The Cotton Club

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Aileen D Feb 18 I thought the film was brilliant. First, it was all about the music of Harlem in the 1930s. It showcased its songs, dancing and the stars. The secondary theme centered around the gangsters. You weren’t supposed to expect great drama, although Bob Hoskins was especially enjoyable in his role. It was a crazy time of glamour and violence, but it was the music that fed the subplots and, ultimately, tied everything together. In short, if you dug the music, you dug the film. Richard Gere played a fine cornet, by the way. See more Rex W 01/09/2025 The dancing was outstanding. However, the story, direction, and especially the acting was terrible. Richard Gere was miscast as the cornet blowing, good-looking, "Mob Boss." He performed with his usual, high-energy nervous tics. The rest of the cast look as though they were rehearsing instead of acting. They all made illogical decisions all through the movie. This had potential, but it was unfocused and poorly staged. See more Robert c 09/11/2024 Atmospheric, 30s-adjacent, and endlessly entertaining. Gregory Hines displays underrated acting ability that builds on his incomparable dancing skills. Coppola's most overlooked directing achievement? See more Horror fan 4 08/08/2024 Very well made. Coppola's direction was great. The music was amazing. Tim Treakle See more Karl O @GalwayK 10/09/2022 On rewatching after thirty plus years I was reminded that this is the movie equivalent of jock itch. I need powder. See more isla s 09/03/2022 This is quite a stylish watch - its dark and gritty, with a bit of a film noir feel to it, although its obviously in colour but its very much gangster centered, with some scenes taking place in really quite literally dark conditions, which make it a little hard to ascertain exactly whats going on. Needless to say, there's a fair amount of violence present - bloody violence. There is, as you may expect, quite a lot of jazz music present, as we see the various performers who played sets in the titular club, including those by non-whites and indeed I felt sympathy towards those artists who had issues being allowed in to the club, where their invited to perform, considering their not allowed to enter as a paying customer. I noticed the irony of the name of the club and what it represents to non-Whites (i.e. slavery). The musical sets feature some reasonably slick choreography and reminded me a bit of the film Cabaret I suppose. Also needless to say, there is some moderately strong language present, including numerous instances of racial slurs. This film is set in the late 1920s, so racism is very much rife and this film certainly doesn't shy away from that. There are also some slurs towards Jews (anti-semitism?) by the local gangsters. Acting wise, I found it interesting seeing Richard Gere and Nicolas Cage playing characters in this film. Richard Gere certainly looks very fresh faced in his role as Dixie Dwyer. Also present is Bob Hoskins, who makes me think of Roger Rabbit since that film must have been made only a few years later I suppose, although that film is certainly more family friendly than The Cotton Club. Overall I enjoyed this film and I would recommend it to others. See more Read all reviews

The Cotton Club

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