The Cotton Club (1984) User Reviews (114)

All That Jazz

[Lechuguilla · 8/10 · 26 August 2007]

Part fictional and part non-fictional, this lavish two-hour Francis Ford Coppola film spotlights the Cotton Club, the legendary, real-life Harlem jazz nightclub that flourished in the Prohibition era of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Richard Gere plays Dixie Dwyer, a young musician who works for mobsters, in an effort to advance his career. Dwyer falls in love with Vera Cicero (Diane Lane), the girlfriend of gangster Dutch Schultz (James Remar). The Dwyer character is based loosely on real-life jazz trumpet player Bix Beiderbecke.

Throughout the film, various gangsters and bootleggers interact, sometimes violently, but much of the action centers around the Cotton Club, an establishment owned in real-life by Owney Madden, played in the film by actor Bob Hoskins. Madden would bring in Black performers to entertain a Whites-only clientèle, a truly racist policy, and a major plot point in the film's story.

The film's plot is somewhat muddled, the result of a less than stellar screenplay. And, as you would expect, the gangster characters are not terribly likable. But the film overcomes these script weaknesses with a captivating visual and musical style that is both tawdry and elegant. The corruption, the violence, and the implied sleaze are garish and tawdry to be sure. Yet, the Club's ambiance gushes with a certain elegance and glamour. It's a strange mix, but one that is entirely consistent with that era in U.S. history.

The film gets points from me for its lush, period piece costumes and production design, and adroit lighting, as well as all those jazz numbers, both sultry and flashy. Gregory Hines together with brother Maurice Hines provide some snappy tap dancing, some of which is improvised. Interestingly, their grandmother really did perform at the Cotton Club during its heyday. Also of interest in the film, viewers get to watch towering Fred Gwynne, who plays Frenchy, the oh-so-serious assistant to Owney Madden; the two of them engage in some interesting dialogue.

Although the script's story and characters are less than ideal, I enjoyed the film a lot, mostly as a result of the tawdry and elegant visual style combined with the lavish jazz numbers. If you're interested in gangster movies or the Prohibition era of American history, this film is a must-see.

"That's how they live in this world. Maybe one day you'll wise up, sap"

[ackstasis · 7/10 · 8 May 2009]

One gets the sense that 'The Cotton Club (1984)' will improve upon repeat viewings, once you've become accustomed to what director Francis Ford Coppola was attempting. After all, this is a gangster film from the man who brought us 'The Godfather (1972)' and its sequels – what else could we expect but another Corleone saga? The film we're delivered is nothing of the sort, a testament to the director's constant willingness to take risks and experiment with new ideas. Indeed, rather than trying to emulate Coppola's former successes, 'The Cotton Club' could more accurately be described as a "gangster musical," a realisation that took me until the film's second half. Do those two genres even go together? Perhaps taking inspiration from Herbert Ross' 'Pennies from Heaven (1981)' – and the mini-series on which it was based – the film blends the ugly brutality and corruption of the Prohibition- era with the dazzling bright lights of the Cotton Club, Harlem's premiere night club. It is this deliberate but uneasy juxtaposition of reality and fantasy that fuels Coppola's vision, an ambitious undertaking without a dominant focus.

The film's major storyline concerns Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere), a comparatively ordinary jazz musician who unexpectedly finds himself associating with organised crime boss "Dutch" Schultz (James Remar). Dixie is interesting because, unlike your typical hero consumed by the allure of amoral riches, he always remains peripheral to the world of gangsters; he observes, with disapproval, its dishonesty and depravity, but rarely finds himself a part of it. In fact, the closest he ever comes to being a gangster is in Hollywood, where he shares the sort of film roles that made James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson famous. Coppola might have been offering a commentary on the inherently romanticised version of reality offered by the movies, but his "real world" of gangsters is scarcely less stylised. The seedy underbelly of organised crime is paradoxically depicted as taking place in the classiest locales in Harlem, where the crime bosses consume the best alcohol and mix with Hollywood's elite talent (Chaplin, Swanson and Cagney among the featured patrons).

Proving further that Coppola wasn't attempting to replicate his Corleone saga, 'The Cotton Club' also features a rather extraneous subplot with Maurice and Gregory Hines as African-American tap-dancers vying for the "big-time" at the Cotton Club, where (in a bizarre discriminatory switch) only black performers are hired. The regular cross-cutting between this story and Dixie Dwyer's doesn't quite work, and, in any case, the taut romance between Dwyer and tough-girl Vera (an absolutely gorgeous Diane Lane) is much more involving than that between Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines) and mixed-race dancer Lila (Lonette McKee). Among the film's impressive supporting performers are Bob Hoskins and Fred Gwynne as crime associates, Nicholas Cage as an overly-ambitious young thug, Laurence Fishburne as black crime boss Bumpy Rhodes, and James Remar, playing a sleazier and less identifiable version of Dutch Schultz to Dustin Hoffman in 'Billy Bathgate (1991).' The premiere gangster film of 1984 was Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in America (1984),' but, despite being runner-up, nobody can accuse Coppola of playing it safe.

The Broadway version of 'The Godfather.'

