New Jack City (1991)

A crime lord ascends to power and becomes megalomaniacal while a maverick police detective vows to stop him.

Director:

Mario Van Peebles

Writers:

Thomas Lee Wright (story), Thomas Lee Wright (screenplay)

Stars:

Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wesley Snipes	...	Nino Brown
Ice-T	...	Scotty Appleton (as Ice T)
Allen Payne	...	Gee Money
Chris Rock	...	Pookie
Mario Van Peebles	...	Stone
Michael Michele	...	Selina
Bill Nunn	...	Duh Duh Duh Man
Russell Wong	...	Park
Bill Cobbs	...	Old Man
Christopher Williams	...	Kareem Akbar
Judd Nelson	...	Nick Peretti
Vanessa Williams	...	Keisha
Tracy Camilla Johns	...	Uniqua
Anthony DeSando	...	Frankie Needles
Nick Ashford	...	Reverend Oates

Storyline

The gangster Nino has a gang who call themselves Cash Money Brothers. They get into the crack business and not before long they make a million dollars every week. A cop, Scotty, is after them. He tries to get into the gang by letting an ex-drug addict infiltrate the gang, but the attempt fails miserably. The only thing that remains is that Scotty himself becomes a drug pusher.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | drug dealer | war on drugs | police raid | cult film | 

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Taglines:

Where survival depends on friends, trust and power... An organized crime family out to run this city is up against cops who knows its streets.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, drug content, sensuality and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 March 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Cidade do Novo Paraíso

Filming Locations:

Grant's Tomb - 122th Street & Riverside Drive, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,039,622, 10 March 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$47,624,253

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Jackson/McHenry Company,The, Jacmac Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Controversial professional wrestler Jerome Young, aka New Jack, took his ring name after seeing this film.

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Goofs

Pookie's time inside the Carter was extensively videotaped, and those tapes, which included G Money giving the order to kill Pookie after his cover is blown, were all saved by the cops. Despite all that taped evidence that could be used to either convict G Money and several others and/or flip them as witnesses against Nino, the operation is declared a total failure and the tapes are never used.

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Quotes

Nick Peretti: Is this one of those black things?

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Alternate Versions

German VHS & first DVD releases were edited for violence in two scenes (Nino kills a cop by cutting his throat/Scotty beats Nino at the end of the film), probably to secure a "Not under 16" rating. On TV the film was broadcast uncut. On the 2006 Special Edition DVD the film was released uncut.

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Connections

References Truck Turner (1974)

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Soundtracks

(THERE YOU GO) TELLING ME NO AGAIN
Written and Produced by Keith Sweat and Bobby Wooten
Performed by Keith Sweat
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment

User Reviews

New Jack City

As British TV is so bad at the moment I'm re-watching many of my DVDs. I dug this out. Wesley Snipes is a very underrated actor just like his peer Laurence Fishburne. He is excellent in this, and as another user has commented, you see especially in the trial scene that his character isn't quite the dumb-head he appears to be just misguided. It has a fine cast. I dug the film out to watch Judd Nelson's performance again in it as I've just re-watched the Breakfast Club and wanted to compare. I can't remember who directed NJC but it's very reminiscent of a Spike Lee film and just as hard hitting. It is just as relevant today as it was back in 1991 in fact more relevant here in Manchester, United Kingdom as we have seen over the past 7 years some serious divisions within the black community.