|
The Cotton Club (1984)
Starring Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Gregory Hines, and Nicolas Cage. Cinematography by Stephen Goldblatt. Edited by Barry Malkin and Robert Q. Lovett. Produced by Robert Evans. Written by Francis Coppola, Mario Puzo, and William Kennedy. Directed by Francis Coppola.
The Cotton Club was the hot spot of Harlem in the 1920’s and 30’s. The popular cabaret was run by white men who employed black entertainers to perform for white audiences. This collection of conflicting personalities made the backstage life even more exciting than its risqué performances. Dixie Dwyer is an accomplished cornet player who inadvertently saves the life of criminal Dutch Schultz.
Dutch offers Dixie a job at the club but their relationship soon turns violent when Dixie falls for Dutch’s girlfriend, Vera. At the same time two black dancers, Sandman and Clay Williams, have finally landed a gig performing at the club. Their relationship is also stranded by love and they too part ways. All the while Owney Madden, the Cotton Club’s owner, tries to keep the peace.
In the early 1980’s producer Robert Evans was working diligently with investors on developing a film about the legendary Cotton Club in its heyday (rumor has it that “investors” included multi-billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, but you didn’t hear that from us). The very first draft of the script was penned by author Mario Puzo, but was quickly deemed as unusable by Evans. The job was then offered to Francis Ford Coppola, who asked for and was given five hundred thousand dollars to revamp the screenplay.
His first draft was not well received either, so he invited some of the key actors already attached to the project to meet at his home in Napa Valley for a marathon brainstorming session. The result was better, but it lacked the authenticity of the era that would be crucial to its production. So Coppola hired William Kennedy, a Prohibition era expert, to tighten up the finer details of the story.
Together they produced over a dozen different version of the screenplay; none of which would end up being the final version. As a matter of fact, a shooting script wasn’t even ready by the time production started in August of 1983. Somewhere along the line Coppola had also agreed to direct picture, but unfortunately the production would not go any smoother.
The filming of The Cotton Club was turbulent and expensive. There was constant pressure to keep costs down. Accusations of nepotism ran rampant. There were frequent confrontations between Coppola and members of the cast and crew.
Things got so out of hand that Coppola even banned Evans from entering his own set. The behind the scenes drama would ultimately climax with Coppola and Evans in a legal battle. Sadly, the effort was barely worth the headaches. The Cotton Club was only given moderate reviews by critics and didn’t even cover its costs in box office returns. And the poor audience reception didn’t lie. Beyond the incredible music and dance numbers, The Cotton Club doesn’t have much to offer.
Budget: $47,000,000
Total US Gross: $25,928,721
Genre: Musical
Runtime: 127 Minutes
US Release Date: 12/14/84
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Awards: Academy Awards: Nominated for best art direction/set decoration and best editing. Golden Globes: Nominated for best director and best dramatic picture.
Tagline: Where Deals Were Made, Lives Were Traded, And The Legends Of Jazz Lit Up The Night.
Quote: “In the next room, gentlemen, is the finest food, drink, and pussy in New York at a price.”
|