[bobsgrock · 8/10 · 2 December 2009]

The Cotton Club is a dazzling, complex film that attempts so much it would be almost impossible for nearly any director to pull it off. But Francis Ford Coppola is not any director, so The Cotton Club is not just any movie. Rather, it succeeds at practically all levels and is certainly a film worth coming back to again and again.

Set in Harlem in the late 1920s, we are introduced to a group of Jazz Age-products, people who see themselves exactly as they are but all hope to go somewhere better. Two story lines occupy the plot; we get a good-looking young musician Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere) who gets involved in the mob after falling for one of the gangster's girlfriends (Diane Lane) and we get the story of a very talented black dancer (Gregory Hines) trying to prove his love to a half-black and half-white chorus girl who seems to struggle with her place in this more or less racist society. Almost every night, everyone gathers at The Cotton Club, one of the most famous clubs in the city and the blacks entertain while the whites drink and watch. But Coppola gives us a view from all angles so it doesn't feel as if we are missing anything important.

One of the biggest achievements of this film is its staging of the dance sequences, which are to say the least quite exquisite. Filled with colorful costumes and some mind-boggling tap numbers, at times you may forget that this is also a gangster picture. Indeed, some scenes feel just like Coppola's The Godfather with its quick bursts of violence but also in its tone of sad, elegiac setting. People come and go and some regret the things they do, but the music lives on. The acting is also very strong as Gere and Lane are quite wonderful in their first of three films together. Both were very good-looking and they do bring out the best in each other. Two supporting actors that really do steal the show are Bob Hoskins and Fred Gwynne as a mob boss and his head bodyguard. They share a tenacity and ferociousness in their dealings, but also have one really terrific scene involving Gwynne coming to see Hoskins after being kidnapped. A young Nicolas Cage also shows here he had incredible potential.

This Broadway version of the gangster film so familiar in Hollywood refreshes both genres as we see the similarities between the two. Indeed, many of the participators in the entertainment were also involved in the mob and Coppola shows how the two lives intertwine and bring a lot of trouble to everyone. This may seem as a strange mixing of genres and story lines for some people, but it is well worth the two hours. It is funny, sad, violent, poetic but also enormously entertaining and isn't that what the movies are all about? Coppola seems to think so.

One of Francis Coppola's best and underrated films

[broadfoot · 19 July 2002]

The Cotton Club is such a well-made movie, you have to wonder why so many critics and audiences ignored it when it was first released. Was it because of the murder case surrounding its production? Or did some people feel that a mixture of gangster films and Hollywood musicals didn't mix? Whatever the reason, The Cotton Club deserves to be watched again and again, not just for its music and dancing, but for the great performances, scenery, cars, costumes...and tommy-guns. The movie was nominated for two Oscars, but a third nomination should have gone to Bob Hoskins, for his brilliant performance as Owney Madden. Despite his few film credits, James Remar is brilliant as Dutch Schultz and comes across as the sort of person you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.

There are rumours the film may be re-released with scenes and music that were cut from the original version. If this is true, would the film finally become a hit? After all, Robert Evans, the film's producer, apparently told one reporter..."How can it miss? It's got gangsters, music and girls." Well said, Robert.

OK Movie with too much going on and too messy

[marbleann · 6/10 · 27 July 2005]

I saw this movie when it first came out and I thought it was a mess. Now years later while I have the luxury of sitting in my house watching the various showings on cable, I like a better. Why because this movie is IMO 3 different movies going on at once. I Now I am able to concentrate on one aspect of the movie more then the whole.

I will start with movie #1... The Cotton club, the nightclub where everything converges and what is the common denominator that brings ALL of the characters together. It is almost set up like a Plantation in Mississippi. The white gangster own the place and the black people work there and have no say about anything that goes on. Black people were not even able to go to the club as a customer. All of the women who worked there were light skin almost passing for white. In the movie they do show how the set up was but the place was no as large as it was in the movie and on a side bar. Larry Fishburn who plays a numbers runner (the same role he played in a later movie, Hoodlum) shows interest in a brown skin singer performer in the club and her mother is very upset because she is the first "dark skin" woman working at the club. I liked that they added that in. I know this because my neighbor use to play with Louis Armstrong that the women in question is in fact Louis Amstrongs future wife. A little tidbit. I like the music and the performances which took place in the club. To me this was the most enjoying part of the movie. I feel a movie just about the Club without all the other foolishness it would be very interesting in the right hands. Which brings me to movie 2

THe gangsters or the white people. Owey Madden was a thug and a very nasty man. In this movie Bob Hoskin (who was very good) and Fred Gwynn who I loved played like they were Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. In the right hands we would of seen the real Madden. Remember this is the man who kept black people out of his club. And did battle with other NY gangsters. Then we have Dutch Schultz. I wonder why we did not see more of Lucky Luciano because it was those 2 who were causing havoc in NYC during the 20's with Luciano winning. I think James Remer did the best portrayal of Schulz. Years later Tim Roth played him in the movie Hoodlum and he was good, but Remer was scarier. And according to all reports he was a psychopath. Then we have the George Raft(Dixie Dwyer) character played by Richard Gere If people are not familiar with the actor George Raft it was known he hung around the mob and had big time mob connections..who actually got him a job in movies. Richard Gere even mentions at one time that he use to be a dancer. I am sure that is reference and acknowledgment of George Raft, who was a dancer before he went to Hollywood. George Raft was actually a pretty good actor. Gere even looks like him. I feel that is the real reason they cast him in this movie. Look at this movie as Gere playing Raft and not playing Dixie Dwyer and the part works.

