The Cotton Club

Starring:Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Lonette McKee, Bob Hoskins, James Remar, Nicolas Cage, Allen Garfield, Fred Gwynne, Gwen Verdon, Lisa Jane Persky, Maurice Hines, Julian Beck, Novella Nelson, Laurence Fishburne, John P. Ryan, Tom Waits, Ron Karabatsos, Glenn Withrow, Jennifer Grey
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
The Cotton Club is routinely eclipsed by the controversies that surrounded its tumultuous production, but the film itself offers abundant pleasures that should not be overlooked. If Apocalypse Now represents the triumph of director Francis Coppola's perilous ambition, then The Cotton Club represents the ungainly glory of uncontrolled genius, as brilliant as it is out of its depth. As an upscale homage to classic gangster films it's frequently astonishing, cramming a thick novel's worth of plot and characters into 129 minutes, gloriously serviced by impeccable production design, elegant cinematography, and stylistic flourishes that show Coppola at the top of his game.

Product Description

The absolute starting point for anyone wanting to get into Line Dancing. This is truly a "Must See" for beginners. Line Dancing 101: A Quick Start Guide to Line Dancing is the first of six different Line Dance DVD's in Shawn Trautmans Dance Collection. In this DVD, Shawn quickly and easily takes you through several different dances, step-by-step in an order that makes sense. This DVD is very effective with clear, understandable, and completely attainable instruction. Following the instruction is incredibly easy too, as the instructor teaches to the side and then with his back to you so you can follow EXACTLY what's being done. Line Dance 101 is great for all ages. Never danced before? No problem! Released in Sept. of 2005, this DVD was designed to get folks dancing, looking good and confident in approximately 90 minutes. Filmed in HD and complemented by multiple camera angles and Picture-In-Picture technology, this DVD is perfect for bringing the Line Dance class to your living room. The lessons are broken into clear, logical pieces that introduce more than 30 steps in 5 carefully chosen dances specific for learning and practicing. In what seems like just minutes, you'll learn the Electric Slide, the Cotton Eyed Joe, Slappin' Leather, Ole', and Swing Time. Plus, as a Special Bonus, both Monterey Turns and the 8-count Applejacks illusion. If you're ready to learn and have fun, Shawn Trautman's Dance Collection is the way to go. Order Line Dance 101: A Quick Start Guide to Line Dancing today, and be ready to dance by the weekend!

Customer Reviews:

Thanks goodness for line dancing 101!.......2007-06-21

I can't tell you how many times I have embarrassed myself trying to dance at weddings and other functions. I've tried countless times to learn the dance steps from others, but it always seems so confusing. This video has been a HUGE help to me.

Shawn breaks down each dance into VERY simple steps, and shows you two different angles so you can really understand what it should look and feel like. Since they are in their own segments you can rewind and repeat each step until you are completely comfortable-at the end of the "step" lessons they are all tied together and vuala! you're doing an actual dance! (some with some pretty snazzy variations too!) The only thing I would have preferred is if the actual versions of the songs had been used-a very minor setback.

I would not hesitate to purchase another video from his collection when needed-this one has already worked wonders! Buy it-you'll be happy you did!

Easy to learn Line Dancing!.......2007-06-05

I tried line dancing without having had any instruction and was lost most of the time. After using Shawn's DVD "Line Dance 101", I had to share it with my friends. It has everything one needs to easily learn alot of dance steps in a short time. My friends now line dance with me as a healthy exercise and we're thrilled with the great instruction available to us on this DVD...smooth and easy and fun! I recommend it highly!

Line Dancing 101: A quick start guide to line dancing.......2007-06-04

Shawn's videos are wonderful! I love the way his videos are set up. I was afraid of trying and learning from videos, most "how to" videos are very intimidating and are too fast pased especially when you are first starting out (and I mean never being on the dance floor trying these dances before), but Shawn's videos are very easy to follow in fact before I even realized what was happening, I had already gone through the first dance and was actually doing it and keeping up. I have since bought several others and love them all!

