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The Cotton Club

Play trailer Poster for The Cotton Club R Released Dec 14, 1984 2h 7m Drama Music Play Trailer Watchlist
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74% Tomatometer 31 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
The lives of various characters intersect at Harlem's renowned Cotton Club. Handsome horn player Dix Dwyer falls for Vera Cicero, the stunning girlfriend of famous gangster Dutch Schultz. Meanwhile Dix's brother, Vincent, falls in with Schultz's crew, while Owney Madden, the jazz venue's proprietor, has his own mob ties. Although Dix goes on to become a Hollywood actor, his life doesn't get any less complicated or dangerous.
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The Cotton Club

The Cotton Club

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Critics Consensus

Energetic and brimming with memorable performers, The Cotton Club entertains with its visual and musical pizazz even as its plot only garners polite applause.

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Critics Reviews

View All (31) Critics Reviews
Pauline Kael The New Yorker Coppola, with his staccato imagery fragmenting the songs and dances, knocks the life out of the performers. Sep 13, 2023 Full Review Tom Milne Sight & Sound For all its visual pyrotechnics, [the film] probably adds up the sum of its parts to nothing more significant than the largely empty stylistics of One From the Heart, The Outsiders and Rumble Fish. But at least those parts are consistently attractive. Feb 10, 2020 Full Review Dolores Barclay Associated Press The Cotton Club is an expensive fiasco that meanders through the '20s and '30s with flimsy characters and a pointless plot. Oct 22, 2018 Full Review Peter Sobczynski The Spool The original theatrical version of The Cotton Club was a mess, but it was never a boring mess... But Encore is simply a better film, transforming a collection of moments into a strikingly concise whole. Apr 20, 2021 Full Review David Elliott Copley News Service This movie would have been ruined by good taste. It is spendthrift on every level but logic, and at times inane, yet a smashing entertainment. Feb 22, 2019 Full Review Frederick M. Winship United Press International The music and dancing isn't enough of a substitute to make this a satisfying film and it may seem more distended than it really is. Mar 12, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (199) audience reviews
Robert c 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? Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/11/24 Full Review Horror fan 4 Very well made. Coppola's direction was great. The music was amazing. Tim Treakle Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/08/24 Full Review dingo K I agree with Sikel and Ebert on this one... It an interesting good movie, all the way around, in a classic kind of a way. It's not for everyone... I do. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/02/23 Full Review Karl O On rewatching after thirty plus years I was reminded that this is the movie equivalent of jock itch. I need powder. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 10/09/22 Full Review isla s 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. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I loved the great dancing, showmanship. Storyline ok. The dancing made it for me. Richard Gere was an excellent musician. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Cotton Club

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Movie Info

Synopsis The lives of various characters intersect at Harlem's renowned Cotton Club. Handsome horn player Dix Dwyer falls for Vera Cicero, the stunning girlfriend of famous gangster Dutch Schultz. Meanwhile Dix's brother, Vincent, falls in with Schultz's crew, while Owney Madden, the jazz venue's proprietor, has his own mob ties. Although Dix goes on to become a Hollywood actor, his life doesn't get any less complicated or dangerous.
Director
Francis Ford Coppola
Producer
Robert Evans
Screenwriter
William Kennedy, Francis Ford Coppola
Distributor
Orion Pictures
Production Co
Zoetrope Studios
Rating
R
Genre
Drama, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 14, 1984, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 1, 2016
Runtime
2h 7m
Sound Mix
Surround
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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