The Cotton Club

"Where deals were made, lives were traded and the legends of jazz lit up the night."

1984 2h 10m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🍅

76%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 456🍅76%Rotten Tomatoes●68Metacritic★6.6IMDB · 20,505

CrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Harlem's legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide.

“Where deals were made, lives were traded and the legends of jazz lit up the night.”

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Cast

Richard Gere
Richard 'Dixie' Dwyer
Gregory Hines
Delbert 'Sandman' Williams
Diane Lane
Vera Cicero
Lonette McKee
Lila Rose Oliver
Bob Hoskins
Owney Madden
James Remar
Dutch Schultz
Nicolas Cage
Vincent Dwyer
Allen Garfield
Otto 'Abbadabba' Berman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Writers: Francis Ford Coppola, William Kennedy, Francis Ford Coppola
Languages: English, Italian
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 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $58M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 45% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, shot by Stephen Goldblatt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Richard Gere and Gregory Hines and Diane Lane carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Francis Ford Coppola directs. Stephen Goldblatt behind the camera. John Barry scores. Robert Q. Lovett cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $58M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 45% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
342 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
5Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, shot by Stephen Goldblatt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by John Barry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Robert Q. Lovett shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Richard Gere and Gregory Hines and Diane Lane carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Where deals were made, lives were traded and the legends of jazz lit up the night.".
10IMDB entry: tt0087089 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 17 themes, including "jazz", "gang war", "nightclub", "jazz singer or musician".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt
Original score: John Barry
Editing: Robert Q. Lovett
Production design: Richard Sylbert
Costume design: Milena Canonero
Makeup / hair: Craig Lyman
Stunt coordinator: Victor Magnotta
Runtime: 130 min · 2h 10m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $58,000,000
Box office: $25,928,721
Return: 45% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Cotton Club (1984)
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 68/100
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 20,505 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 1 win & 9 nominations total

Also by

Francis Ford Coppola

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-04-27
★ 7.5/10
And all - that - jazz! Far better than its iffy reputation suggests, The Cotton Club is guilty of being stuffed to the gills, but it also contains mighty fine film making that shows craft both behind and in front of the camera. Set in late 1920s Harlem, the pitch is an area of New York rife with swinging jazz, racism, crooks and gangsters. Prohibition and the depression fill the air just as the talkie movie bursts out of the silver screen. The Cotton Club of the title is the focal point for many of the key character's lives, so Francis Coppola, who stepped in at the eleventh hour of the troubled production, has many threads to juggle. He drops the odd one, but never to the detriment of the verve and swagger of the pic. Violence comes and goes, song and dance often dazzles the eyes and ears, and a cast of hundreds induces that good old game of spot the stars - past, present and future. The narrative has strength via the observations of a major part of America in great transition, with the art design ops and tech crew beavers aiding him considerably via some superb period flavourings There is no getting away from the slightness of some character strands, the director and co choosing to insert another, all be it delightful, dance or song number to fill the void, but the core of the story remains strong throughout. The underworld always looms large, the seedy side of the era pulses away continuously, while the cast enjoy the dressage and frontage of a key time in America's history. Flaws for sure but made with skill and passion and it never bores. Bravo! 7.5/10

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