Best Instruction - Thumbs Up!!.......2007-05-26

I've been trying to learn how to line dance for a couple of years and tried to learn through many different kinds of sources - Even as far as getting on the dance floor and being chased around by the other dancers while I tried to mimick them! I purchased this Quick start guide as well as the Volume 1 Essentials and I couldn't be more relieved to find that someone cared to take the time to make certain that I knew what the steps were called and that I learned how to do them before throwing me into the dances. I can't wait to get started on the 1st Volumn and I must admit that my favorite dance so far is Cotton-Eyed Joe! haha

Super Easy to Follow!.......2007-05-18

Having never line danced before, I was just thrilled with the instruction in Line Dance 101. The line dance steps are clear and very easy to follow. I especially liked how Shawn taught each step separately and then put them into dances. Seeing the footwork from different angles was also very helpful.

I never felt lost while watching this video and I'd defintitely recommend this product to my friends.

Average customer rating:

Great talent somewhat wasted by a messy plot--can anybody help me write this review?
THE COTTON CLUB
The only movie I ever walked out in the middle.
LONNETTE MCKEE STEALS THE SHOW!!
Welcome to the most famous Harlem' s nightclub!

The Cotton Club
Starring: Richard Gere , Gregory Hines , Diane Lane , Lonette McKee , and Bob Hoskins
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Crime & Criminals | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00005IA7Y
Release Date: 2001-07-10

Amazon.com

The Cotton Club is routinely eclipsed by the controversies that surrounded its tumultuous production, but the film itself offers abundant pleasures that should not be overlooked. If Apocalypse Now represents the triumph of director Francis Coppola's perilous ambition, then The Cotton Club represents the ungainly glory of uncontrolled genius, as brilliant as it is out of its depth. As an upscale homage to classic gangster films it's frequently astonishing, cramming a thick novel's worth of plot and characters into 129 minutes, gloriously serviced by impeccable production design, elegant cinematography, and stylistic flourishes that show Coppola at the top of his game.

What The Cotton Club lacks is cohesion. As written by Coppola and novelist William Kennedy (then enjoying the peak of his critical acclaim), the movie struggles to exceed the narrative scope of The Godfather, but its multiple early-'30s plot lines fail to form any strong connective tissue. It's three (or four) movies in one, with cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere, playing his own jazzy solos) drifting from one story to the next--loving a young, ambitious vamp (Diane Lane, with whom Gere shares precious little chemistry), enjoying the success of a hotshot hoofer (Gregory Hines), and protecting his brazen bother (Coppola's then-newcomer nephew, Nicolas Cage) from the deadly temper of mob boss Dutch Schultz (James Remar). Bob Hoskins and Fred Gwynne also score big in grand supporting roles, but The Cotton Club is perhaps best appreciated for its meticulous re-creation of Harlem's Cotton Club heyday, and the brilliant music (Ellington, Calloway, etc.) that brought rhythm to gangland's rat-a-tat-tat. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Great talent somewhat wasted by a messy plot--can anybody help me write this review?.......2007-06-05

The Cotton Club just plain tries too hard. It's a movie about gangsters; it's a movie about a love affair between two black people who work as dancers at The Cotton Club; it's a movie about one newcomer gangster who falls in love with a gangster's girlfriend; it's a movie about...oh, well, you get the idea.

The music is wonderful; and I admired the superb talent of Gregory Hines when he dances in this movie. Not only does Richard Gere actually play his own cornet solos; he also acts very convincingly as Dixie Dwyer, a young man who just by chance saves a gangster's life and gets the reward of being inducted into the mob. And what a mob--Fred Gwynne as a mobster, Diane Lane as the girlfriend of gangster "Dutchman" Dutch Schultz (James Remar) and Nicolas Cage as Gere's younger brother who gets swept up by the mob and who ultimately pays a hefty price for it.

The plot twists and turns as Dixie (Richard Gere) and his mobster friends try to manage the Harlem numbers business--and Dixie even winds up spending some time in Hollywood acting in a movie within a movie after he is noticed by Gloria Swanson at The Cotton Club. The mobsters fight over territory in Harlem; and there's a fair amount of violence in this film. If graphic violence makes you uncomfortable, I would suggest a different movie for tonight. It's also interesting to follow the relationship between Dixie and "Dutchman's" girlfriend played by Diane Lane.

At the same time that the mob world spins around, there is a subplot between the two black dancers who work at The Cotton Club. Gregory Hines and Lonnette McKee have good chemistry between them. Unfortunately the two plots never really intertwine; and I think it would have been a better movie if the production team let go of some of the complications and twists in the plot, let go of a couple of characters to focus more on the remaining principle characters and then tied the two plots together. That's a serious disappointment; and with the corny ending (I won't specify what you'll get) it just plain lets me down.

