Cocaine Cowboys (2006)

Director:

Billy Corben

Release Date:

23 November 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | Crime

Tagline:

The incredible true story that inspired "Scarface" and "Miami Vice".

Plot:

In the 1980s, ruthless Colombian cocaine barons invaded Miami with a brand of violence unseen in this country since Prohibition-era Chicago...

Plot Keywords:

Cocaine | Drugs | Violence | 1980s | Murder

Cast

Jon Roberts	...	Himself
Al Sunshine	...	Himself
Sam Burstyn	...	Himself
Mickey Munday	...	Himself
Bob Palumbo	...	Himself
Toni Mooney	...	Herself
Edna Buchanan	...	Herself
Joseph Davis	...	Himself (as Dr. Joseph Davis)
Al Singleton	...	Himself
Louis Caruso	...	Himself
Raul Diaz	...	Himself
Jorge Ayala	...	Himself (as Jorge 'Rivi' Ayala)
Nelson Andreu	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Griselda Blanco	...	Herself (archive footage)
Kelly Hughes	...	Girl in apt
Jenna Reeves	...	Girl In Ocean
Monica Rooker	...	Grizel Lorenzo
Alfred Spellman	...	Chucho Castro
Allegra Riggio	...	Herself - Model (uncredited)

Directed by
Billy Corben

Produced by
Billy Corben	....	producer
David Cypkin	....	associate producer
Bruno del Granado	....	executive producer
Alfred Spellman	....	producer

Original Music by
Jan Hammer

Cinematography by
Armando Salas

Film Editing by
Billy Corben
David Cypkin

Makeup Department
Robin Ryant	....	hair stylist
Robin Ryant	....	makeup artist

Sound Department
Juan Dieguez	....	sound designer
Paul Michael	....	sound re-recording mixer (5.1 version)
Lenny Rabinowitz	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Kevin Harris	....	special effects
John Patteson	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Mariah Diehl	....	assistant camera (as Mariah T. Diehl)
Josh Ellis	....	grip
Mike Gioulakis	....	grip
Brett Jacobsen	....	grip
Evan Rosenfeld	....	grip
Zachary Sieffert	....	assistant camera
Robert Villanueva	....	grip
Erika Waddey	....	grip
Kara Yeatts	....	grip

Editorial Department
Bradley Greer	....	on-line editor
Matthew Perrin	....	colorist (as Matt Perrin)
Jeffrey Spiegelman	....	post-production assistant
Shawn Wines	....	apprentice editor

Music Department
Eric Ransom	....	composer: additional music

Other crew
Benton L. Becker	....	researcher
David A. Carter	....	legal services
Michael V. Finuccio	....	accountant
Wesley Marquet	....	researcher
Dario Moreno	....	researcher
Edward Mullins	....	legal services
Edward Shohat	....	researcher
Robert Villanueva	....	production assistant
Matthew Weiner	....	logo designer

Thanks
Mariauxy Castillo	....	special thanks
Elliott Sears	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Rakontur

Distributors

• Surreal Films (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2007) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• Madman Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)
• Magnolia Pictures (2006) (USA) (all media)
• Punto Zero (2008) (Italy) (DVD) (as Enjoy Movies)

Other Companies

• Cineworks Digital Studios  post-production
• Jeremy Walker + Associates  publicity
• Manhattan Transfer  adr facility
• Manhattan Transfer  sound re-recording
• RPM Group  publicity

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive drug content, gruesome violent images, and language

Runtime:

118 min | USA:116 min (short version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:M (2007) | Germany:16 | Norway:10 (TV rating) | Norway:15 (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Rakontur

Movie Connections:

Features "Miami Vice" (1984)

Vice city

Prohibit a substance and its price will rise; with big profits available beyond the protection of the law, violence will follow. Concentrate the trade for an entire country through one city and an economic boom will combine with a murder epidemic. This was what happened to Miami with cocaine in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a story told exhilaratingly in Billy Corbern's fast-moving documentary 'Cocaine Cowboys'. It's a gripping tale, and the sheer quantity of money and death in it is truly horrifying. And yet, there's also a sense in which this film leaves a slightly sour taste in the mouth, as essentially it's a platform for a pair of major smugglers and one psychopathic killer to wax lyrical about the good old days, relatively free of moral condemnation. Still, it's an amazing story, one that seems more fit to video games than to real life, and its epilogue was the construction of much of the modern city with the proceeds from the trade.