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Dead Presidents [1996]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Twin brother codirectors Albert and Alan Hughes planned their first film, the 1991 ghetto crime drama Menace II Society as a response to John Singleton's Boyz N the Hood, which they considered wimpy and moralistic. They set their sights on The Deer Hunter in this ambitious follow-up, and they just about pull it off. Larenz Tate (from Why Do Fools Fall in Love) plays Anthony Curtis, an open-hearted African American teenager who gets shipped out to Vietnam with several of his pals, witnesses unspeakable horrors and then struggles to readjust to civilian life. The evolving textures of life in a declining inner-city neighbourhood over a period of a decade are seamlessly evoked and there's enough nuanced character development and personal interaction for a seven-hour miniseries. Still in their early 20s, the Hughes brothers are already poised and masterful movie makers; they cover an enormous amount of historical and emotional ground and every twist and turn is crystal clear. They betray their inexperience only at the very end, in an elaborately staged heist sequence that, while stunningly executed, feels a bit desperate, as if they were reaching blindly for a big pay off. Chris Tucker (Rush Hour) has a startling supporting role as a kid who becomes a junkie during the war and never quite recovers. --David Chute


3.5--"People out of work everywhere and the government just be throwing money away!"...,
Review date: 2007-07-04 Rating: 6 out of 10

The Hughes brothers certainly had the right idea in mind making this a cool heist, and I give them credit for trying, but they bite off more than they can chew. Dead Presidents is a really good film. Most people think this movie is all about robbing a bank but it really isn't even though it comes at the end.

The most obvious problem is the film tries to be too many things at once. It starts as a ghetto drama-then it's a war movie-then it ends as a crime thriller! (More than a bit reminiscent of Kubrick's "The Killing.") This could have worked with the proper care, but DP suffers from trying to cram too much story in just under two hours. An extra twenty minutes would properly flesh out the plot. The film opens in the late sixties as we meet Anthony (Larenz Tate), Anthony's girl Juanita (Rose Jackson), his friend Skip (Chris Tucker-as bug-eyed as ever) and boss Kirby (Keith David). We follow Anthony through his first experiences with sex, violence, and family resistance. Anthony wants to join the Marines and through a rather clever edit, we are plunged into the Vietnam War head first. The Hughes Bros. handle this material well, although it gets a bit busy with all the Vietnam-isms: drug use, severed heads, mercy killings, Agent Orange, air strikes, etc. The audience discovers that before the war Anthony got Juanita pregnant, and that he has a baby girl "back in the world." It is a lot of material to cover in the brief period of time, and we only get a brief glimpse of what is was like to be a black soldier in country.

We jump back to the "world", where we witness the domestic turmoil the war has brought upon Anthony and Juanita. Another pitfall is the Juanita character, who is so abrasive that we feel no sympathy towards her. The scene where Anthony assaults her is problematic; I mean what did she expect waging the verbal attack that she does on an alcoholic Vietnam Vet? The confrontation with Cutty (Clifton Powell), Juantia's sugar daddy, is contrived and goes on far too long. Broke and alone, Anthony, in his moral confusion, turns to the film's equivalent of the Black Panther Party for support...

This is where `Dead Presidents' abandons the drama for the above mentioned heist aspects. Ignoring the pragmatic problems with the robbery (i.e. face paint instead of masks), it is a rather poor way to resolve a film where so much time has been expended creating complex characters. One does not get the sense that Anthony is desperate enough to do something that goes so much against his character. The other members of the heist have not been properly set up to take part in it either. It seems tacked on, almost an afterthought to the plot proper. Anyway the heist does not go as planned; everything leading to the final shot of `Dead Presidents' seems anticlimactic, leaving many questions unanswered.

One of the major flaws of the film is the lead performance by Larenz Tate; he is a good actor, but does not seem dynamic enough to bring Anthony through a narrative arc that gets lost in the clouds. The editing leaves scenes unfinished and cold. The story: If the Hughes Bros. had focused on one or two aspects of the plot, we would have been presented with a more thoughtful and detailed story. I'll give them credit for being ambitious though, but experienced film makers also know what to cut from a film when everything seems like a good idea. But that is a skill that comes with time.


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Reviews


stunning action and a strong story
Review date: 2001-12-10 Rating: 8 out of 10

This violent and powerful film is definitely not for the Merchant/Ivory brigade. Anyone averse to gore and profanity will be reaching for the remote pretty sharpish, which is a shame because they'll miss a stylish and very well directed movie. The Hughes Brothers only have one other film to their name but they have talent to burn. The heist sequence is one of the most visually stunning and best sustained action scenes I've ever watched. They're pretty good with the actors too, drawing strong performances from Larenz Tate, Keith David and a pre-fame Chris Tucker. The film does have its problems though, mostly stemming from character motivation. It's a little hard to believe that some of these people who you grow to
like during the movie become capable of such violence, but the Hughes's and writer Michael Henry Brown at least try to illustrate their reasons. However, these are minor quibbles in an otherwise highly impressive and entertaining piece

"ONE HELL OF A GOOD MOVIE"
Review date: 2000-03-28 Rating: 10 out of 10

IF YOU WANT ACTION,ROMANCE,COMEDY LOOK NO FURTHER THAN DEAD PRESIDENTS.THE FILM WHICH IS JUST AS GOOD AS MENACE 2 SOCIETY.BUT A LIITLE UNDER RATED IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A PERFECT FILM THIS IS A PERFECT FILM

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Larenz Tate
Chris Tucker
Rose Jackson
Keith David
Freddy Rodríguez

Creators:
Larenz Tate (Primary Contributor)
Keith David (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
EAN: 5017188881845
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2006-06-15
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 114 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1995-10-04
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Dubbed)
Language: Italian (Dubbed)

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