Dead Presidents (1995)

A Vietnam vet adjusts to life after the war while trying to support his family, but the chance of a better life may involve crime and bloodshed.

Directors:

Albert Hughes (as The Hughes Brothers), Allen Hughes (as The Hughes Brothers)

Writers:

Allen Hughes (story), Albert Hughes (story)

Stars:

Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Larenz Tate	...	Anthony Curtis
Keith David	...	Kirby
Chris Tucker	...	Skip
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Jose
Rose Jackson	...	Juanita Benson
N'Bushe Wright	...	Delilah Benson
Alvaleta Guess	...	Mrs. Benson
James Pickens Jr.	...	Mr. Curtis
Jenifer Lewis	...	Mrs. Curtis
Clifton Powell	...	Cutty
Elizabeth Rodriguez	...	Marisol
Terrence Howard	...	Cowboy (as Terrence Dashon Howard)
Ryan Williams	...	Young Revolutionary
Larry McCoy	...	Nicky
Rodney Winfield	...	Mr. Warren

Storyline

This action film, directed by the Hughes brothers, depicts a heist of old bills, retired from circulation and destined by the government to be "money to burn." However, more broadly, it addresses the issues of Black Americans' involvement in the Vietnam War and their subsequent disillusionment with progress in social issues and civil rights back home in the United States, during the 1960's.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam war | 1960s | black panthers | new york city | black militant | 

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Taglines:

They'll risk everything for the ultimate score.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic violence, language, a sex scene and some drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alta Jogada

Filming Locations:

Mount Vernon, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$24,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caravan Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Underworld Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Larenz Tate & Chris Tucker's characters are hail from The Bronx and end up fighting in the Vietnam war. In Apocalypse Now (1979) Laurence Fishburne's character was also from The Bronx, there's even an Apocalypse Now moment as the sun is shinning behind a flying chopper.

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Goofs

In the scene where Larenz is playing pool with Cowboy, Larenz is leaning on the table and cowboy yells at him to get off the table, there is a large white sheet of Cardboard laying in the middle of the table. When the shot changes angle to the view from the distance the sheet is gone. This sheet of cardboard would make it very hard to play a game of pool.

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Quotes

Delilah Benson: [Delilah saying to Anthony after he returns from the war] It's not your fault you've been brainwashed by America.

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Alternate Versions

Criterion Laserdisc also famously had a rather graphic unrated version of the armored car robbery scene near the end, apparently the original version nearly got the movie the NC-17 and it was cut down.

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Connections

Referenced in Na plovárne: Na plovárne s Danny Elfmanem (2014)

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Soundtracks

Once Upon A Time
Written by Dave Hamilton, William Stevenson, Barney Ales & Clarence Paul
Performed by Marvin Gaye & Mary Wells
Courtesy of Motown Record Company, L.P.
By Arrangement With Polygram Special Markets

User Reviews

Déja-Vu Festival

This movie jumps from one movie-cliché to another. Even a half-hearted movie buff can't avoid wincing at the amount of 'déja-vu' moments the Hughes Bros. chuck at you... There's Scorsese 'moments' galore (even DeNiro film-debut re-makes), and ideas from Lynch's "Wild at Heart" are randomly (and stupidly) used here and there. Oliver Stone is ransacked in the Vietnam sequences, as is Coppola (in sloppy "Apocalypse Now" re-creations). In fact all is told in such a heavy-handed,un-intelligent way, that the viewer is 'turned off' pretty quickly. No one likes to be treated like a moron, least of all a movie-buff... So who was this movie made for? Audiences who have never seen the seminal movies of the last 25 years? Oh! It was a surprise to see the excellent Martin Sheen in the un-billed role of a heartless war-vet judge. At least he managed to avoid being hit by a flying chair. I sat through this and wished I had avoided this graceless BOMB!