Product Description Fishburne heads an all-star ensemble in this epic Godfather-styled tale chronicling the rise of Ellsworth "Bump" Johnson, who became king of the numbers racket in 1930s Harlem. .com A flawed but admirably ambitious gangster movie, Hoodlum aspires to be a kind of Harlem-based equivalent to The Godfather, and while it falls short of that lofty goal it's still got plenty of qualities to make it well worth seeing. It's the first film to tell the story of Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (charismatically played by Laurence Fishburne), an ex-convict who dominated the Harlem numbers racket during the 1930s and '40s. As he rises to power he gains equally powerful enemies, including hotheaded Bronx gangster Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) and the suave mobster Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia). Determined to defend his Harlem turf against these invaders, Bumpy eclipses the "policy queen" Stephanie St. Clair (Cicely Tyson) and becomes a self-styled Robin Hood figure, attracting the attention of a community servant (Vanessa Williams) who must confront the brutality of Bumpy's business. A must-see for anyone who likes gangster movies, Hoodlum is certainly not a masterpiece, but sharp performances and some powerful scenes make it an interesting look at a little-known chapter in criminal history. --Jeff Shannon
G**Y
ABSOLUTE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
One of the best movies ever and at the price I got it for, it is ABSOLUTELY worth every penny!
J**S
One of the best old school movies
Amazing movie I can watch this over and over again
O**N
great movie
great movie
M**T
Mr. Movie Man
I love this movie and I am glad that now I have it in my movie library.
L**T
GREAT CAST FINE FILM
This movie purports to be the story of Bumpy Johnson, a Harlem gangster, who faced down the mob in a dispute for control of the Harlem numbers racket. Some of the "facts" in the movie are in dispute especially its portrayal of DA Thomas Dewey as a crook in league with the mob. Dewey has always been known as a scrupulously honest man so this aspect of the movie attracted a lot of criticism as well as a law suit. That being said, the performances in the movie are terrific, particularly those of the supporting players. The stars of the film Lawrence, Fishburne, Vanessa Williams, Andy Garcia, and Tim Roth are very good but the revelation is the performances from ancillary cast members such as Chi McBride and Paul Benjamin as two of Bumpy's henchmen and Mike Star and Richard Bradford as evil doers for the mob. The entire cast is just wonderful including those with very limited screen time. If you enjoy gangster movies you will very likely enjoy this movie and may well be moved ( as I was) to read more about the events and characters depicted in the film.
W**S
Great 🍿 Movie
Love Gangsta Flic's
J**Y
The Black Counterpart to the Vintage Immigrant Gangsters of the 1930's
Hoodlum is an excellent period piece on Bumpy Johnson, the black counter part to the famous immigrant gangsters of the thirties. As a addendum, remember that Clarence Williams III who is in this movie played Bumpy in the beginning of the film American Gangster with Denzel Washington. A cultured man who resigned himself to the the role that he played in Harlem, where jobs were few and most lives were victimized by the people who lived outside of city. Fishburne's understated portrayal of Johnson is a wonderful diversion to his usual scenery chewing roles.One of the things that the film reminds is the social strata in the 1930's where racial stereotypes and fear of immigration meant, as always, that police and criminals were equally against them at every turn. However, this is an action film at its core, not a civil liberties tome and as a crime thriller it is excellent. One of Lawrence Fishburne's first turn as the star is an excellent backdrop for his skills as an actor, with Tim Roth in an riveting supporting role as Dutch Schultz. The very accomplished hand of director and consummate character actor, Bill Duke needs to be noted as well.
B**E
The Kind of Movie Spike Lee Would Want
Hoodlum is the kind of movie that I'd be willing to bet even Spike Lee could come up with (except there's too many white people in it). Loaded with a Who's Who of Hollywood's best, Lawrence Fishburne stars as Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, the numbers running king of Harlem.Keep in mind, this is neither a biography nor historically accurate movie. This film mixes and matches actual characters from a variety of locales and times to make this an interesting movie. Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth), Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia), "The Queen," Stephanie St. Clair (Cicely Tyson) as well as Queen Latifah in a supporting role make up this star and historical character studded cast.This is a very well made movie. The character study is deep, the acting first rate. This is a movie worth watching a few times.
T**R
Gangster movie, average or better.
Solid gangster story based on real characters, filmed mostly in cellar vision, (maybe they will do a remake in daylight?) Well portrayed, but sometimes truth is not quite so enthralling. Sorry, but not in Godfather category. Good effort though.
I**H
This is one of the great gangster movies
This is one of the great gangster movies. Well written, well acted, both the inevitable action and the human story are handled really well. For me every bit as good as Goodfellas, American Gangster etc
S**T
mafia crime stuff
I enjoyed the film on it's enterntainment value.Plenty of action and story line.Whether the film is historically accurate or not,I don't know?Didn't matter to me,I've watched it time and time again.
K**R
Great gangster film
I really did enjoy this film from beginning to end.Great story, first class acting (especially from the three main actors) and plenty of action. I recommend this film highly.
P**.
Hoodlum is one of the best gangster movies around very racist but still a good film.
I loved cthe film, I have seen it once before but could not remember what it was called, and I saw it on amazon and recognized it. Great film should be watched by a lot more people.
TrustPilot
2 个月前
1 个月前