The last movie is the Harlem story. The Larry Fishburne character was a real person. He was lifetime criminal who spent most of his life in jail. He was not the voice of righteousness we see in the movie or the movie Hoodlum. What was interesting was the scene when he and the woman who was running the numbers racket in Harlem were offered a deal. I like they put that in the movie, that was true. The woman who was the real boss of the numbers racket came from the West Indies and started the whole thing on her own. A very tough cookie who went to jail because she would not give in to the mob. The mob was politically connected and they put her in jail for a long time. I like the the Hines bothers in the movie. They were feuding in real life and this movie was a way they starting talking again. They actually showed that in the movie. ALso the Vonnetta McGee character was interesting. I am a very light skin black women who could pas for white. WhICH I WOULD NEVER DO. But I don't know about living back in the early part of the century. The scene when she and Sandman goes to the hotel and the clerk tries to deny them a room actually happened to me and a boyfriend of mine years ago. So that scene really hit me. I would of liked if they explored Harlem life more, but the movie had too much going on already.

Nicholas Cage...nephew of Cappolla was good playing the violent brother of the Richard Gere character. I would like to have seen him in more parts like that instead of the garbage he has been wasting himself in the last few years. Diane Lane was the miscast. She was playing a real character too, but she came nowhere near the woman she was playing, Texas Guinon(I think that was her last name) A big boozy tough blonde. To me that is the major miscast of the movie. I like her though, but not in this movie. This is a movie I feel has to be seen around 5 times to get the whole feeling of it. A good movie but just too messy and too much.

What A Mob...What A Show

[slokes · 6/10 · 15 October 2008]

Even Francis Ford Coppola couldn't sustain the height of movie-making he achieved in the 1970s. Raised too high by initial expectations, then dismissed too brusquely when the critics got to see it, "The Cotton Club" exists in a kind of neutral zone, a grand spectacle undone by sloppy scriptwriting and unappealing characters that nevertheless shows the master with some juice still in his cup.

It's the story of Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere), a cornet player who one evening in 1928 almost accidentally saves the life of notorious mob boss Dutch Schultz (James Remar). Dutch, already a fan of his music, is appreciative of the extra service and brings Dwyer into his circle, which brings him into contact with Dutch's girl Vera (Diane Lane).

"If I didn't like you, you'd be dead," is Dutch's way of expressing friendship.

"It's nice to be liked," Dixie replies.

The film is centered around the nightclub of the title, a fashionable Harlem nightspot where blacks are welcome only on stage, entertaining the white customers. Owney Madden (Bob Hoskins) runs things with an eye for keeping order, especially where the volatile Dutchman is concerned. Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines) just wants to dance into the arms of Lila Rose (Lonette McKee), who is torn between the chance for true love versus the chance to pass for white in a white man's world.

The stacked cast even includes Nicolas Cage as Dixie's mad-dog gangster brother and Laurence Fishburne in one of his first signature tough-guy roles. "The white man has left me nothing but the underworld, and that is where I dance," he tells Sandman. "Where do you dance?" All this crammed into just over two hours leaves very little room to breathe, for a director who mastered movies which do exactly that. But with little useful dialogue except of the expository kind, characters coming and going all the time, left-field plot twists (Dixie goes to Hollywood and becomes an instant star), and a central romance between Gere and Lane that is long on open-mouth kissing but short on story, you need spectacle to keep your attention.

Remar makes the film worthwhile for me. His bug-eyed tantrums as Dutch are what stay with me when the film is over, yet he shows range, too, shy with Vera, henpecked with his wife, and amiable with Dixie in his guarded way. It's hard not to worry what will happen when he learns about Dixie and Vera, not only for the lovebirds but for Dutch, too. I only wish Remar could have played Dutch in the latter film set in the same milieu, "Billy Bathgate"; Dustin Hoffman is a great actor but was wrong for that part. Remar here fits into it like a cement overshoe.

The film also boasts great music, including singing from McKee and tapping from Hines and his brother Maurice that raise the roof and recall the famous baptism scene in Coppola's first "Godfather". Larry Marshall does a great Cab Calloway, conked locks whipping across his forehead.

Nothing is really wrong with "Cotton Club". But what's right doesn't stay right for long, and the rest doesn't hold together. It's a fun show, so long as you don't mind being a bit confused when the curtain comes down.

A better movie behind the scenes

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 28 February 2020]

Sometimes, the story behind a movie takes over the actual story of the movie. I can think of no better example than this film.

The Cottom Club was Robert Evans' baby. Inspired by a picture-book of the famous nightclub by James Haskins, he was set to produce and direct, with Mario Puzo writing the original screenplay and William Kennedy and Francis Ford Coppola doing re-writes.

