RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Tacticalin An absolute waste of money

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

LeonLouisRicci Colorful, violent, a good cast, and excellent period recreation highlight this depression era Gangster Movie. Directed by Actor Bill Duke, it is at times talky and languishes a bit, but the action pieces are stylish and visceral.Guilty of repetitive speech making and some over acting, the Movie waivers between High Camp and a serious Character Study. Tim Roth almost steals the Show with a sleazy, disgusting, foul-mouthed portrayal of Dutch Schultz, but Laurence Fishburne as Bumpy Johnson, and Vanessa Williams in a supporting Role make their mark.The Film is never boring even though it tends to drag in spots and is over-long to a fault. Overall it is a mostly fictitious account that is worth a watch for its style, pizazz, great period detail, and brutal Gangster violence that the Genre demands.

Python Hyena Hoodlum (1997): Dir: Bill Duke / Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth, Andy Garcia, Vanessa Williams, Cicely Tyson: Well made gangster film that evaporates into a litter of bullets. It regards lower standards of living and hostile attitude. Based on a true story in the 1930's Harlem with a triangle turf battle in motion. Laurence Fishburne leads the patrol against Tim Roth and Andy Garcia. He is smart and tough but unable to balance his personal life with romance. Bodies pile up and nobody really wins in the end. The concept still holds interest although the screenplay grows repetitious and weary. Director Bill Duke does a fine job with fantastic art direction. This film successfully captures the period for which it addresses but perhaps a tighter screenplay would have been beneficial. Fishburne holds his own as a gangster trying to be the gangster and the romantic interest. This will not work to his favour. Vanessa Williams delivers a strong performance as his love interest who is questioning the lifestyle he is involved in. Roth and Garcia overact as the two other opposing gang leaders who will end up on the receiving end of bad luck. This is not terrible filmmaking but the screenplay isn't as ambitious as it could have been. It does succeed in present the period for which it represents. Its purpose is to create the reality of gang lifestyles but the screenplay has more bark than bite. Score: 6 / 10

SnoopyStyle Bumpy Johnson (Laurence Fishburne) is a gang leader of 1930's Harlem whose successful 'Numbers' racket attracts ruthless Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) from downtown. Meanwhile gangland boss Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia) try to negotiate his way in. Bumpy refuses to give in, and violence ensues.Director Bill Duke is attempting a grand gangster movie, but really don't have the skills of a master filmmaker to pull it off. The pace is ponderous. And even the action is unenergetic. There are a lot of great actors, but there are also some distracting overacting. Laurence Fishburne is great, and Tim Roth is wonderful as a bad guy. But I wouldn't recommend this even with these great actors.

Shaw Miller first of all, i think that Hollywood is on a bit of a realism kick these days... not the big-budget actioners or comedies (that seem to be competing to be unfunny); i mean films like 'the sweet hereafter' and 'in the bedroom' and 'ulee's gold', (all of which i liked, but) which in some ways elude the role escapism that i believe movies are meant to fulfill. if all movies were about real people doing realistic things, why would anyone go to the movies? that being said, hoodlum wasn't quite as good as it could have been because of the lack of realistic situations, mainly due to the whole good gangster/bad gangster conflict. i never really sympathized with bumpy johnson, but rather found myself wondering if he was *ever* going to kill someone (except in self-defense) or do anything bad at all.look at what the crime library (http://www.crimelibrary.com) had to say about this seemingly selfless gentleman... "Bumpy was a pimp, burglar and stickup man who possessed a recalcitrant attitude. He always carried a knife and gun, neither of which he was hesitant to use. All too often Bumpy ended up in barroom clashes over the slightest of issues. He feared nobody and did not shy from confrontations. Helen Lawrenson, in her book Stranger at the Party, remarked on Bumpy's short fuse and arrogance. "He never learned, however, to curb his temper or to bow his head to any man," She wrote." really? because watching the movie, one would find that bumpy exemplified self-control and discipline. and who did he rob, other than schultz's numbers racket? they conveniently left out the pimping part too - or wait - maybe he was a benevolent pimp? i'm not saying there should not have been a hero, but heroes can have flaws. this film has some good scenes and acting (tim roth is always on the money, and this is one of my favourite performances of his) but ultimately for me it fell a little shy of the mark. the director has abandoned what could have been (with a bit more work) a well-framed and stoic reminder of a past era, in favour of cheap Hollywood drama. was it supposed to rely on historical texts, including every detail of 1930s harlem? absolutely not. but would duke have done a service to his audience had he made the characters somewhat more true to life and responsive to their respective situations? i think he had a duty to do so.