Dead Presidents

"The only color that counts is green."

1995 1h 59m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 347

CrimeDramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

On the streets they call cash dead presidents. And that's just what a Vietnam veteran is after when he returns home from the war only to find himself drawn into a life of crime. With the aid of his fellow vets he plans the ultimate heist -- a daring robbery of an armored car filled with unmarked U.S. currency!

“The only color that counts is green.”

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Cast

Larenz Tate
Anthony Curtis
Keith David
Kirby
Chris Tucker
Skip
Freddy Rodríguez
Jose
Rose Jackson
Juanita Benson
N'Bushe Wright
Delilah Benson
Clifton Powell
Cutty
Terrence Howard
Cowboy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Albert Hughes
Writers: Michael Henry Brown, Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Albert Hughes, shot by Lisa Rinzler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dan Lebental shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Larenz Tate and Keith David and Chris Tucker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The only color that counts is green.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0112819 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Albert Hughes directs. Lisa Rinzler behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Dan Lebental cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

131 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Albert Hughes, shot by Lisa Rinzler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Dan Lebental shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Larenz Tate and Keith David and Chris Tucker carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The only color that counts is green.".
7IMDB entry: tt0112819 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 25 themes, including "new york city", "vietnam", "drug abuse", "post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)".

The technical file

Cinematography: Lisa Rinzler
Original score: Danny Elfman
Editing: Dan Lebental
Production design: David Brisbin
Costume design: Paul A. Simmons Jr.
Makeup / hair: Sharyn Cordice
VFX supervisor: Jon Farhat
Sound: Harry Cohen
Stunt coordinator: Jeff Ward
Runtime: 119 min · 1h 59m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,000
Box office: $24,100,000
Return: 241% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Dead Presidents (1995)

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Albert Hughes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-05-30
★ 7/10
Brothers In Arms. Albert and Allen Hughes direct, produce and co-write (with Michael Henry Brown) this tale about Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), a South Bronx boy who goes off to fight in Vietnam, to then return after his tours of duty to find things just aren't the same anymore. The follow up to their incendiary debut, Menace II Society, the Hughes brothers deliver another in your face picture that is quite frankly on a perpetual downer. This is no bad thing, though, as long as you are not looking to be cheered up. That's Uncle Sam for you! Mean Green. The pic very much harks back to the glory days of film noir in the 40s and 50s, where some talented film makers began to tell stories of returning war veterans finding what they left behind is now alien to them - with some characters, as is the case here - deeply scarred by their experiences. Add in some gangster elements and the coup de grâce that is the scintillating heist, and clearly the brothers have seen many an old classic film. That the narrative is tried and tested stops the piece hitting greater heights, this in spite of some super acting (especially Tate and the always value for money Keith David) and the hard hitting violence that pierces the senses. Predictable yet potent, and certainly memorable, it's well worth a look for the tough of mind and the classic era film of heart. 7/10
CinemaSerf2023-04-03
★ 6/10
The fairly charismatic Larenz Tate tries quite hard here as "Curtis", a lad with potential who falls in with petty criminal "Kirby" (Keith David) before enlisting in the US Marines to go and fight in Vietnam. After the war, he returns to his girlfriend "Juanita" (Rose Jackson) and his four year old daughter - but acclimatising to his new situation proves too difficult leading him to reunite with his wartime colleagues to carry out a daring armoured car heist. The story is pretty formulaic and the actors are rarely challenged by the lacklustre script - that does little to develop any characterisations - and the largely unimaginative direction. There is a missed opportunity to look at the post war trauma and loneliness; the sense of abandonment felt by many soldiers returning home after the intensity of conflict - but nope, nothing really doing here on that front. The photography has it's moments and the ending is lively, but sadly this film is just all a bit too entrenched in stereotype and a well trammelled plot that is far too long and misses way more than it hits.
Andre Gonzales2023-05-13
★ 8/10
Bank robbery movie. The planning they do is next to none. Awesome action but also pretty sad.