But wait? Didn't Evans and Coppola famously hate one another after two go-arounds making The Godfather films? Didn't Evans even claim, in his book that influenced everything I write, The Kid Stays In the Picture, that "Francis and I have a perfect record; we disagreed on everything?"

Production designer Richard Sylbert played good cop bad cop with both, telling Evans not to hire Coppola because "he resents being in the commercial, narrative, Hollywood movie business" while at the same time telling Coppola to steer clear because Evans was crazy.

Yet Coppola needed the money. One from the Heart had tanked and he'd done the one thing you should never do - he spent his own money.

Evans needed Coppola too - at least $13 million had already been committed to the film, then Vegas casino kings Ed and Fred Doumanu put another $30 million down, then Adnan Khashoggi - yes, the arms dealer - got involved. And then there's Roy Radin, who cut a drug dealing associate out of the movie and got killed for it.

Let's stop this Cotton Club train and get into Roy Radin, who touches all the hot button subject matter that I love so much. Back in 1991, Lydon LaRouche's Executive Intelligence Review stated that Radin's murder had been carried out in style. To wit, the murder "was conducted in Satanic ritualistic fashion: 13 bullets to the back of the head; a Bible left near the body, opened to a passage from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 22, which reads in part, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die.""

Radin was killed by William Malony Mentzer, who was identified by "Son of Sam" killer David Berkowitz as Manson II. He was also, at the time, the bodyguard of Larry Flynt and had two dozen similarities with the Zodiac Killer.

Radin also had ties to the occult underground in New York and Long Island, purchasing much of his cocaine from the group that Maury Terry fingered in The Ultimate Evil as a national Satanic underground that also included the Process Church of the Final Judgement and Charles Manson. Radin was also a member of the Crowley order the Ordo Templi Orientis.

I went to one of their parties once and was shocked how boring it was, as everyone ate guacamole and discussed Debbie Harry for hours. And hours. Also, of note, the Process successfully sued Terry and had the passage that connected them to Manson removed from future printings.

But I digress.

The budget had ballooned out of control - $65 million by some accounts, which would be $162 million in today's money. When he became the director, Francis Ford Coppola added to the budgetary issues by firing nearly all of Evans' crew, which meant large payoffs. Then, a whole new crew went to work, with six hundred people were constantly working at building sets, making costumes and playing music, like some demented Winchester house of a film, costing a quarter million a day as star Gregory Hines claimed that the rehearsals of the film were being filmed as the movie was shot during rehearsals.

At one point, five new scripts were written in 48-hours and at least thirty - if not forty - versions of the screenplay exist. Evans got forced out. The producers began suing one another. And the movie was still far from playing theaters.

Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere) is working with the mob to help his career as a musician, but he's fallen for Dutch Schultz's (James Remar) woman Vera (Diane Lane). Meanwhile, Sandman Williams (Heinz) and his brother Lucky (real-life brother Maurice Heinz) start working at the Cotton Club, which is owned by Owney Madden (Bob Hoskins) and policed by his right-hand man, Frenchy Demange (Fred Gwynne!).

Dixie - who is pretty much George Raft - goes off to become a star thanks to Madden, but he pisses off Schultz along the way. Yet his brother remains in Schultz's gang (and is played by a very, very young Nicholas Cage). And Laurence Fishburne is also in here as a Harlem-based mobster.

This movie again connects so many of my pop culture loves, from Warhol Factory star Joe Dallesandro playing Lucky Luciano to Tom Waits, Woody Strode and Julian Beck (Kane from Poltergeist 2!) having roles in the film.

Roger Ebert said that despite the movie having such a troubled birth, "what difference does that make when the result is so entertaining? Whatever it took to do it, Coppola has extracted a very special film out of the checkered history of this project."

In 2015, Coppola found an old Betamax video copy of his director's cut and spent a half million of his own money - oh Francis, you never learn - to restore the film. This new version, called The Cotton Club Encore, debuted at the Telluride Fim Festival.

The Cotton Club Encore has just been released to blu ray. It's remastered, restored and has musical sequences and never-before-seen scenes that have been added back to the film. You can follow the link to order it.

Lots Of Adjectives To Describe This Movie

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 10 May 2006]

A very stylish but rough and profane account of gangsters ("Dutch" Schultz and the like) and music during the 1920s. The scene is Harlem (NYC) at the Cotton Club, which is still run by whites who are pictured as big bigots.

Schultz, played by James Remar, is extremely coarse and profane. There are tons of Lord's name in vain abuses in this movie, many by Remar and Richard Gere. There is very hard edge to this film, sometimes a little too hard, I think.

The positives are the cinematography, music, dancing and a good romance angle featuring the white leads, Gere and Diane Lane, and the black leads Gregory Hines and Lonette McKee. Gere and Hines are buddies, with Gere playing coronet and Hines tap dancing. Hines is a tremendous dancer and great to watch.

You also have other "name" actors in here, such as Nicholas Cage, Bob Hoskins, Fred Gwynne, Laurence Fishburne and Allen Garfield. If the language I mentioned earlier doesn't offend you, this is a great movie.

An absolute classic, the more times you watch it, the more you become mesmerised by it.

