Fresh (1994)

Death and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.

Director:

Boaz Yakin

Writer:

Boaz Yakin

Stars:

Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Nelson	...	Fresh
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Esteban
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Sam
N'Bushe Wright	...	Nichole
Ron Brice	...	Corky
Jean-Claude La Marre	...	Jake (as Jean LaMarre)
José Zúñiga	...	Lt. Perez
Luis Lantigua	...	Chuckie
Yul Vazquez	...	Chillie
Cheryl Freeman	...	Aunt Frances
Anthony Thomas	...	Red
Curtis McClarin	...	Darryl (as Curtis L. McClarin)
Charles Malik Whitfield	...	Smokey
Víctor González	...	Herbie
Guillermo Díaz	...	Spike

Storyline

Fresh (Sean Nelson) is a 12-year-old drug dealer who finds himself trapped in a web of poverty, corruption and racial tension in Brooklyn, New York. When his drug-addict sister Nichole (N'Bushe Wright) starts sleeping with local drug lord Esteban (Giancarlo Esposito), Fresh calls upon the skills he learned playing chess with his alcoholic father and speed-chess champion Sam (Samuel L. Jackson) and devises a complex strategy that will free both himself and his sister.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | urban setting | african american | drug dealing | drug lord | 

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Taglines:

Risking it all, he invents new rules... to beat the odds in a deadly game of survival.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for intense, realistic depiction of urban violence, and for drug content, pervasive language, and some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fresh and Chuckie are seen playing basketball at the school yard where Jake is also playing. Ron Bice who plays Corky in this film starred in the basketball film, "Heaven Is A Playground" in 1991.

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Goofs

In the final scene at the park, the same blonde girl walks behind Fresh twice (the first time just as he makes it to the chess table, then again once he has sat down; by then the girl, walking at an uninterrupted pace, should've been out of the shot).

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Quotes

Fresh: I ain't run no base for no Esteban.
Corky: Oh no? Who was it for then, Santa Claus?
[slaps Fresh]
Corky: Who was it for?
Fresh: He gonna kill me if I say.
Corky: [Drops Fresh on the floor] I'm gonna ice you right now if you don't!

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Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Soundtracks

The Ghetto
Written by Hathaway & Hutson
Published by Peer International Corp./Don Pow Music
Performed by Johnny Gill
Produced by Chuckii Booker for Big Dog Productions
Courtesy of Motown Records

User Reviews

Great Movie

This movie didn't have to rely on BIG NAMES to make this movie great. It didn't have to rely on lots of on screen killing to be great. This movie was great because the dialog between the characters as well as the screen play were excellent all by themselves. The people who did play the parts DID justice to the characters they played. As the movie started and in the first 15 minutes, all I could think was this kid (Sean Nelson) was a punk trying to make a buck. I didn't realize, like most, until the end of the film what this kid was actaully doing, which was playing everyone like they were live chess pieces. He got what he wanted all by playing one against the other. This movie proved that a film does not have to be high budget or big names to be great. If that were the case, The Last Action Hero or Reindeer Games should win an OSCARS for Best Movie.

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

2 September 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fresh

Filming Locations:

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$8,094,616

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,094,616

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lumière Pictures, Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1