters, and as he turns Schultz into a humorous enigma, he never steps out of character. His effort is so complete that we wish we could share his conviction, so to speak.
The story takes place in Depression-era New York. Streetwise kid Billy (Loren Dean) sees gang life as his ticket out of obscurity. When Schultz takes a liking to him, it's like a dream come true.
The dream takes on nightmarish qualities as Billy witnesses several killings and the bad side of Mr. Schultz. He also gets to witness Drew Preston (Nicole Kidman) in several degrees of undress, which naturally turns his head and his heart.
After sort of inheriting her from ex-partner Bo Weinberg (Bruce Willis), Dutch carelessly entrusts Drew to Billy, leaving the poor kid with an incredibly tough dilemma: Is she worth dying for? The jury is still out on that one.
The less-than-usual violence is still vividly intense and realistic. It's pretty easy to spot it coming, but Dutch's violent eruptions are startling in their viciousness. Hoffman is most convincing during these moments.
''Billy Bathgate'' is certainly entertaining on several levels, but it never ascends to the level of greatness it seemed destined to reach. Going in with not-so-great expectations is your best bet.
BILLY BATHGATE
Touchstone Pictures
Director Robert Benton
Writer Tom Stoppard
Based upon the book by E.L. Doctorow
Director of photography Nestor Almendros
Editors Alan Heim, Robert Reitano
Music Mark Isham
Color
Cast:
Dutch Schultz Dustin Hoffman
Billy Bathgate Loren Dean
Drew Preston Nicole Kidman
Bo Weinberg Bruce Willis
Otto Berman Steven Hill
Irving Steve Buscemi
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 10/28/1991
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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