[sugarmack · 10/10 · 26 June 2000]

The first time I saw this movie I loved the music and dancing and appreciated the setting. I found it strange and couldn't follow it properly. I watched it a second and third time, partly to see the dancing again, and listen to the music, and the plot completely grew on me. I absolutely love this movie. It is complex, and extremely accurate in its portrayal of the time when gangsters owned stars. If you love jazz music and know a little about its history, you will be enraptured by this movie.

The acting is incredible, and highlights the subtle twists in the plot beautifully. The cinematography is done in a most expert fashion. Richard Gere and Gregory Hines are absolutely charming, and Diane Lane is perfect is Vera Cicero. Lonette McKee has one of the most beautiful voices you will ever hear, it is no wonder she received a Tony award. Any viewer will be surprised by the guest appearances including Nicholas Cage, Bob Hoskins, Lawrence Fishburne, and on-screen and real-life brother of Gregory, Maurice Hines. Not only one of Coppola's best, but one of the best of all time.

Encore edition still has problems

[sorgansf · 7/10 · 18 November 2019]

Just saw the recently re-edited--and director approved--Cotton Club Encore edition. While the film has been improved in many areas, it still has the same issues the original release had: There's too many characters and sub-plots to keep on top of; the plot of the film gets convoluted and hard to follow; the central theme of the relationship between brothers is hanging on by a thread; and most of the performances are two-dimensional. While many people were hoping to have a Godfather-like reunion with the same team from that film, it never really delivered on that intention.

However, there's a LOT to appreciate, especially the musical performances of a very talented cast. There were many moments where the theater I saw it in erupted in applause. The singing and dancing, in particular Gregory Hines, had you really longing for musicals that capture that degree of energy coming from the screen.

For me, The Cotton Club Encore is worth seeing so long as your expectations are in place. It is not Coppola's best work by any measure, but it is greatly improved and the dance numbers and singing ("Stormy Weather" by Lonette McKee will stop you dead in your tracks) raises this film up from mediocre to moments of pure exquisite filmmaking.

Disjointed, lacks a sense of flow in both storyline and performances

[livinginthejetage · 4/10 · 20 September 2020]

I think Coppola should have looked at what Fosse did so successfully with Cabaret. Coppola is attempting the same thing: mixing performances and storyline but does it in such a way that they mostly compete with each other rather than compliment each other. Fosse did it so well in Cabaret mixing the two seamlessly. In my opinion, Coppola's efforts fall flat. And the performances by Lane and Gere, to me, fall flat as well. I don't see any chemistry between the two. Hines is the only main character with whom there is a connection. And Fred Gwynne kills it in his role. He really is a good choice for the film. Wished his character were fleshed out more.

The most underrated movie of all-time!!

[mariposa-9 · 10/10 · 25 November 1999]

Forget all the behind the scene's politics; Francis Ford Coppola's dazzlingly stylish, THE COTTON CLUB is certainly one of his best efforts. A movie that deserves it's place alongside other Coppola masterpieces such as, THE GODFATHER and APOCALYPSE NOW.

But the legacy of this film is very strange: The behind the scenes shenanigans is legendary, it was unjustly panned when it was first released, and box-office was slight; however, watching this film you can't help but wonder why?

Everything from the performances to the look of the film is first-rate; with James Remar particularly good as Dutch Schultz, and the ending of this film is nicely reminiscent of THE GODFATHER.

So if your looking for what might be considered a buried Coppola classic, check out THE COTTON CLUB.

Chaotic, fun look at the roaring twenties

[NateWatchesCoolMovies · 7/10 · 8 March 2016]

Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club is every bit as dazzling, chaotic and decadent as one might imagine the roaring twenties would have been. it's set in and revolves around the titular jazz club, conducting a boisterous, kaleidoscope study of the various dames, dapper gents, hoodlums, harlots and musicians who called it home. Among them are would be gangster Dixie Dwyer (a slick Richard Gere), Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines), a young Bumpy Johnson (Laurence Fishburne) and renowned psychopathic mobster Dutch Schultz (a ferocious James Remar). Coppola wisely ducks a routine plot line in favor of a helter skelter, raucous cascade of delirious partying, violence and steamy romance, a stylistic choice almost reminiscent of Robert Altman. Characters come and go, fight and feud, drink and dance and generally keep up the kind of manic energy and pizazz that only the 20's could sustain. The cast is positively stacked, so watch for appearances from Nicolas Case, Bob Hoskins, Diane Lane, John P. Ryan, James Russo, Fred Gwynne, Allen Garfield, Ed O Ross, Diane Venora, Woody Strode, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Cobbs, Sofia Coppola and singer Tom Waits as Irving Stark, the club's owner. It's a messily woven tapestry of crime and excess held together by brief encounters, hot blooded conflict and that ever present jazz music which fuels the characters along with the perpetual haze of booze and cigarette smoke. Good times.

Skip the movie, get the soundtrack!

[d-millhoff · 4/10 · 2 December 2007]

Coppola is more a visionary than a storyteller. Many of his movies are great to look at and listen to, but the narrative often falls flat.

