Is Dead Presidents worth a blind buy? (1 Viewer)

[todd stone]

Anyone have any thoughts on this movie?


Thanks!

 

[Eric R C]

I actually caught it on CINEMAX yesterday. If you have CINEMAX available to you i would go ahead and try to catch it on there before plunking down $ for the DVD. I enjoyed it but don't think i would watch it again.

 

[Scott Burke]

I would have to agree with the previous statement. It might be worth a rental, but not a purchase.

 

[MartinTeller]

Definitely not a blind purchase. I like Larenz Tate a lot, but D.P. is very mediocre.

 

[Daryl Stovall]

It's an ok movie, but if you're a Larenze Tate fan, I would suggest "Love Jones". A great movie dealing with jazz/poetry bohemians.

 

[Matt Pelham]

I thought the non-Vietnam sequences were a lot better than the Vietnam ones. It's a decent movie, but not one I would purchase. Out of the 3 (or 4 counting American Pimp) Hughes brothers movies I think this is my least favorite.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

WoW!

I can't believe I am reading all these
negative posts.

I LOVED Dead Presidents. Thought it was
an awesone film, and it sits proudly in my collection.

What I loved most were the Vietnam scenes. The
film came out around Forrest Gump and I
thought the Vietnam scenes in Dead Presidents
were extremely more realistic than Gump[/b]. Then
again, Dead Presidents was an "R" rated film.

I would give this one a rental at the very least.
I thought it was a very powerful film, and if you
love the soul music of the early '70s, you'll be
diggin' the soundtrack.

 

[JonZ]

Yea, me too.

I think its a great film.Id love to have a Dir Cut of it.
Ive seen it going for $9 recently so how can u go wrong.

A underrated film IMHO.

Heres a review....
http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/mo...residents.html

 

[MartinTeller]

I'll agree with that, at least. One of the best soundtracks I've heard.

 

[Robert Anthony]

I think Dead Presidents major malfunction is that the Hughes Brothers dont' really manage the jump from the US to Vietnam and back. All three sections work really well on their own, and all three seem to be perfect setups/beginnings to three very promising movies, but as part of the same story, it's just kind of jarring. I think. If you can get past the jumps to and from Vietnam, then this movie is definitely worth a purchase, being as you can find it in a lot of places for around 10 bucks.

I think Dead Presidents had to be made for the Hughes Bros to really get a handle on what they can do, and there are some big trip up's in the flick--but the casting is great, the acting is great (Chris Tucker actually gives a real, honest performance here, before anyone really knew who he was, and David Keith steals the whole damn movie) the choice of the soul classics playing in the background is flawless, and the cinematography is just beautiful.

It's a jagged, sad, mean and disjointed movie, but it does have it's rewards. I wouldn't blind buy it, but it's definitely worth watching.

I hope the Hughes Bros next films get a lot revenue, partially because they're very talented filmmakers and I think they deserve it, but also because I think that will jar studios into going back and revisiting this flick and Menace II Society with the same kind of care that Fox poured into "From Hell."

 

[Magnus T]

Dead Presidents is a piece of shit. 'Nuff said.

 

[Larry Talbot]

"Dead Presidents is a piece of shit. 'Nuff said."

Always nice to get the intellectual perspective...

Dead Presidents has some nice moments/images, but for me it fails to come together as a whole and I believe the Hughes Brothers have actually acknowledged as much, in an interview. They just bit off a little more than they could chew. I have yet to see them live up to the excellent standards they set with Menace, but I sure hope they do.

"What I loved most were the Vietnam scenes. The
film came out around Forrest Gump and I
thought the Vietnam scenes in Dead Presidents
were extremely more realistic than Gump."

You want to know something funny? I was in one of the big chain video stores a few years back, Shclockbuster or something like that, with all the video monitors up near the ceiling, and they were playing a movie with Tom Hanks as a U.S. soldier circa-WWII, running around with all these explosions going off.
Saving Private Ryan had just been released on DVD and I was interested in checking it out because I had read about the "extremely realistic" battle scenes. But as I watched it on the monitors it looked really stupid to me - Tom Hanks was running in this really awkward way and he just seemed sort of retarded. I couldn't believe he would be acting like that in a "realistic" war movie and I started laughing. Then someone pointed out that this was actually Forrest Gump I was watching, not Saving Private Ryan. Now I wish he had acted that way in Saving Private Ryan, because it would have been a much funnier movie.

 

[Haggai]

Not sure if Dead Presidents is worth a blind buy, having never seen the movie, but having just blind-bought Once Upon A Time In The West, I can sure as hell recommend that one!

 

[Jon Robertson]

I hope that someday, somehow, we'll see Criterion's extensive laserdisc special edition of Dead Presidents released onto DVD.

 

[Estevan Lapena]

This is a pretty accessible film, so I suggest renting it.

 

[StephenC]

What extras were on the Criterion laserdisc?Was that the one that contained the black cinema docu?

I love "The Payback" scene.IMHO,a definate buy.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Dead Presidents is a piece of shit. 'Nuff said.

I'm so happy our forum is so well represented
by these sort of intelligent responses.

I hope this is the last time I have to read
something like this here.

 

[JonZ]

I had no idea Criterion did a Dead Presidents LD.

And Id take Dead Presidents over From Hell any day.I think its a much better film.

 

[Larry Talbot]

"And Id take Dead Presidents over From Hell any day.I think its a much better film."

I agree. But since I thought From Hell was pretty bad, that isn't saying much. Wasn't Menace the Hughes' first film? Strange that their first would still be their best.

 

[todd stone]

Dang, thanks for all the comments fellas. I will rent it


Also, I loved From Hell