New Jack City

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New Jack City
Image:New Jack City (DVD cover).jpg
Directed by	Mario Van Peebles
Produced by	Doug McHenry Fab Five Freddy George Jackson
Written by	Thomas Lee Wright Barry Michael Cooper
Starring	Wesley Snipes Mario Van Peebles Ice T Judd Nelson
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	March 8, 1991
Running time	97 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$8,500,000
IMDb profile

New Jack City is a 1991 crime-thriller film starring Wesley Snipes, Ice T, Mario Van Peebles, Judd Nelson and Chris Rock. New Jack City was the first theatrically released feature film for director Mario Van Peebles. It was filmed from April 16 to June 6, 1990.

1 Synopsis
2 Cast
3 Reception
4 DVD release
5 Trivia
6 See also
7 Notes
8 External link

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes) and his gang, the Cash Money Brothers, become the dominant drug ring within New York City when crack cocaine is introduced to the city streets during the 1980s and early 1990s. They convert an entire apartment complex ("The Carter") into a crack house. Undercover cops Scotty Appleton and Nick Peretti (played by Ice T and Judd Nelson) try to convict the gang with evidence of the drug dealing. They recruit Pookie (played by Chris Rock), a former stick-up kid turned recovering crackhead, to work undercover at "The Carter" to help them gather incriminating evidence against Nino and the Cash Money Brothers. Eventually, megalomania separates Nino from his gang and is the catalyst for their downfall.

Nino is eventually caught by the undercover cops, and sent to trial. Appleton discovers Nino was the young gangster that killed his mother, a teacher, in a seemingly motiveless crime as an initiation rite into his original gang. Because of a flawed technicality in the case, Nino Brown was cleared of all felonies and only charged with a few misdemeanors; and another member of his organization, Kareem Akbar (portrayed by Christoper Williams), was framed and charged on all counts. Immediately after the trial Nino Brown is murdered in the courthouse by a vigilante from the neighborhood he once controlled.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cast

Wesley Snipes — Nino Brown
Ice T — Scotty Appleton
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 A. Williams — Keisha
Tracy Camilla Johns — Uniqua
Anthony DeSando — Frankie Needles
Nick Ashford — Rev. Oates

[edit] Reception

[edit] Film reviews

New Jack City was an independent film released primarily in urban metropolitan areas. It received a favorable reception by film critics for its cast, storyline and soundtrack. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film favorable reviews. He wrote:

Truffaut once said it was impossible to make an anti-war movie, because the war sequences would inevitably be exciting and get the audience involved on one side or the other. It is almost as difficult to make an anti-drug movie, since the lifestyle and money of the drug dealers looks like fun, at least until they're killed. This movie pulls off that tricky achievement. Nino, who looks at the dead body of Scarface and laughs, does not get the last laugh. ^[1]

Time Out London described the film as "a superior example of what used to be called blaxploitation."[2]

[edit] Box office

New Jack City was produced with an estimated $8,500,000 budget. The film initially premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 1991, before being released nationally on March 6, 1991; it grossed $7,039,622 during its opening weekend. It became the highest grossing independent film of 1991, grossing a total of $47,624,253 at the US box offices.

[edit] Awards and nominations

1993 Image Awards

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture — Wesley Snipes (won)

1992 MTV Movie Awards

Best Breakthrough Performance — Ice T (nominated)
Best Movie Song — "I Wanna Sex You Up," by Color Me Badd (nominated)
Best Villain — Wesley Snipes (nominated)

[edit] DVD release

The New Jack City DVD was originally released in Region 1 on August 25, 1998 and in Region 2 on July 28, 1999; it was distributed by Warner Home Video. The DVD was re-released as a Two-Disc Special Edition on August 23, 2005.

Special Edition DVD features:

Commentary by: director/costar Mario Van Peebles
New Jack City: A Hip-Hop Classic
Harlem World: A Walk Inside
The Road to New Jack City
Original music videos: "New Jack Hustler" (Nino's Theme) by Ice T, "I'm Dreamin'" by Christopher Williams, and "I Wanna Sex You Up" by Color Me Badd
Original theatrical trailer

[edit] Trivia

Ice T wrote the song "Cop Killer" in the same year as he acted in the film. Released by his rock band Body Count, the song led to the Cop Killer controversy. Ice-T repeatedly pointed out that the fact he had just played a cop in a film strongly suggested he did not want to actually kill a police officer. Additionally, he is currently (as of 2006) playing a police officer on the long-running television series Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
Both Ice T and Michael Michele subsequently had recurring roles on the FOX police drama New York Undercover.
Vanessa A. Williams, who portrays Keisha, is not to be confused with Vanessa L. Williams, the actress/singer and Miss America 1984.
New Jack City,Menace 2 Society and Boyz N the Hood provided inspiration for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.^{[citation needed]}
The name of Baby's recording label, Cash Money Records is based off of the name of Nino Brown's crew, Cash Money Brothers.^{[citation needed]}
When Nino is being hit, he is seen using a young child as a human shield. This scene is homage to Truck Turner (1974) where Yaphet Kotto is seen taking a young child from a hospital ward using it as a shield.^{[citation needed]}
The character Nino Brown is large based on the real life gangster Kenneth Supreme McGriff. The Cash Money Brothers gang is based on the gang Supreme Team which operates in New York City.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Team
As of 2006, Wesley Snipes has welcomed the idea of a sequel to New Jack City, in which the character he played, Nino Brown, is an older and wiser person.^{[citation needed]}
On his album Revolutionary Vol. 2, in the song Peruvian Cocaine, Immortal Technique samples Wesley Snipes' testimony in a court scene at the end of the movie.
Southern rapper Yung Joc makes reference to New Jack City with the title of his debut album, New Joc City.
Rapper Lil' Wayne makes a reference to New Jack City in his albums Tha Carter and Tha Carter II. The Carter is the building Nino Brown and his crew take over in the city; although Wayne's last name is also Carter, it would seem he is alluding to this building, especially since he includes songs such as "Walk In," "Inside," and "Walk Out" which describe what he calls "my building." Additionally, Lil Wayne is CEO of Cash Money Records, which may allude to the Cash Money Brothers.