The Cotton Club (1984)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

William Kennedy (story) &
Francis Ford Coppola (story) ...

Release Date:

14 December 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Music

Tagline:

It was the jazz age. It was an era of elegance and violence. The action was gambling. The stakes were life and death.

Plot:

The Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem. The story follows the people that visited the club...

Plot Keywords:

Harlem | Jazz | Dead Boy | Controversial | New York City

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Richard Gere	...	Dixie Dwyer
Gregory Hines	...	Sandman Williams
Diane Lane	...	Vera Cicero
Lonette McKee	...	Lila Rose Oliver
Bob Hoskins	...	Owney Madden
James Remar	...	Dutch Schultz
Nicolas Cage	...	Vincent Dwyer
Allen Garfield	...	Abbadabba Berman
Fred Gwynne	...	Frenchy Demange
Gwen Verdon	...	Tish Dwyer
Lisa Jane Persky	...	Frances Flegenheimer
Maurice Hines	...	Clay Williams
Julian Beck	...	Sol Weinstein
Novella Nelson	...	Madame St. Clair
Laurence Fishburne	...	Bumpy Rhodes (as Larry Fishburne)

Runtime:

127 min | Germany:123 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Hungary:16 | Australia:M | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:16 (1985) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Zoetrope Studios

Trivia:

Although the film features several fictional murders, it is associated with one real-life murder. When Robert Evans was raising money for the film, he became associated with a promoter named Roy Radin. Radin was reportedly murdered on May 13, 1983 but his body was not found for several weeks. Evans was not accused of murder but was implicated in the investigation because he was dealing with Radin and Karen Jacobs-Greenberger who introduced Radin to Evans. She was convicted of ordering the murder of Radin and is now serving a life sentence for this crime.

Quotes:

Vera: Mr. Flynn was a bootlegger. That's how they live in this world. Maybe one day you'll wise up, sap!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The A-Team: Judgement Day: Part 2 (#4.2)" (1985)

Soundtrack:

Ring Dem Bells

I Liked It!!

Kind of a flat story with unsympathetic characters but it LOOKS fantastic. Harlem's Cotton Club of the 1920s is beautifully recreated and with Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Charlie Chaplin, James Cagney, etc. hanging out in there yet. Great music and dancing too. Check out the haunting "Creole Love Call". I had hoped that a fuller, uncensored version would have surfaced by now.... especially on dvd. For instance, when Shultz kills Flynn in the dining room we see him stick a skewer in his neck. Yet 2 seconds later there is blood on the walls, dripping from the chandelier, and over just about everybody in the room. Sure looks like we missed something. This film could have been a lot better but for what it is, it's still worth a look. Bob Hoskins and a very menacing Fred Gwynne excel. Recommended.