Knights of the City (1986) User Reviews

Imagine the gangs from Michael Jackson's "Beat It" got a movie

[udar55 · 5/10 · 30 April 2023]

Troy (Leon Isaac Kennedy) leads the tough street gang and rock band (!) called the Royal Rockers. Locked up one night after a brawl, they are heard by a record CEO (Michael Ansara) who is in the drunk tank and get offered a shot at the big time in a talent contest. As an added bonus, Troy begins to fall for the CEO's daughter Brooke (Janine Turner in her first lead), which the record exec doesn't approve of.

Shot as Cry of the City in Miami during 1984, this could easily have been Breakin' 3. Unfortunately for producer-writer-lead Kennedy, the film sat on the shelf for nearly two years before New World picked it up in November 1985 and put it in theaters in early 1986. Kennedy contends on his site that the studio cut down his masterpiece, but I'm not quite sure this could be considered that in any form. Truth is by the time this came out the breakdancing craze was pretty much dead. The film is pretty schizophrenic in nature - you have one moment where the band is performing a goofy song and the next they are engaged in violent gang activity. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it is that it was financed by former mafia kingpin Michael Franzese. This would be the penultimate leading role for Kennedy, who was best know for the Penitentiary series (he ended his leading man career with part three after this). Musical cameos include Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys, Harry Wayne Casey (the K. C. of K. C. and the Sunshine Band), and Smokey Robinson. And because I know you are dying to know - yes, the band wins the talent contest.

Not worthy of your time...

[LebowskiT1000 · 5/10 · 5 February 2003]

It isn't often that I would say that a film has almost no redeeming value. Sadly, this is one of those cases. "Knights of the City" has virtually nothing going for it. The story is pretty bad and rather uninteresting. The characters are decent, I suppose, but nothing spectacular. The acting is far from top-notch, but I've seen worse. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the cast is made up of unknowns (and this was made back in 1986...so they've all had some time to make a name for themselves).

The only cast member that I did recognize is Janine Turner from "Cliffhanger" and must I say that she is the ONLY reason to watch this film. Janine looks absolutely fantastic in the film.

The ending to the film is unbelievably unsatisfying. The whole point of the film was that these a-little-too-old-to-be-gang-bangers wanted to get out of their wasted lifestyle and do something meaningful. But in the end, they basically threw it all away and stuck with their barbaric ways...at least they have each other right? ...And the main guy (Leon Isaac Kennedy) didn't even get the girl in the end!!! I guess I have to give the makers some credit for not being predictable and somewhat ballsy...but this was just stupid if you ask me.

I definitely wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone, unless you are really into the look of Michael Jackson's "Bad" Music Video or films like "The Warriors" (1979). I thought this film was rather laughable and obviously made in the 1980's. If for some reason you MUST see this film, I hope you enjoy it more than I did. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

Jeff Kutash Is Awesome!

[tarbosh22000 · 14 October 2010]

Could it be that there is a movie that combines Body Rock (1984) with Chains (1989)? Yes, it exists: Knights of the City has to be one of the silliest movies ever, and, coming from us, that's really saying something.

The Royals are a street gang in Miami. The core members are also in a band called the Royal Rockers. The Mechanics are a rival gang moving in on their turf. One night after a rumble, they end up in jail. Like most jails, The Fat Boys and Kurtis Blow are there and everyone in the cell starts dancing and rapping. Luckily, Delamo (Ansara) is in the cell next door for being a raging alcoholic. Of course, he is the head of Twilight Records. He likes what he hears and sees, so he gives the band a business card. The next day, the band shows up at the offices and drops off their demo tape (which sounds exactly like Michael Jackson). His daughter Brooke is in charge of A&R and wants to sign them, but they didn't leave any contact info on their tape. So she starts a contest, "Street Contest", to try and find acts in the inner city. This was pretty ahead of it's time; try to imagine a ghetto "American Idol" or "America's Got Talent". She finds the band, but the leader of the Royals/Royal Rockers, Troy (Kennedy) falls for her. Conflicts ensue when her high class world meets his lower-class one. But wait! There's more! Joey (Nicholas Campbell) is a die-hard Royal, and, due to the rising popularity of the Royal Rockers, thinks Troy is losing his edge and forgetting his roots. But fellow Royal/guitarist Mookie (yes, Mookie) (John Mengatti) wants to go the music route more, and Troy is torn between them. But Troy sees winning the Street Contest as his way out of the ghetto. Thanks to Brooke, he's seen the other side of life, and now wants to be a part of it. But there's yet another conflict at hand. Jasmine (Wendy Barry), Troy's former girlfriend is competing against him in the contest...and she's being coached by none other than Carlos (Jeff Moldovan), the evil head of the Mechanics! And did we mention their bad-ass gang hideout is an abandoned TUGBOAT!?!? A freakin' TUGBOAT! As if all that wasn't enough, both gangs are constantly being harassed by grumpy cop McGruder (Floyd Levine)! How will Troy deal with all this, to quote him, "Jive"? CRUCIAL PLOT POINT THAT I FORGOT TO MENTION: In rehearsing for the contest, they decide their dance moves are not good enough so they hire Flash (Jeff Kutash) to show them how to get down and get funky in the proper manner. Naturally this leads to a montage of dance training. Don't ever forget about Kutash.