The cinematography reflects good judgment; and the choreography is excellent. I loved the lighting and the dancing scenes in The Cotton Club; and the set design reflects a lot of care, too. It's too bad that the quality of the set design and choreography don't carry over into the movie's plot. Sigh.

If you like entertainment that allows you to just relax and be taken wherever a movie takes you with its plot, then you very well may enjoy this film. The superlative dance numbers enhance the quality of this film, too. Don't be surprised, however, if midway through the film you realize there's just too much action going on. I agree with the majority of the other reviewers when they write that there are too many "principle characters."

I would recommend The Cotton Club for diehard fans of mobster movies as this is not one of the better gangster films that would attract larger audiences. In addition, people who enjoy excellent dance numbers will also enjoy this movie. It's not The Godfather nor is it West Side Story; and that's a crying shame.

THE COTTON CLUB.......2007-01-07

WAS NOT COMPATABLE WITH MY DVD PLAYER. I SENT BACK AND YOU REFUNDED MY MONEY.

The only movie I ever walked out in the middle........2006-09-08

If your are big into tap, you will like this. It just wasn't my cup of tea if you will. It just went on and on with no end in sight.

LONNETTE MCKEE STEALS THE SHOW!!.......2006-05-29

"THE COTTON CLUB" is one GREAT FILM!I loved everything about it,the cast,(even Richard Gere),the history of Harlem,the history of the rackets,the sets,the music,the dancing,but I especially LOVED the fantastic LONETTE MCKEE,who dominated every scene she appeared in.What beauty,what singing and dancing talent,what great emotional range of love,hurt,and tenderness she displayed, in this highly underrated(by the critics)motion picture.I cannot understand why she hasn't become a major star.Hollywood is notorius for it miss handling of actress,especially ladies of color and I guess Lonette is suffering the same fate as Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge,among others suffered,but that was over sixty years ago,you would have though that things would have changed.Bob Hoskins,Fred Gwynne,James Remar,Gregory Hines(as a hoofer and Lonettes' love interest),and Nick Cage are among the actors that add to the flavor of "THE COTTON CLUB".The GREAT GWEN VERDON has little more than a cameo as Geres and Cages mother.Diane Lane didn't do anything for me,but she wasn't bad as Dutch Schultzs' mistress,who falls in love with Dixie Dwyer(Gere).But this Lonettes' show and SHE STEALS IT!!

Welcome to the most famous Harlem' s nightclub!.......2006-05-26

The creative energies of Coppola were still sparkling. This movie is a heartfelt tribute to an Age that just lives in the memory of a whole generation, that were teenagers after the WW2 and grew and grew up under the magic spell of Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Django Reinhardt, Errol Garner and a countless list of big names of the Jazz.

Obviously, Coppola remarks once more the hidden codes of the myth through the presence of the duality, expressed through the story of two brothers; one white the other black, and a fabulous interweaved connection of secondary plots.

To my mind this is one of the best achievement of Coppola in the genre of chamber works of his notable career. Gregory Hines made the greatest role of his lifetime. Watch for that Goddess called Diane Ladd in her 19.

Hollywood Rhythm Vol. 01 - The Best of Jazz & Blues

Average customer rating:

An Absolute Must Have
Bessie Belts It Out!
Excellent, but could have been more complete

Hollywood Rhythm Vol. 01 - The Best of Jazz & Blues
Starring: Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra , Cab Calloway , George Dewey Washington , Bessie Smith , and Isabel Washington
Director: Fred Waller , Ray Cozine , and Dudley Murphy
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

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( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000056N7S
Release Date: 2001-02-13

Amazon.com

Hollywood Rhythm: The Best of Jazz & Blues (Vol. 1) is a time capsule from another era, stuffed with tuneful artifacts. With the coming of sound to film, the excitement of hearing recorded music at the movies prompted these shorts, which date from 1929 to 1941. This collection, mostly from the Paramount vaults, begins with the 1932 "Rhapsody in Black and Blue," starring Louis Armstrong (a rather notorious film discussed in Ken Burns's Jazz). Racial stereotyping is rampant in some of these pieces, and this one has Armstrong dressed in leopard skins while playing trumpet in heaven. Absurd, yet Armstrong's performance is over-the-moon exhilarating. Three shorts respectfully showcase the composing genius of Duke Ellington, including 1935's "Symphony in Black," featuring a vocal spot for Billie Holiday.