The Cotton Club exemplifies this point - lots of atmosphere, an abundance of acting and musical talent, and a little history for those too young to appreciate the Harlem Renaissance or prohibition-era segregation in the big city. But what little story there is, lacks coherency and is hard to follow.

We get to see some dead-on re-enactments of young Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, and the Duke Ellington Band at their primes in pristine high fidelity, and fine performances from the late Gregory Hines and Fred Gwynne, but there just isn't enough story to connect the dots.

If you're going to watch The Cotton Club, watch it for the musical numbers and don't set your expectations too high for anything more.

Or, better yet, just skip the DVD and just get the STUNNING soundtrack on CD.

Companion to the pictoral history of The Cotton Club

[el1sdf · 8 July 2003]

inspired by photographs of the legendary Cotton Club in Harlem, some shots appear exactly as they were (now in colour). I noticed Dutch Schultz's slumped pose when he is shot is exactly that of the police photograph, though he died several hours later (see William Burroughs "The Last Words Of Dutch Schultz"). The actors often play too broad (Diane Lane), and Richard Gere shows his lazy, grinning acting here too. However, many notable smaller roles for Gregory Hines (and his brother), Bob Hoskins, Laurence Fishburne and others who make it well worth watching. It is true that $40 million could have been used better, but when you consider both Bob Evans and Coppola's involvement it seems with hindsight that they were asking for trouble. The music deserves special credit, as do the tap sequences (which i gather were shortened and some cut - what a shame). Mostly Duke Ellington classics. As i've already suggested the look is a perfect recreation of the time, but sadly the plot is patchy, some dialogue weak and it has been said before - there is no chemistry between the romantic leads. 9/10

Not overwhelmed by the film, but oh that period atmosphere, how delightful!

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 6 March 2019]

Great costumes, fantastic choreography and sumptuous photography is the main reason to give this visual treats repeat viewings. I didn't find a really strong plot, just a series of situations and character studies and a few minor stories jumbled together in a beautiful box that give us an interesting view of a time that in reflection was filled with racism and violence, but has been romanticize greatly over the years thanks to the great music that remains behind. Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane and Lonette McKee headline this period epic that deals with the racism of the era in a truly violent manner and shows how the club, utilizing mostly black entertainers, objectified an entire race for their talents while banning black customers from entering the establishment. Even Hines, as one of the headliners, must enter from the back, that is until he rises to the top, and even then, he is subject to racist treatment.

This is one of those films that will probably be more appreciated over time, showing how Gere and Hines become successful in different areas of the entertainment business, with Gere becoming a film star, and Hines a great dancing star. This is probably the only opportunity to see the Hines brothers (Maurice appears as well) dancing together onscreen, and fellow Broadway star McKee (Julie in two Broadway revivals of "Show Boat") is striking as the light-skinned black woman who finds being beautiful isn't always easy in the entertainment world. She goes from being treated with prejudice from people who know she's black and those who can't tell (the hotel clerk thinking that she's a white girl checking in with Gregory Hines) and the discrimination of that era. Lane is very good as the life loving moll who wants a new life with Gere.

Several famous characters of the 1920's and 30's appear in cameos, the most memorable a number featuring Larry Freeman performing a great Cab Calloway imitation including his signature "Hi De Ho". It is interesting pretty much as a view of the period, and in detail as directed by Francis Ford Coppola, it is as stunning as his earlier cult musical, "One From the Heart". The passion of the musical numbers has been reflected in such big Broadway hits as "Bubbling Brown Sugar", "Eubie!", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Sophisticated Ladies", "Black and Blue" and "After Midnight", which particularly focused on the style of entertainment performed at the Cotton Club. An earlier version of that Broadway musical had been entitled "Cotton Club Parade", and the recent musical about the struggles to produce the first all black Broadway musical ("Shuffle Along") dealt with the obstacles they faced as well.

The supporting cast includes such terrific players as Gwen Verdon, Fred Gwynne, Bob Hoskins and Allen Garfield, with future stars Nicolas Cage and Laurence Fishburne in supporting parts. An early party sequence features notorious mobster Dutch Schultz as a major character and results in a particularly gruesome murder. The presence of machine gun toting mobsters shooting up the joint (several times!) adds detail to the struggles of blacks simply trying to make a living at the time. It's stunning in it's passion, making me wish I could rank it higher, but due to its lack of a strong plot, found it ambitious but unsuccessful in fulfilling its goals.

Elegant but empty

[jamesjustice-92 · 7/10 · 21 December 2018]

The minute I saw the name Francis Ford Coppola in the "directed by" I thought to myself: this is ought to be good. Maybe my expectations got a little high because of that but I couldn't thoroughly enjoy the movie. "The Cotton Club" consists of two kinds of actors - those who act their hearts out and those who are just there. Richard Gere's character is sadly one of the latter. His name is the first to appear on the screen but throughout the whole movie he doesn't show any specific reasons why; he doesn't lead the movie, the plot doesn't fully revolve around him and he does nothing to move the plot either. And about the plot - where is one? What was the idea of the movie? You showed us America in its late 20s and early 30s, good colorful picture, brilliant music, beautifully choreographed dance numbers, terrific performance of the duo of Bob Hoskins and Fred Gwynne, but also the thinnest plot that Mr Coppola had to offer. Pretty much every character is cartoonish and has no development whatsover. Disappointed. I'll tell you this - if you want to see a movie filled with jazz music, mobsters and the scent of the 1920s you'll love this one. And me? I'll look for something more meaningful than a nice picture.

great jazz score enriches this hybrid period piece; a gangster movie with many musical and dance numbers.

