Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

ThiefHott Too much of everything

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

charlywiles Oh what a film this could have been if it concentrated more on the performers, the musical numbers and the personalities at the infamous club in the movie's title. I found the Hines brothers story (loosely based on the Nicholas brothers) and Gregory's relationship with the luminous Lonette McKee (who has never been fully utilized during her career) to be much more interesting than the gangster angle, which to me kept getting in the way. Gangster films are a dime a dozen and I thought that both Gere and Lane were somewhat bland as the movie's leads and James Remar's(Dutch Schultz) and Nicholas Cage's (Mad Dog Dwire) performances were a little cartoonish and over-the-top. The film's highlights include the marvelous interplay between Bob Hoskins (Owney Madden) and Fred Gwynne (reminding one of a sort of hoodlum version of "Mutt and Jeff") and some terrific musical numbers (even if they were truncated) like "The Hoofer's Club" tap dance, McKee's terrificallly staged "Ill Wind" and the Hines brothers thrilling song-and-dance to "Crazy Rhythm." We also only get to see glimpses of some of the real life performers at the club like Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. There is definitely a fine film to be made about the story of these people who performed in a place where their amazing talents enabled them to be on stage, but who were not allowed in the audience due to their color. Unfortunately, although the picture has its moments and is definitly worth seeing, this is not it.

moonspinner55 Two pairs of brothers--one white, one black--find triumphs and tragedies on the streets of Harlem in the late 1920s and early '30s: coronet player Richard Gere, having saved the life of Dutch Schultz after an assassination attempt, is put on the gangster's payroll along with ne'er-do-well brother Nicolas Cage, with Gere assigned to "watch over" Schultz's girlfriend, vamp-singer Diane Lane; tap dancing siblings Gregory Hines and Maurice Hines perform their act at the Cotton Club, which employed black singers, dancers and musicians for the enjoyment of white audiences. It's obvious that director Francis Coppola, who also co-authored the screenplay with William Kennedy ("suggested by" the pictorial history "The Cotton Club" by James Haskins) meant the two halves of the picture to underscore each other, what with sibling rivalries and jealousies and failed affairs with women, but we rarely feel a connection between the characters (and not just the brothers, but the mobsters, racketeers, hangers-on and showgirls to boot). Coppola knows where to put his camera, and his visual style often results in exhilarating moments, but the shallow writing defeats the extraordinary cast as well as the filmmaker--who plows ahead as if all this mercurial melodrama actually meant something to him. I doubt it did. ** from ****

