City of Hope (1991)

City of Hope is a portrait of a typical middle-sized American city of the present day. The crux of the story is an old apartment block which stands in the way of a major commercial ... See full summary »

Director:

John Sayles

Writer:

John Sayles

Stars:

Vincent Spano, Stephen Mendillo, Chris Cooper

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vincent Spano	...	Nick Rinaldi
Stephen Mendillo	...	Yoyo
Chris Cooper	...	Riggs
Tony Lo Bianco	...	Joe Rinaldi
Joe Morton	...	Wynn
Charlie Yanko	...	Stavros
Jace Alexander	...	Bobby
Todd Graff	...	Zip
Scott Schutzman Tiler	...	Vinnie (as Scott Tiler)
John Sayles	...	Carl
Frankie Faison	...	Levonne
Gloria Foster	...	Jeanette
Tom Wright	...	Malik
Angela Bassett	...	Reesha
David Strathairn	...	Asteroid

Storyline

City of Hope is a portrait of a typical middle-sized American city of the present day. The crux of the story is an old apartment block which stands in the way of a major commercial development. Joe Rinaldi is the building contractor who owns the buildings, and is being pressured to torch them to permit the development to occur. His estranged son, Nick, soon becomes a pawn in the power politics of the city. Corrupt Mayor Baci and policeman O'Brien are determined to push the development, while idealistic city councilman Wynn soon finds himself torn between what he knows is right and what his black constituents want.

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Plot Keywords:

politics | mayor | homophobia | police officer | political corruption | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and a scene of sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1991 (UK)

Also Known As:

A remény városa

Filming Locations:

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,264,910 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Esperanza Films Inc., Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Wynn: All the problems we're hearing about tonight, the unemployment, the drugs, the street crimes, those will always be the highest when they people have the least education. So you'll can pay now or you can pay later. I mean if you have a brain tumor you wouldn't shop around for the cheapest surgeon you'll look for the best and that's what we're voting on tonight: the best for our children. Or do we sell out their futures for few tax cuts? Thank you.

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Connections

Referenced in Adam & Eva (1997)

User Reviews

No one is clean

"City of Hope": Let writer/director John Sayles pull you into one huge, HUGE, swirling Swirling SWIRLING mmmMMesSsmEEEesSSSMsmeSss of corruption. A big city has all the typical problems. Everyone operates realistically – i.e., you scratch my back, maybe I'll scratch yours. Right and wrong are lost concepts. Social and political survival tactics are practiced by the hunters and the hunted. No one is clean. Deals are made. Victims are collateral damage. It is a realistic story, with slightly enlarged dramatic characters. You won't laugh. (P.S. - See John Sayles film "The Secret of Roan Inish". It is nothing like "City of Hope" but it's amazing and wonderful.)