Diane Lane Movie:

				Salesrank: 212231
		Our Price: $81.00
		Used Price: $49.99
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
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

The Cotton Club [Region 2] Reviews:
Stylish, compelling and fascinating movie for all 30s/jazz fans
2009-10-04 - One of my all-time favorite movies (I'm a jazz player as well as fan), this delivers the best performance by Richard Gere in his career - and artfully compelling, lushly shot masterpiece that deserves much higher kudos than the public has given thus far.

The dp (dir photography) deserves an award, as do the writers/producers and actors -- this gives a rare, thoughtfully shot glimpse into 1930s jazz and gangster-era life and is one of my all time favorite movies. It's authentic, it's beautiful, it's well crafted and a genuine cinematic triumph. Thanks to all who worked on this movie, the hard work and artistry shines through.

Gregory Hines and 1930's life for folks there is captured with genuine care, as is the 'life of a gangster' and those around him. Gere is at his all time best in this film (I've seen most of his movies, this is by *far* my favorite with Richard Gere - nice work). Bob Hoskins is brilliant, as always. He's one of the best actors ever, this one showcases him and Gere to their best.

I will tell you this - of hundreds of movies I watch, this is one of the 20-30 or so that I regularly re-watch, at least once a year. It's an experience. It's an "e-ticket" ride. Well worth adding to your life if you're a movie buff as I am.

Beautiful cinematography - this is a powerful motion picture. A+++ Bravo!


To the arts,

Ken


p.s. I'd like to see Quentin Tarantino create a 1930s gangster-era movie, he'd also do a great job, fwiw.



VHS
2009-09-11 - Quite satisfied with the promptness of delivery and excellent quality of film. Thanks for producing the hard-to-find merchandise.

Loved it despite all the song and dance!
2009-08-25 - Not a big musical fan (to put it mildly) I was a bit concerned there would be too much singing and dancing in this movie but it was not too much and the music and dancing was pivotal elements in recreating a past era... and on top very enjoyable to watch and listen mostly....

It managed to mix as a 'period movie' showing the early 30s for what they were in New York, a gangster movie, multiple love stories, covered the racial inequalities (in particular the treatment of blacks and coloured people) and the general divide between all races (Jews, Italians, Irish, Blacks) in America at the time without getting too heavy on the topic risking to derail the many other subplots and storylines. Many felt the many parallel plots made for a slightly messy movie - not I.

Despite a relatively simple plot the movie more than met expectations with an all start cast and excellent performances by most. Richard Gere proved once again he is a multitalent adding cornet and piano playing to his long list of accolades!

You felt like you were actually at the legendary club and wished you somehow could have been!

Great recreation of the music and atmosphere
2009-04-12 - 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
2009-01-12 - I think that this is one of the best movies ever and the transaction went smoothly. Thanks!