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:

It was a time that there was a new gangster in.........

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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

Film debuts of Vanessa Williams and Phyllis Yvonne Stickney.

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Goofs

When Nino stabs Kareem, the dagger is in Kareem's hand in one shot, but next to his hand in another.

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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 Deformed Monsters (1997)

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Soundtracks

Facts of Life
Written by D. Madden, C. McIntosh, T. Jacobs and K. Nicholas
Produced by Danny Madden and Carl McIntosh
Performed by Danny Madden
Courtesy of Eternal Records/WEA Records Ltd.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Wesley Snipes gets the lion's share of acting honors for his role as Nino Brown in New Jack City

20 years after his father, Melvin Van Peebles, had made a revolutionary film called Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song, Mario Van Peebles would direct something of a classic himself with New Jack City. He plays the superior officer of a detective played by rapper Ice-T who we find out has personal reasons for wanting the drug dealer Nino Brown, played by Wesley Snipes, dead. Assisting him is partner Judd Nelson and a former user played by Chris Rock before he joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live". While Rock is better known as a comedian, he gives a fine dramatic performance here. Of course, it's Snipes who gets the lion's share of the acting highlights especially when his character's on trial. While it seems initially the drug lifestyle is glamorous here, it does show eventually that crime doesn't pay. So on that note, New Jack City gets a high recommendation from me. P.S. While I managed to watch this on YouTube, some parts were missing so I checked the Italian upload on the site to watch what I missed and I managed to understand what was going on despite the Italian dubbing.

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