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 & 5 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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chris Rock and Allen Payne were in CB4 (1994) together.

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Goofs

Nino's crew has already seized the Carter Apartments for their operations, but later he's still talking about taking them over at the New Year's Eve party when Frankie Needles interrupts him.

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Quotes

G-Money: [talking to Duh Duh Man] Unadulterated! Would you please shut the fuck up before you have a seizure!

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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

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Jeff Goldblum/Aerosmith (1993)

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Soundtracks

Lyrics 2 the Rhythm
Written by T. Marie, T. Armstrong, R. Smith, T. Hutchinson & Grandmaster Flash (as J. Saddler)
Produced by Grandmaster Flash
Performed by Essence
Courtesy of Giant Records

User Reviews

Wesley Snipes Should Have Been Nominated

This is one great movie, but the thing that really made it special was Wesley Snipes portrayal of a totally despicable character in Nino Brown. He didn't portray Nino as the stereotypical drug dealer. Instead he portrayed Nino as a highly intelligent man who you wonder what would have happened if he had put his intelligence to more productive pursuits. Also, Ice-T wasn't bad in his first major role and you can see how much he has improved by watching Law and Order: SVU.

This is not your typical movie about the drug culture.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 March 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

New Jack City

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,039,622, 10 March 1991

Gross USA:

$47,624,353

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$47,624,353

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