barrwell Francis Ford Coppola exploded onto the scene with the stylishly original classic 'The Godfather' in 1972. A little over a decade later he made the lesser renowned but yet more notorious (for its production problems and bloated budget) 'The Cotton Club', a fact meets fiction throwback to the movies of the 1930s when gangster films (as well as comedies, etc) often incorporated musical and dance scenes. Today, while the Godfather resides on most of the best-ever movie lists, the Cotton Club is mired in obscurity…a largely forgotten near-miss. The film is stunning visually and has many other redeeming qualities however; James Remar chews the scenery effectively as a rabid Dutch Schultz, women can watch Richard Gere, men can watch the delectable Diane Lane, and the rest can watch the dazzling tap sequences of the Hines brothers and bask in all the period music.Trouble is brewing in 1930s Harlem as Dixie Dwyer (Gere), an up and coming actor, musician and mob fringe-dweller is asked by Schultz to chaperon his mistress, aspiring wannabe club owner Vera Cicero (Lane) and sparks immediately start to fly. Meanwhile Owney Madden (Bob Hoskins), the owner of the Cotton club is preparing for an upcoming prison stint and the local mob figures are vying for position and it appears a mob war is on the horizon.Also, Sandman Williams is starting his dance career and, along with his brother(Gregory and Maurice Hines), is seeking stardom at Harlems' famous Cotton Club. Sandman is also trying to court one of the clubs other entertainers (Lonette McKee) and his aspirations are coming between he and his brother and they eventually split. Also in the mix is Dixie's little brother, a young overzealous mob hit-man "Mad Dog" Dwyer (Nicholas Cage), who like the Sandman seems to be letting his ambition get the better of him.These (and other) story lines will all intersect in and around the Cotton Club as the strong-willed Vera fights for independence from the psychotic Schultz, which in turn puts Dixie in a dangerous predicament. Owney's prison term approaches, Mad Dog gets in over his head and Sandman has a heartwarming on-stage reunion with his brother. As we reach the climax Schultz's behavior has become intolerable and as Madden is leaving for prison we are treated to a masterful cinematic display as images of a high profile mob hit are alternated with shots of Sandman's stair step tap routine; beauty and brutality both captured in one memorable montage.There is a lot to enjoy in The Cotton Club; we get some of the great character actors like Fred Gwynne, Tom Waits, John P. Ryan and Remar, as well as future stars like Lawrence Fishburne, Jennifer Grey and Cage (who is Coppola's nephew by the way). Many of the characters are real such as Schultz, Sandman, Lucky Luciano and a young Bumpy Johnson (the same Bumpy Johnson that Denzel Washington's character worked for in the beginning of 'American Gangster').No it's not the Godfather but just as entertaining in its own way. In the early 90s when I first saw this I'd have rated it 8 or 9…but hey, it still plays well but this is an unappreciated film, for whatever reason. It is a tad long and the vast array of characters are mostly one-dimensional, but still the Cotton Club is well worth a watch.It gives us a glimpse into the culture and the fantastic jazz music of this long gone era. This was the era when common guys like Dixie Dwyer had a good chance of making it big, an era where a strong willed woman could overcome the clutches of a madman, an era when people in movies were liable to break out in song or dance at any time…even in Union Station, and it was an era when the hero got the girl and they rode off happily ever after. What's so wrong about that?

Petri Pelkonen Dixie Dwyer is a jazz musician who begins working with mobsters to advance his career.Then he goes and falls for Vera Cicero, the girlfriend of the famous Jewish gangster, Dutch Schultz.He eventually becomes a Hollywood film star.His younger brother Vincent becomes a gangster in Schultz' mob.The Cotton Club (1984) is directed by Francis Ford Coppola.It's produced by the 80-year old producer Robert Evans.In the writing team there were Coppola and Mario Puzo, writer of The Godfather novel.The movie was a flop, even though everybody had great expectations for it.Richard Gere does very good job in the lead.The part was originally offered for Sylvester Stallone, who turned it down.Coppola's nephew Nicholas Cage is great as Vincent Dwyer.Diane Lane is fantastic as Vera.The great late Gregory Hines is terrific as the dancer Sandman Williams.Lonette McKee is wonderful as his girl Lila Rose Oliver.Gregory's brother Maurice Hines is great as his film brother Clay.Her character is loosely based on Lena Horne.Bob Hoskins is brilliant as the mobster and club owner Owney Madden.Fred Gwynne is one of the kind as his right-hand man Frenchy Demange.James Remar plays Dutch Schultz and he does it with style.Great job by Allen Garfield, who plays Abbadabba Berman.Laurence Fishburne is very good as Bumpy Rhodes.Musician Tom Waits plays Irving Starck.Jennifer Grey portrays Patsy Dwyer.Diane Venora is Gloria Swanson.Bill Cobbs is Big Joe Ison.Woody Strode portrays Holmes.Robert Earl Jones is Stage Door Joe.The young Sofia Coppola is seen as Child in Street.Mario Van Peebles is Dancer.This movie is better than its reputation.It does give a good portrayal of the 1930's.The movie has got some good scenes.The drive-by shooting, where Vincent and his men accidentally kill the kid, is one of them.And so is where Vincent is shot by Schultz' men in a drugstore telephone booth.Coppola did a fine job.The result may not be a masterpiece, but a good movie anyway.