Hoagy Carmichael is spotlighted in a 1939 short, Fats Waller sings his classic "Ain't Misbehavin'," and the awesome Bessie Smith stars in a very creaky 1929 mini-melodrama, "St. Louis Blues," built around her song. Many of the films create a flimsy story to wrap around the music. In "Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho," the irrepressible Mr. Calloway receives a telegram while en route to an engagement at the Cotton Club, and he must improvise a new tune in the sleeping car of his train. A few of the films present scenes at the Cotton Club (complete with saucy dance numbers), and many evoke Harlem as the magical center of black America. The DVD bonus is "Jazz a la Cuba," featuring Don Aspiazu--"The Foremost Exponent of the Rhumba," if you didn't know. --Robert Horton

Description

"A Rhapsody in Black and Blue" (1932, with Louis Armstrong), "A Bundle of Blues" (1933, with Duke Ellington and Ivie Anderson), "Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho" (1933, with Cab Calloway), "Ain't Misbehavin'" (1941, with Fats Waller), "Symphony in Black" (1935, with Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday), "Jitterbug Party" (1934, with Cab Calloway), "St. Louis Blues" (1929, with Bessie Smith), "Hoagy Carmichael" (1939, with Jack Teagarden), "Ol' King Cotton" (1930, with George Dewey Washington), "Black and Tan Fantasy" (1929, with Duke Ellington, Fredi Washington, Arthur Whetsol), and "Those Blues" (1932, with Vincent Lopez). Bonus Short: Jazz a la Cuba (1933, with Don Aspiazu and His Famous Cuban Orchestra)

Customer Reviews:

An Absolute Must Have.......2003-09-02

Just read the names of the folks in this dvd. That alone got me this dvd. I don't know about everyone else, but my image of Louis Armstrong has been an older man, sort of laid back. I've heard alot of his recordings from his earlier years, but never had much of image to fix to him in his younger years. He's still the allmighty "Satchmo", full of youth and going wild. His stance while playing is like he's telling the world... "Yes.... indeed I am the allmighty Satchmo". The dude is awsome.And Cab Callaway.... the boy goes wild with his hair flying and singing. I've never seen him in any films, except the Blues Brothers. Again it's good to see him as well as "Satchmo" in their youthful wild and rowdy days.I could go on and on. Again just look at the names featured on this dvd. It just don't get no better. Do yourself a favor and get this dvd.

Bessie Belts It Out!.......2001-12-24

This DVD has (as far as I know) the only performance ever filmed of Bessie Smith-St. Louis Blues. And what a performance! The vehicle is a he-done-her-wrong type melodrama but opera isn't known for its original stories. And, believe me, this is blues opera, with a chorus! I read somewhere that James C. Johnson, the jazz-blues pianist-composer(of the Charleston) was responsible for the arrangement here. Very different from the record version on her Complete Recordings. She really pulls out all the stops here! What a powerful performance! Unfortunately the sound is definitely not hifi. But what would Bessie have produced had she lived!

The other performances are mostly notable. Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and an unknown at the time, Billie Holiday.

One warning! The racial stereotyping in some areas of the DVD is enough to make you take a second breath. The greatness of the performances and the chance to see these performers is what makes this DVD great.

Excellent, but could have been more complete.......2001-03-08

This stuff is great for anyone who likes jazz and/or pop music of the '30s and '40s, and perhaps for early film buffs as well. It's pure show business history, and fascinating to see what these performers, some of whom you might only know from old 78 records, actually looked like in their heyday.

Customer Reviews:

To the people who are offended: GET A LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-01-10

This is light-hearted comedy! I laughed because it was funny which it is. Get over it!

Issues of Political Correctness Aside.......2004-07-18

Okay, everybody who has any interest in A&A knows about it being started by two White men (Gosden and Correll) in Blackface and later hiring real Black actos for the 12950s TV show. With that said, on to the movie itself.

