Jungle Fever (1991) or, Black and White Difficulties in New York, USA

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A powerful image of the interlocked white and black hands of a black man and a white female evocatively used on the poster for Spike Lee's Jungle Fever

Explores the struggles of an interracial young couple, an African-American architect and an Italian-American secretary in New York, a crack addict and their more or less understanding surroundings.

 

Jungle Fever is written, produced and directed by Georgian master filmmaker Spike Lee (She's Gotta Have It (1986)), whose 5th feature it is. He also co-stars as Cyrus.

Jungle Fever is a very good 'local' film, - 'local' meaning that it is very much an American and a New-Yorker film, which may seem superfluous to audiences not Americans or New-Yorkers, or at least to those uninterested in America and New York. But as someone who falls into this third group, I find it absolutely wonderful. 

The film puts a spotlight on modern, American racism, which is a favorite theme of Lee's, and he certainly doesn't make it easy for the characters of Wesley Snipes (The Fan (1996)) and Annabella Sciorra (Luke Cage (2018, TV-series)), who venture on the extra-marital, interracial affair at the film's core. Besides these two blazing stars, the film enjoys strong turns from Samuel L. Jackson (The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)) (as the crack addict), John Turturro (The Jesus Rolls (2019)), Ossie Davis (Philly (2002, TV-series)) and Lee himself. There are fresh songs from Stevie Wonder to enjoy along with the film, and the dialog is great. SPOILER Only the somewhat disappointing "NOOOOO!" ending weighs down on this great piece of filmmaking.

 

Related posts:
 
Spike Lee: The day after the day after ... the 2019 Oscars

Top 10: Best heist movies 

Inside Man (2006) - Lee's delicious heist thriller 

She Hate Me (2004) or, Champion of the Lesbians 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Top 10: Best crime movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
25th Hour (2002) or, Taking a Second Chance 

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  

He Got Game (1998) - Lee's basketball classic

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 14 mil. $

Box office: 43.8 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.12 times its cost)

[Jungle Fever premiered 16 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 132 minutes. Jackson had left crack rehab two weeks before filming and his ravaged look was reportedly caused by this. Shooting took place from August - December 1990 in New York. Universal Pictures made Lee scrap a prologue with his views on racism from the film. It opened #3, behind fellow new release City Slickers and holdover hit Backdraft, to a 5.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#4), grossing 32.4 mil. $ (74 % of the total gross). The film won a National Board of Review award and was nominated for a Grammy, among other honors. It lost the Palme d'Or to Barton Fink. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Lee returned with 9 music videos prior to his theatrical return with Malcolm X (1992). Snipes returned in The Waterdance (1992); Sciorra in The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (1992). Jungle Fever is certified fresh at 84 % at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Jungle Fever?

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) or, The Nanny Terror!

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A harmonious family picture is menacingly cut in half with Rebecca De Mornay's blond-haired, wicked face staring out on this effective poster for Curtis Hanson's The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

A harmonious young couple with a daughter and a second on the way have recently been through a case in which the mother/wife was one sexual misconduct accuser against a gynecologist who consequently took his own life. Now the couple hire a beautiful, blond nanny...

 

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is written by Amanda Silver (Eye for an Eye (1996)) and directed by Nevadan master filmmaker Curtis Hanson (Sweet Kill (1972)), whose 7th feature it is.

SPOILER The nanny turns out to be the late gynecologist's embittered, psychotic widow! The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is somewhat predictable but still a wildly effective, thrilling film with three great actress performances: Annabella Sciorra (The Maid's Room (2013)) as the unlucky wife/mother; Julianne Moore (Next (2007)) as her close friend and a real power woman; and Rebecca De Mornay (The Right Temptation (2000)) as the ice-cold nanny maniac.

Robert Elswit (Cadillac Dreams (1988, short)) gives solidity to the photography, - and the entire construction that is The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is in fact solid. It is a highly satisfying nail-biter erected around the transgressive idea of the callous, mad nanny.

 

Watch a short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 11.9 mil. $

Box office: 140 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 11.76 times its cost)

[The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was released 10 January (USA) and runs 110 minutes. Shooting took place from April - July 1991 in Washington, including in Seattle. The film opened #1 to a 7.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it remained #1 for another 3 weekends and then spent another 3 weekends (#2-#4-#5) in the top 5, grossing 88 mil. $ (62.9 % of the total gross). Hanson returned with The River Wild (1994). Sciorra returned in Whispers in the Dark (1992); De Mornay in Blind Side (1993, TV movie) and theatrically in Guilty As Sin (1993). The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is fresh at 65 % with a 6.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle?

Cop Land (1997) - Stallone faces corruption and turns in some good acting in fine crime drama

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+ Best Crime Drama of the Year

Big leading men on the poster for James Mangold's Cop Land

QUICK REVIEW:

A taciturn cop in Garrison, New Jersey (Sylvester Stallone (First Blood (1982)) will have to be stumped on his feet many times, before he decides to clean up his town.
Cop Land is a very well-played cop crime thriller with a dream cast who all worked for scale to make it happen: Harvey Keitel (The Piano (1993)), Robert Patrick (The Sopranos (2000)), Robert De Niro (Casino (1995)) and Ray Liotta (Goodfellas (1990)) are some of the dirty cops, but Stallone trumps them all in his best acting performance to date. 
The film is well-written and directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line (2005)), who is unfortunately now fixed on throwing years of his career away into yet another superfluous Wolverine film. Before Cop Land, Mangold had only made one other feature, the romantic drama Heavy (1995).
Cop Land may not be unforgettable, but SPOILER the shoot-out at the end with the tinnitus is hard to forget and has real power, and it is a fine movie.
Paradoxically, considering its relatively small budget, this was a star-studded Miramax production with some very high pressure on its shoulders, and although it received good reviews and made money, it still wasn't considered enough. Stallone went out in 2008 to say that Cop Land "hurt" his career and started "the beginning of the end, for about 8 years". He's back in business now, and it's curious to think that he thought himself down for those 8 years considering the credits he still have from the period, but now, apparently, Stallone wants to risk career-slump again, because he is venturing out of the action genre for some 'real' acting again now in John Herzfeld's upcoming Reach Me (2014).

 

Related post:

 

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Sylvester Stallone gained 40 lbs. to play Sheriff Freddy Heflin in James Mangold's Cop Land

Watch the trailer here

Cost: 15 mil. $
Box office: 44.8 mil. $ (US and Canada only)
= Big hit

What do you think of Cop Land?