[barrwell · 7/10 · 8 January 2011]

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?

Excellent...if slightly flawed....masterpiece.

[thecursor2002 · 7/10 · 28 May 2009]

There aren't many films around that chronicle America's Teens and Twenties with the same pizazz as this film. It's a stirring, jarring ensemble piece where Dutch Schultz and Lucky Luciano stand side by side with fictional but realistic characters in a kind of side door universe. A strange yet focused glimpse into the hypocrisy and violence of the early 20th century.

Obviously it's a Coppala film and shows the technical brilliance of FFC's well used brain.

It's like an alternate take on Godfather 2, a different version where we focus on the smaller, less organized criminals. The cast is capable and seem to genuinely enjoy their roles. Gregory Hines showcases both his dancing brilliance as well as his acting chops, playing a man caught between mainstream fame and backstreet love. Richard Gere's tormented wannabe feels genuine while a very young Diane Lane and not yet famous Nicholas Cage pull off pretty admirable performances of their own.

But the film's ensemble strength is also it's weakness, it goes off in too many directions, never quite settling on one narrative to make you fully give a damn. Sure it's nice to see what's going on in every single character's life but honestly the film would benefit from a little less detail just to let the plot breath. Lucky Luciano's presence at the tale end felt more like a Deus Ex Machina. All of a sudden the greatest gangster in New York history walks in and solves the problem? Really?

All in all, good but not great.

Coppola's gangsters and dancers saga that succeeds on its ambitions, if just by a hair

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 2 May 2007]

The Cotton Club has a reputation, in the movie world as well as in the history books, as being a notorious heaven/hell for most involved. Desptie it being over-budget and under-whelming at the box-office, what remains is probably one of the director's most provocative turns, with so much thrust into it that one ends up admiring the whole so much that it can be forgiven that it veers into the bulky side of things. It's near-classic pulp melodrama fused with the grace and intelligence of the Hollywood musicals and crime pictures of the period that would come shortly after the events in this film. It's also at times utterly pleasurable as conventional fare that knows what it is, as well as visually flourishing in cinematography and editing to go a little further with the material. It's risky stuff not because of the story in and of itself, but because of the chances Coppola takes with putting so much together. Unlike one of his contemporaries, Scorsese, and his film New York, New York, the Cotton Club even in its most dragging or trickiest points in the narrative reigns high as an original hybrid by giving something captivating on every side of the coin.

Acting-wise, Coppola goes for the big ensemble once again (a trademark of his films in the 80s), with the key ones allowing for the director to put a lot into each smaller group. The stars as the drenched-in-formula good looking' musician-cum-actor (Richard Gere) and the girl on the side for one of the big mob bosses in New York City (Diane Lane). the gangsters, all with specific characteristics that gain momentum as the story goes, like Dutch Schultz (James Remar) as the possessive paranoid killer, Bob Hoskins and Fred Gwynne (what a combo) as certain 'business interests' entwined with the rest of the mob, and Nicolas Cage as Gere's younger brother, a hot-head racist who wants to take over; the black actors, singers, dancers, all right out of Harlem and with its own stars (Gregory Hines, in one of his very best performances/roles), and criminals (Fishburne as a key part of this group). And the club itself is something of a character- as principle location- unto itself, as some surreal bastion of escapist glee (if your part of the audience) and gangland violence and bad race vibes (if not). Coppola also has the occasional side character, like the MC at the club played by Tom Waits (made believable all by a cigar), to not make either side too top-heavy.

Whether one side bests the other or not is arguable. It's hard to say that there aren't some noteworthy scenes in practically every turn, even if they tend to go over-the-top (like Remar with Schultz) or almost too much on young charisma (Lane and sometimes Gere). It's a credit to Coppola, at least on that front, that he corrals moments- like the break-up/reuniting with Sandman and Clay Williams, or between the two main stars when they're literally between white sheets backstage at the club- that add up to a lot in the grand scheme of things. His other main concerns, however, are music and the subtle presence of the camera. There's rarely a dull moment with the former, as Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway are presented, if only for fans, as legends unto themselves that even get fleeting glances on screen (the Calloway number "Minnie the Moocher" is a hight-light). And Coppola's tie-in with Stephen Goldblatt and his editors is crucial, albeit using each to their fullest extent depending on the mood. The film moves pretty fast, narratively quicker than the Godfather films, but he only uses montage for pivotal cross-cutting moments, showing the rise and fall of the gangsters with that of the club gaining prestige (the fall, in the big climax, is as magnificent as it can get in cinema), and the technical prowess is skillful and inventive.

