The Cotton Club [Region 2] | ![The Cotton Club [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515F53YCH6L._SL500_.jpg)
| Actors: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc, Matthew Perry
Studio: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Category: DVD
Buy Used: $17.65
Rating:  42 reviews
Sales Rank: 268978
Format: Pal
Languages: Italian (Original Language), German (Original Language), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), French (Original Language), Italian (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), German (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), German (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Italian (Subtitled), Greek (Subtitled), Bulgarian (Subtitled), Czech (Subtitled), Romanian (Subtitled), Polish (Subtitled)
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 22 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 7321921155581
ASIN: B00004WEX2
Theatrical Release Date: September 22, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The Cotton Club is routinely eclipsed by the controversies that surrounded its tumultuous production, but the film itself offers abundant pleasures that should not be overlooked. If Apocalypse Now represents the triumph of director Francis Coppola's perilous ambition, then The Cotton Club represents the ungainly glory of uncontrolled genius, as brilliant as it is out of its depth. As an upscale homage to classic gangster films it's frequently astonishing, cramming a thick novel's worth of plot and characters into 129 minutes, gloriously serviced by impeccable production design, elegant cinematography, and stylistic flourishes that show Coppola at the top of his game. What The Cotton Club lacks is cohesion. As written by Coppola and novelist William Kennedy (then enjoying the peak of his critical acclaim), the movie struggles to exceed the narrative scope of The Godfather, but its multiple early-'30s plot lines fail to form any strong connective tissue. It's three (or four) movies in one, with cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere, playing his own jazzy solos) drifting from one story to the next--loving a young, ambitious vamp (Diane Lane, with whom Gere shares precious little chemistry), enjoying the success of a hotshot hoofer (Gregory Hines), and protecting his brazen bother (Coppola's then-newcomer nephew, Nicolas Cage) from the deadly temper of mob boss Dutch Schultz (James Remar). Bob Hoskins and Fred Gwynne also score big in grand supporting roles, but The Cotton Club is perhaps best appreciated for its meticulous re-creation of Harlem's Cotton Club heyday, and the brilliant music (Ellington, Calloway, etc.) that brought rhythm to gangland's rat-a-tat-tat. --Jeff Shannon
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 37 more reviews...
 Great recreation of the music and atmosphere April 12, 2009
Vijit Coomara (Toronto, Canada)
Absolutely brilliant recreation of the atmosphere of the cotton club and its music and dancing. The opening credits with the Mooche is electric. So is the musical Montage at the end. Unfortunately the plot is pretty awful. The gangster part should have been played down considerably and the musical aspect of the Cotton Club should have been the focus. The entire Nicolas Cage and Dutch Shultz subplot could have been removed. They should have kept the Gere / Lane and the Hines / Mckee love story. The gangster part need only have been represented by Hoskin and Gwynn at the club itself. The rest of the gangster stuff could have just been represented by more montages combined with music.
The Mckee scene with Ill Wind, I can watch over and over again. It was criminal that her other performance at Vera's Club was cut short by the gangster scenes.
Whenever I watch the movie now, I just fast forward to the Brilliant Music and Dancing. This movie could have been one of the greatest musicals, but instead it was released as a mediocre gangster movie.
 Fantastic Transaction January 12, 2009
hbearz14 (Medford, OR)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I think that this is one of the best movies ever and the transaction went smoothly. Thanks!
 The First Gere-Lane Movie October 28, 2008
Laura Christine (Toledo, OH)
This movie made me feel like I was actually sitting in the Cotton Club. I developed an appreciation of the music from this era that has never gone away.
Part of the reason to watch this movie is the late, great Gregory Hines and his also-talented brother Maurice. Not many movies can legitimately incorporate tap-dancing into the plot. I am glad that Coppola took advantage of the opportunity to do so.
You also have to love Fred Gwynne. It was rather a shame that he was so type-cast via the Munsters. He had aspirations of being a more serious actor. He had a brief role as Michael Douglas' boss in Fatal Attraction.
Jennifer Grey played Nicholas Cage's wife in this film.
Ownie Madden had a hand in boxing back in the Cinderella Man days.
Dixie Dwyer was based on the actor George Raft, who had a role in Some Like it Hot.
This movie did not go over terribly well at the box office. It is not exactly uplifting to witness racism and mob violence. However, if you are a history buff, it follows true organized crime events pretty closely.
I was in it more for the music and the tap-dancing, which were outstanding. Richard Gere in his prime didn't hurt either.
A good jazz film October 24, 2008
Risto Haemeen-Anttila (Helsinki, Finland)
The Cotton Club has a fine Duke Ellington atmosphere and the casting is excellent. The only drawback is that Richard Gere is a much better actor than a cornet player. There are still cornetists or trumpetists in USA capable to play the traditional tunes required for this film reaching the top quality.
Ruined By Producer And Star June 25, 2008
MythMaker (PA)
The Cotton Club was supposed to be a stage-door romance starring Gregory Hines. Robert Evans & Richard Gere ruined the movie by turning it into a cliche ridden mob story. I give this 3 stars for the look of the film, the music & the black performance pieces. A sad waste.
|
|
|
