The Cotton Club Encore – Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[t1g3r5fan]

Following a highly successful run in the 1970’s, director Francis Ford Coppola ran into some trouble with his movies. He had two modest successes with film adaptations of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders and Rumble Fish (both 1983) and a notorious commercial flop in One from the Heart (1982); however, the most ambitious film he made during the 1980’s might have been The Cotton Club, a story about the famed Harlem nightclub and the colorful characters that populated it. Previously released on DVD by MGM in its original theatrical version, Lionsgate – through their deal with Coppola’s American Zoetrope company – has given us the extended director’s cut of the movie its Blu-ray debut.



The Cotton Club (1984)



Released: 14 Dec 1984
Rated: R
Runtime: 127 min




Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Genre:...

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[david hare]

Thx for this, I agree with all your comments. I only wish the 4K option gad been extended from streaming only to UHD disc.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Excellent review.

I saw this film for the first time on 4k digital last week, motivated by all the positive reviews from members of this forum.

I can't say I loved the film. Didn't hate it either.

It just seemed the actors were miscast or badly acting. I just didn't buy into these characters.

The dance numbers were excellent. I love the feel of the club itself.

The 4k seemed to be wasted here as the film has a periodic look with a lot of filtering which makes everything look murky.

In all, it was great to finally see this film. Just wish, outside of the dance numbers, I had cared about this a little more.

 

[owen35]

Saw this at the Castro months ago. It is certainly better--but far from perfect. It still suffers from Coppola's "make it up during production" directing that dominated his films at that time. Characters pop in and out and never have their storylines really explained (Laurence Fishburne is a perfect example). But, without question, the musical numbers are impressive and make this film a "must see." "Stormy Weather" is especially powerful, leaving you breathless at its conclusion. At the end, however, you are still left with a "what could have been" feeling since the film is still missing a compelling story. A musical Godfather it is certainly not.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Saw this at the Castro months ago. It is certainly better--but far from perfect. It still suffers from Coppola's "make it up during production" directing that dominated his films at that time. Characters pop in and out and never have their storylines really explained (Laurence Fishburne is a perfect example). But, without question, the musical numbers are impressive and make this film a "must see." "Stormy Weather" is especially powerful, leaving you breathless at its conclusion. At the end, however, you are still left with a "what could have been" feeling since the film is still missing a compelling story. A musical Godfather it is certainly not.

That was very well put. Matches my overall impression during my watch.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

As one who saw the original premiere preview of One From the Heart at Radio City Music Hall on a freezing February night I was a diehard Coppola fan. I was so disappointed with that experience I never went to see Cotton Club in its first release and basically forgot about it over -all the years. But what an unexpected treat this was-And wow Gregory Hines and Lonette McKee just steal it! And I had no idea Maurice Hines was in it and his dancing is spectacular. I’ll be watching this again for sure. Thanks in not enough to give to Coppola for re-releasing this A true labor of love.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I agree with Ron and Owen. It's a fun couple of hours for fans of gangster epics, but it's a far cry from the classics. The plot wants to be much deeper than it actually is, and the best thing I can say about the dialogue is that it's comically hokey. The musical numbers are by far the best reason to watch this one.

(1984 did give us one actual classic gangster epic, Leone's Once Upon a Time in America. Just make sure to watch the original 4-hour cut, not the nonsensical 2.5-hour studio edit.)