And all the same, it shouldn't all work entirely, because so much feels like it's about to explode at any moment, and nearly to a point where it edges on the point of being the same thing that Coppola is striving to homage (shallow, escapist sensationalism). There's parallels between the struggles of musicians, criminals, and the others on the sidelines in show-business, and are exploited quite well. All the same it ends up not exactly a 'great' movie, because the underlying ideas for something much deeper only work up to a point. Still, after a first viewing, and like with most other films from the director (and, damned if I say it, the producer too), I wouldn't pass it up again on a viewing late at night; it's one of the more shamelessly entertaining pictures of the mid 80s.

Maffia story of 20s-30s in USA

[esteban1747 · 6/10 · 2 July 2002]

This film is like an illustration of what happened in important American towns by the end of 20s and during the 30s, particularly in Harlem. The film has a very good cast: Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Larry Fishburne, Bob Hoskins and Nicolas Cage among others. Each played his/her role in a very acceptable way. It was funny to see how Hoskins as a maffia boss volunteer to get in prison for a while in order to be out of any attempt. Cage shows the classic ill and sadic person, who thinks that all problems can be solved killing. Gere represented the pragmatic musician, able to deal with maffia but to love a lady until she will correspond him. The film shows a mosaic of different behaviors and intentions in very logic sequences, simply another good job of Coppola.

Waste, waste, waste

[tomdb2 · 1/10 · 8 July 2005]

Just saw this on DVD. Unbelievably bad, and what a wasted opportunity. Visually it's gorgeous, but the script should have been burned--continuity problems, pacing problems, credibility problems, laughably bad dialog, no characters you care about in the least, it's hard to imagine that a great novelist like William Kennedy and Mario Puzo and Coppola himself were all writers on it and it turned out this bad (maybe that was the problem--too many cooks). What's particularly tragic, in no particular order, is not only the waste of the visuals, but an unbelievable cast (more depth in a cast than 95% of the films I've ever seen), though the leads, except Bob Hoskins and Fred Gwynne, are weak (Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Gregory Hines, Loretta McKee, et al were all to see better days--and James Remar is just scene-chewing bizarre as Dutch Schultz), and a really compelling real-life story, setting, and cast of real-life characters. I guess it's worth watching for the spectacle of seeing a film with that much going for it still go horribly wrong, but it's a pretty agonizing experience. I've heard this one has become more appreciated over time--that doesn't bode well for the evolution of the human race. Me, I watched it, and it was easy to see how this one caused Coppola to go bankrupt.

As good as Coppola gets.

[maestro-45 · 10/10 · 8 August 2005]

I have seen the Cotton Club countless times on video and on cable and saw it when it first release about 20 yrs ago. The picture always holds up. The combination of story, music and characters is as solid know as when it originally debuted. Because of the problems with the production, especially the problems that Robert Evans the producer was having, the picture was basically dumped, and disappeared. Everyone attached to it seemed to disown it, which is too bad, since it ranks as good as anything Francis Ford Coppola has ever done -- and he has done a lot of the greatest cinema ever made. Most, if not all of Cotton Club was done on sound stages, but Coppola makes the whole thing believable and he ties several stories together at once: Richard Gere and Diane Lane; and Gregory Hines and Lonette McKee. With the great music, the original stuff by Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington etc., neatly held together with new stuff by John Barry, The Cotton Club is a genuine musical, that, for my money, is more effective than Chicago, that Gere would star in more than 20 years later. If you have the chance, catch The Cotton Club on DVD or on cable. You will not be disappointed, and, if you are like me, you will rank this film as a worthy cousin to Mr. Coppola's masterworks, The Godfather I & II, and The Conversation.

Much maligned and many flawed, but...

[JasparLamarCrabb · 6/10 · 8 November 2007]

Much maligned, THE COTTON CLUB is far better than the reviews it received would lead one to believe. And like all of Francis Ford Coppola's work, it has its flaws, but nonetheless is still Coppola's last truly great work. Oddly, one of the flaws is the central casting: neither Richard Gere nor Diane Lane had the acting gravitas to carry such a film at this point in their careers. Gere sports a thin mustache and Lane wears a lot of form-fitting dresses, but neither really does much acting. The film is, however a feast for the eyes with stunning art direction, cinematography and editing. In addition, Coppola wisely hired IRONWEED author William Kennedy to work on the script, which captures the roaring 20s in all its debauched glory. The supporting cast is stellar including Nicholas Cage (as Gere's ne'er-do-well brother), James Remar, Bob Hoskins, Fred Gwynne, and the terminally creepy Julian Beck as a really unpleasant hit-man.

Stylish Fail

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 16 November 2013]

Shallow uninvolving story about a 1930s jazz club and the broad caricatures who frequent it. Looks good but didn't grip me at all. I was checking the clock constantly due to the slow pace and scattered story. Despite the film's stylish period look and some nice jazz music, it doesn't feel authentic. The characters often seem like parodies of characters from 1930s films rather than wholly formed characters of their own who actually lived in that time. I hesitate to blame this on the actors, who I know are good from other works. This is most likely something that should be blamed on Coppola, who wanted these performances for whatever reason. Sorry I know it has a legendary director attached to it but that by itself doesn't make it a good film. Even the greats have misfires and Coppola had his share. This is one of them.