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Deep Cover
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Deep Cover (1992) More at IMDbPro »

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Deep Cover (1992) -- text os

Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   3,283 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 32% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Bill Duke
Writers (WGA):
Michael Tolkin (story)
Michael Tolkin (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Deep Cover on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 April 1992 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Crime | Thriller more
Tagline:
Dealer. Snitch. Junkie. Hustler. more
Plot:
A black uniformed policeman is recruited by a devious drug enforcement agent to infiltrate a smuggling... more | add synopsis
Awards:
2 nominations more
User Comments:
Good thriller with a jaded, subversive edge more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Lira Angel ... Bijoux
René Assa ... Guzman

Bruce Paul Barbour ... Policeman (as Bruce Barbour)
Bilal Bashir ... Rapper's Musician
Anna Berger ... Congresswoman
Donald Bishop ... Judge
Ed Cambridge ... Crackhead #2
Jaime Cardriche ... Shark

Alisa Christensen ... Ivy's Driver
Alex Colon ... Molto (as Alex Colón)
Cory Curtis ... Young Russell Stevens Jr.
Victoria Dillard ... Betty
James Encinas ... Guzman's Guard
Joseph Ferro ... James

Laurence Fishburne ... Russell Stevens Jr. / John Hull (as Larry Fishburne)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
107 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (cut) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Netherlands:16 | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #31647) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The last film where Laurence Fishburne was credited as Larry. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Felix Barbosa is slapping Eddie around in the pool hall at one point Eddie pulls all the food and glasses off the table. The food and drink reappear for one shot before disappearing for good. more
Quotes:
David Jason: What's the most intense sex thing you ever did? You ever, uh, been with two women at the same time?
John Hull: Yeah, your mother and your father.
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Movie Connections:
References Scarface (1983) more
Soundtrack:
Yo Te Quiero more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
7 out of 11 people found the following comment useful:-
Good thriller with a jaded, subversive edge, 14 April 2002
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Having witnessed his junkie father killed Russell Stevens grows up to become a policeman and make a difference. When he is offered an undercover job by Gerald Carver he accepts and begins to build a relationship with David Jason in order to get to the main dealers. However as he is forced to deal drugs and kill to keep his cover he finds the lines between cop and criminal being lost – is he a cop pretending to be a dealer or a dealer pretending to be a cop?

Larry (as he was then) Fishburne's first lead role was a typically dark vehicle. The story is the usual one of cop losing himself when undercover, however it manages to be more than that for most of the time. Co-written by Tolkin, who wrote The Player, this naturally has a nice cynical edge to it when it looks at the US's hypocritical approach to drug control and the political links between the street hustlers and the political high rollers who court respectability. The story does eventually settle into a traditional setting but even then it works well as a thriller.

The multi-talented Bill Duke directs well with a gritty feel and a few nice touches. However several things are a bit iffy. For most of the film Fishburne's narration/voice over is a bit like a cross between Apocalypse Now and Blade Runner – it comes across as a little too dark and heavy and also explains things like we can't figure it out ourselves. However once you get into the film it's not as big a deal. My main problem lies with the characters.

Fishburne is excellent, a real model of underlying anger and violence, Goldblum is good but perhaps a little OTT on the yuppie/violence thing, but there's good support from Smith and Spin City's beautiful (and often underused – but not here) Victoria Dillard. However the two main white characters (Goldblum and Smith) are both smeared with racist insinuations – Smith appears to insult his black officers and doesn't care about the junkies, while Goldblum is fascinated about all things black and talks about them as wild beautiful beasts and loves having sex with "black'. These things aren't a major problem, but with basically only two white characters in it, it's a little worrying that both are given that edge.

However these are minor complaints that get lost with a good thriller. Fishburne excels and Duke delivers a story that is a good thriller but also has a jaded, subversive edge.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Deep Cover (1992)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
after watching this over and over again... chwykoff
Lamest Ad Campaign Ever? tabbycat
Carver: Did You See It Coming? **SPOILER** tabbycat
Deep Cover Quote in Song machohervey
Who was the ugly dude hanging around Barbosa? britten_mark
hey you fashion bloggers out there mgns20
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