The Cotton Club (1984)

The Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem. The story follows the people that visited the club, those that ran it, and is peppered with the Jazz music that made it so famous.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

William Kennedy (screenplay), Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay),

Stars:

Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Gere	...	Dixie Dwyer
Gregory Hines	...	Sandman Williams
Diane Lane	...	Vera Cicero
Lonette McKee	...	Lila Rose Oliver
Bob Hoskins	...	Owney Madden
James Remar	...	Dutch Schultz
Nicolas Cage	...	Vincent Dwyer
Allen Garfield	...	Abbadabba Berman
Fred Gwynne	...	Frenchy Demange
Gwen Verdon	...	Tish Dwyer
Lisa Jane Persky	...	Frances Flegenheimer
Maurice Hines	...	Clay Williams
Julian Beck	...	Sol Weinstein
Novella Nelson	...	Madame St. Clair
Laurence Fishburne	...	Bumpy Rhodes (as Larry Fishburne)

Storyline

The Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem. The story follows the people that visited the club, those that ran it, and is peppered with the Jazz music that made it so famous.

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Plot Keywords:

jazz | orchestra | ethnic hatred | flapper | drive by shooting | 

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Taglines:

It was the jazz age. It was an era of elegance and violence. The action was gambling. The stakes were life and death.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

14 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cotton Club

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$58,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$25,900,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zoetrope Studios, PSO International, Totally Independent

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min 123 min (video)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sylvester Stallone was originally offered a part.

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Goofs

When Dixie goes to ransom Frenchy there is a different amount of shaving cream on Mad Dog's face in every shot.

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Quotes

Dixie: I'm surprised at you! Don't you feel anything for Mr. Flynn at all? He's dead!

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Connections

Edited into The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Creole Love Call"
Words and Music by Duke Ellington
Vocals: Priscilla Baskerville
Trumpet Solo: Lew Soloff
Clarinet Solo: Bob Wilber

User Reviews

One of Francis Coppola's best and underrated films

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.