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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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"The
Cotton Club"
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Reviewed
by: |
Charles
Tashiro |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
widescreen
enhanced 1.85:1 |
| Audio: |
5.1
Surround (English); mono (French) |
| Language: |
English,
French |
| Subtitle: |
French,
Spanish |
| Length: |
129
minutes |
| Rating: |
R
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| Release
Date: |
July
10, 2001 |
| Studio: |
MGM
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| Commentary:
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none
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| Documentaries:
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none
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| Featurettes:
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none
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| Filmography/Biography:
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none
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|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
The
disc includes the original theatrical trailer. The trailer includes
a couple of scenes not in the film, but is most interesting
in the way it it too is a rushed, shimmering, not quite lucid
assault on the senses. |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
none
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| Music
Video: |
none
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| Other:
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none
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| Cast
and Crew: |
Richard Gere,
Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Lonette McKee, Bob Hoskins, James
Remar, Nicholas Cage, Allen Garfield, Fred Gwynne; |
| Screenplay
by: |
William Kennedy,
Francis Coppola; based on a story by William Kennedy, Francis
Coppola and Mario Puzo |
| Produced
by: |
Robert Evans |
| Directed
By: |
Francis Coppola |
| Music: |
John Barry (original);
reconstructed performances of countless jazz musicians |
| The
Review: |
Produced
at a difficult point in director Francis Coppola's career, "The
Cotton Club" is not the easiest movie to like. A visually stunning
pastiche of a thirties gangster film crossed with a backstage
musical, just about nothing in the film works completely. It
is a fascinating failure, the kind of movie you find yourself
going back to watch repeatedly, partly to figure out what's
wrong with it and at least as much because of what's right.
There are definite problems, though. Start with the story, or
more properly, situation. Initiated by the enthusiasm of producer
Robert Evans for a pictorial history about the famous all-black
jazz club from the 1920s, this super-production never finds
an answer to an obvious question: how do you make a film about
an all black nightclub centered on a white character? Instead
of having the courage to focus on a black protagonist, Coppola,
Mario Puzo and William Kennedy came up with a hugely complex
story, centered on Richard Gere's jazz-cornetist-turned-movie
star that expends a lot of energy evading that basic problem.
This movie has enough plot for three films, yet none of it is
dealt with satisfactorily. Part of the problem too is that,
unlike the leisurely pace of the "Godfather" films, "The Cotton
Club" races by like an adolescent on roller blades. Many of
the story threads are potentially interesting, but we never
have time to get involved in any of them. When, for example,
Gere's character escapes the clutches of psychopathic gangster
Dutch Schultz by becoming a Hollywood star, we have to take
on faith that he's suddenly everyone's idol. We see nothing
of his film, we get no hints of his abilities as an actor. Or
when his parallel in the "black" story, Gregory Hines, somehow
becomes a major success, we see neither his rise, nor much of
his skill. Even the musical numbers are more a phastasmagoric
swirl of light and color than compelling dance. Questions of
whether or not the actors are good, bad, miscast or indifferent
never arise. Most of them are hardly on screen long enough to
register visually, much less make us care for their characters.
It's typical that the scene most people remember is an extended
exchange between Bob Hoskins and Fred Gwynne. Staged simply,
the camera just sitting back to let the actors do their bit,
it's a comically understated moment, with Gwynne tall and willowy,
Hoskins as round and cuddly as Winnie the Pooh, so utterly mis-matched
physically you can't help but smile affectionately. Problem
is, the scene makes almost no sense; you just remember it because
it's one of the few times the movie connects emotionally. Still,
it grows on you. "The Cotton Club" is no one's idea of a masterpiece,
but it actually increases in stature. Like Coppola's later "Bram
Stoker's Dracula," "The Cotton Club" is a stylistic exercise
at such a high level of achievement you can almost overlook
its faults. You can ask why it was made, you can regret the
lack of a black protagonist, you can get annoyed at the rushed
pace and caricatured characters, but it's still an utterly gorgeous
movie. Ultimately, it's not so much a gangster film or a musical
as a fervid, fantasized vision of both from a gigantic talent.
Coppola is too drunk on his ability to keep this gyroscope spinning
to recognize that he's left us behind. It's a moviemaker's movie,
most enjoyable as a set of virtuoso gestures, with just enough
tie to reality to be moderately engrossing in other terms. |
| Image
and Sound |
The previous
video release of "The Cotton Club" was well above-average, and
while there's no doubt that this a carefully produced disc,
with one exception, nothing about either image or sound jumps
out at you as a major improvement. Stephen Goldblatt's dark,
richly hued cinematography comes through nicely on the disc;
the whole movie seems paneled in mahogany. The one unmistakable
step up is to have the full widescreen image. The anamorphic
transfer works well in HD, although given how dark the film
is, I recommend watching the disc under controlled lighting.
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| The
Extras |
None
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| Commentary |
None |
| Final
Words: |
Don't expect
"The Godfather" with dancing, and don't expect to be moved so
much as wowed. "The Cotton Club" is visually extraordinary,
well served by the disc, but not the kind of movie for people
looking for a simple story, well told. On the other hand, if
you give it a chance, you may find yourself going back to it
repeatedly, dazzled by its hypnotic, sparkling style. Charles
Tashiro, PhD 2626 11th St. #1 Santa Monica, CA 90405 http://members.home.net/chastash
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