Besides the aforementioned Body Rock and Chains, Knights of the City can also be compared to a cross between West Side Story (1961), Beat Street (1984) and The Warriors (1979). There are gangs, and they do gang-y things, but they will throw down some break dancing moves at the drop of a hat! At any moment, a dance could break out. Even Denny Terrio of Dance Fever fame appears as himself, along with all the other guest musical stars! Forget all the ham-handed acting (or in the case of Nicholas Campbell as Joey, yelling and screaming) where everything every character says ends in "man!"...the TRUE stars of Knights of the City are THE COSTUMES! The clothes that people wear in this movie are truly astounding. They must be seen to be believed. NO 80's movie or music video you have seen before can prepare you for the awesome outfits. Top honors go to Costume Designers Celia Bryant and Beverly Safier. No wonder it took two people. If there were any justice in this world, they would be more recognized for their abilities. I would try to describe the clothes for you, but not only is that pointless, I think it might also count as a "Spoiler Alert"! In another completely absurd turn, none other than Smokey Robinson shows up as the MC of the contest. He seems stiff and confused. Maybe getting onstage in front of judges such as Dean Dean made him nervous.

The Royals are a ragtag group of street ragamuffins, and they supposedly are rude, crude and have a dangerous 'tude, but in actuality they are obnoxious and annoying. No wonder Troy wants to drop them like a bad habit. For example, Carlos' big insult to Troy is to repeatedly call him "Fish Lips". But there does seem to be some weird, last-minute editing out of swear words, so that might make sense. But the movie is still rated R, so...why? But at its core, Knights of the City is really a movie with a message. Reach for the stars! For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Cool movie

[PeterRoeder · 7/10 · 9 May 2010]

I was shocked to see the low rating of this movie. It's a really cool 80s movie. I didn't see all of it, but it actually looks just as good as The Warriors, and clearly Michael Jackson was inspired by this (or vice versa). It looks exactly like the stuff from Beat it and Bad. Of course, also other cool 80s movies. It really has all the kitch-value. I wonder why this movie is so little known. I had not heard about it either, until I saw it tonight. Anyway, it is very good, with some great music and action. Clearly this is an excellent description of the rap and hip-hop environment in an urban environment in the 80s and in the USA.

best movie ever

[drakek984 · 10/10 · 16 November 2009]

Chris,

Little known fact, I suppose, but I want to let you know that this movie was made by a now ex-mob boss (Michael Franzese) who was dubbed by Tom Brokaw as "The Prince of the Mafia," and made more money than anyone since Al Capone. In the manner of sucking up, I'm going to say that I love this movie. Though it was made in the 1980's, it is still a beautiful representation of everything that the culture back then stood for.

Thanks.

Katy

Dated picture mixes gang rumbles, rap music and breakdancing

[lor_ · 2 March 2023]

My review was written in February 1986 after a screening at Harris theater on Manhattan's 42nd St.

"Knights of the City" is a silly mishmash filmed in South Florida two years ago under the title "Cry of the City" (retained as a theme song). Filmmaker-star Leon Isaac Kennedy attempts to mix elements from the youth gang pics of the late 1970s with the recently demised ("Beat Street", "Flash Forward") genre of dance/rap music contests. Hokey result, picked up by New World, is yet another dud ready to line the shelves of home video stores.

Pic gained some notoriety when its production company, Miami Gold (not credited on screen in release print) left Florida after much local ballyhoo and exec producer Michael Franzese was later charged by the feds with racketeering and allegedly using his film companies to launder funds.

With new producers, music and post-production changes, pic emerges as a diffuse tale of three urban gang members (setting is indeterminate despite Florida lensing) played by Kennedy, John Mengati and Nicholas Campbell, at war with a rival gang, The Mechanix, led by Jeff Moldovan, that is invading their turf. Kennedy and Mengati also head up a musical group, which looks like their ticket out of the ghetto when they are briefly befriended in jail by drunk record company owner Michael Ansara.

Kennedy crosses both the color line and social classes by romancing Ansara's daughter, statuesque Janine Turner (named Brooke here and styled after Brooke Shields), who, a la "Flash Forward", organizes a street talent contest. After being coached in the latest dance steps by (fellow ex-Clevelander) Jeff Kutash, Kennedy & crew win the $10,000 prize and a recording contract, even though their much-applauded performance is pretty bad.

Campbell is a hardliner who wants to keep the gang together, and there is some chummy solidarity in the final reel when the good guys unite to wipe the floor with The Mechanix.

Filmed by director Dominic Orlando with too much back lighting and smoke machine effects, pic is padded with quickie turns by numerous guest stars from the music world, including Smokey Robinson as the contest emcee. Sammy Davis Jr.'s stint ended up on the cutting room floor, however.

Kutash's choreography is unimpressive and pic's musical sequences never generate the excitement of such models as "Breakin'" or even New World's own "Body Rock". The hope to modernize a "West Side Story" format is stillborn because this is not a musical but rather an action pic, with interpolated musical performances.

Campbell wins the overacting honors with a strident, screaming act, while his future teammate on tv's "The Insiders" series, Stoney Jackson, has little to do as the group/gang's drummer. Kennedy's script is extremely self-serving, unbelievably adding to his screen persona as "a lover and a fighter" the status of rap singer.

Where the hell is that city?

[krayzp · 20 February 2004]

One thing that I found rather strange in this movie is that everywhere you go, you can see people dancing. On dimly lit street corners, in alleys, everywhere! What's up with that???.