New Jack City (DVD)

Description: Genre: Action & Adventure / Theatrical Release: 1991 / Director: Mario Van Peebles / Actors: Wesley Snipes, Ice-T ... / ... more

New Jack City (DVD) ... DVD released 01 June, 2006 at Warner Home Video / Features of the DVD: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen / Some pundits called it a flawed, exploitative action film that glamorised drug dealing and the luxury of a lucrative criminal lifestyle, spawning a trend of films that attracted youth gangs and provoked violence in cinemas. Others hailed it as a breakthrough movie that depicted drug dealers as ruthless, corrupt, and evil, leading dead-end lives that no rational youth would want to emulate. However you interpret it, New Jack City is still one of the first and best films of the 1990s to crack open the underworld of cocaine and peer inside with its eyes wide open. It's also the film that established Wesley Snipes as an actor to watch, with enough charisma to bring an insidious quality of seduction to his role as coke-lord Nino Brown, and enough intelligence to portray a character deluded by his own sense of indestructible power. Director Mario Van Peebles stretched his otherwise-limited talent to bring vivid authenticity and urgency to this crime story, and subplots involving a pair of tenacious cops (Ice-T, Judd Nelson) and a recovering coke addict (Chris Rock) provide additional dramatic tension. Although some critics may hesitate to admit it, New Jack City deserves mention in any serious discussion about African American filmmakers and influential films. --Jeff Shannon

Newest Review: ... the streets of New York; making it a big money business during the 1980s. Scotty (Ice-T) and Nick (Judd Nelson) are the ... more

... streetwise cops given the go ahead to work their way into the heart of the company and shut it down... for good. The "Crack Epidemic", as it is called, was deemed responsible for increasing number of drug addicts and deaths, particularly within the black community. New Jack City presents an in-depth look at this world, not to just glorify it for the sake of a cinema hit, but to provoke genuine concern within the mind of the viewer. Snipes, in particular, is hugely convincing as the smart, ruthless gangster- the...more

Price Comparison for New Jack City (DVD)

	New Jack City [1991] [DVD] Some pundits called it a flawed, exploitative action film that gl ... Last Update 21.12.2009 05:44	£ 4.48	Free! within 24 hours

New Jack City [1991] [DVD]
Some pundits called it a flawed, exploitative action film that gl ...

Last Update 21.12.2009 05:44

£ 4.48

Free!

within 24 hours

Read Reviews for New Jack City (DVD)

New Jack City (DVD): "What can you offer? Another 'I have a dream speech?'" (546 words)
by - written on 26/02/09 (Very useful, 44 readings)
Rating:

I really wish I'd have seen this movie back when it was released in 1991- I'd have probably appreciated it a lot more. New Jack City just doesn't seem as "edgy" or as "ambitious" as it supposedly was back then; in fact, it's characterized by hackneyed expressions and ideas. It does, however, have a very charismatic and respectable performance from Wesley Snipes as Nino Brown- an "Urban Tony Montana" -and one of the most definitive Hip-Hop soundtracks ever to accompany a film. A "New Jack" is a person new to the game. In this sense, Nino Brown and his crew the CMB (Cash Money Brothers) are introduced to the drug crack ... Read the complete review

Doesn't age well... (237 words)
by - written on 18/02/09 (Very useful, 6 readings)
Rating:

New Jack City is a kind of proto-Boyz N The Hood, with less conviction and from a different perspective. It's the old, old story: Drug dealer kills cop's mother, cop goes maverick and is just a little bit dangerous... Cop-on-the-edge is teamed up with (can you guess?) another cop-on-the-edge, and between them we get racial epithets aplenty. Judd Nelson is Ice's partner, and they team up to take down Wesley Snipes' evil drug peddling baddie. There are some great gun battles as the cops storm the baddies' stronghold, and there's definite chemistry between the two male leads The performance of a young Chris Rock isn't half bad either. The message: Drugs are bad, m'kay? ... Read the complete review

New Jack City (DVD): Harsh portrayal of drug-filled Harlem (726 words)
by - written on 26/09/08 (Very useful, 44 readings)
Rating:

Mario Van Peebles had a small handful of episodes for a number of TV shows under his belt as a director before this, his first attempt at directing on the big screen. New Jack City was released in 1991 with an impressive cast and a dark and moody gang and drugs related theme, which became a familiar concept with Van Peebles' directing. The film has achieved cult status in the States, where it is referenced a number of times in TV shows, mainly using the main character in the film, Nino, played by Wesley Snipes. I personally didn't like the film a whole lot when I first watched, but after having watched it a few times since, it has grown on me and I can now appreciate ... Read the complete review

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