Simply put, it's not that good by any standards. There are a few midly amusing minutes of A&A doing some of their standard schtick such as "Mulsifyin and Revidin" and "Phone Call to Ruby" (as well as the tire changing routine that would later appear on the TV show). But aisde from this and the priceless footage of the Duke Ellington Band, FORGET IT! This early sound film is as dry as toast! A draggy love story not involving the prinicipal characters also helps slow things down like molasses in January. This film was so bad that even Gosden and Correll themselves have gone on record as dismissing it as junk and Charles Correll's son has recently said that his father hated it so much that he forbade his son from watching it! He had a smart daddy.

priceless treasure.......2004-07-01

much like most early cinema society is too dumb to realize the world has changed along with values, i remember getting complaints for customers when i worked at the lowly hollywood video because the films i shows were not in color or were dated, well anyway amos and andy are a historic milestone in cinema and should be appreciated if there were no amos and andy there certainly would be no honeymooners or flintstones or something that joe suburbia would know (sadly)the simpsons. and there is a great performance by the duke (ellington) dont judge unless you have seen the film pc nazi's

A Great and Glorious Time.......2004-04-20

The characters in Amos and Andy cross any racial barriers artificially imposed on in today's Politically Correct times. The humor is priceless and the scenarios are as real today as they were then. So you don't like Lightnin'? Tough! He is an integral part of the "team" and an invaluable asset to the show. Bravo for those who brought this wonderful show back to life!

Light Hearted Fun.......2004-04-04

this movie is really funny!!!!!!

Average customer rating:

Good only for the music and historical purposes
Interesting slice of 1930's black cinema...

Hi De Ho/The Duke is Tops
Starring: Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra , Cab Calloway , Ralph Cooper , Lena Horne , and Laurence Criner
Director: Roy Mack , and William L. Nolte
Manufacturer: Whirlwind Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Treasures of Black Cinema, Vol. 1
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ASIN: B00004Z4WP
Release Date: 2000-11-14

Customer Reviews:

Good only for the music and historical purposes.......2005-04-11

Both of these are considered "classic Black films" of the 1930s and 40s, popular in Black theaters and often shown on BET in the early days before it became "Booty Entertainment Television."

But I digress. "Hi De Ho" is a vehicle for Cab Calloway. Some really great music and comedy, including the legendary Dusty Fletcher in his classic "Open the Door Richard" routine that was as popular among Blacks as "Who's On First" was to whites. Cab also does an excellent "St. James Infirmary" and the scenes of him jamming with his band in his apartment are fun to watch. But the scenes were Cab slaps around Jeni Le Gon (Andy 's girlfriend on the Amos and Andy Show) and barks orders at her are major turn-offs to the modern viewer.

"The Duke Is Tops" has even less to recommend it. Ralph Cooper (best remembered as the MC at the Apollo Theater) plays Duke, the love interest of a young Lena Horne. Mighty humdrum stuff, except for the pioneering rap and doo-wop group the Cats and the Fiddle cavorting and clowing on their jazz/r&b classic "Killing Jive" (listen carefully to the lyrics, it's a coded tune about marijuana smoking). This one scene is usually considered by those who have seen it to be the highlight of the picture.

But music aside, these films are mainly for historic interest as a look at pre-Superfly and Spike Lee African-American cinema.

Interesting slice of 1930's black cinema..........2001-06-04

Both of the movies on this DVD appear to be classic black cinema. That is, films made for black audiences of the '30s.

The fist film, "Hi De Ho", Cab Calloway plays himself in a very poor vehicle about the rise to fame of a bandleader. Grade Z acting is the order of the day in this one, but the real reason to watch is Cab's music. There's also a great tap dance routine in the finale. Although he plays "himself", Cab gets involved in a gunfight and even smacks his girl around! Certainly an odd proceeding for the bandleader.

"The Duke is Tops" is much better, and better produced. Lena Horne makes her film debut in this story about a show producer who feels he is standing in Lena's way. He loves Lena so much he steps aside so she can have her shot at stardom while he fades into obscurity, eventually working with a travelling medicine show. This film is the more enjoyable of the two.

Included with the two movies is a color cartoon from the forgotten Van Beuren Studios, featuring "Mr. Bang", a perpetually angry and argumentative character, and a foreign woman named Katrinka with superhuman strength. Van Beuren Studios went belly up in 1936, having failed to create any lasting characters of note. A strange, but somewhat useful inclusion on this disc for the film student.

There's also a newsreel with footage of Hitler, the Hindenburg disaster, and Joe Louis preparing for a fight.

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Great talent somewhat wasted by a messy plot--can anybody help me write this review?.......2007-06-05

THE COTTON CLUB.......2007-01-07

WAS NOT COMPATABLE WITH MY DVD PLAYER. I SENT BACK AND YOU REFUNDED MY MONEY.

The only movie I ever walked out in the middle........2006-09-08

If your are big into tap, you will like this. It just wasn't my cup of tea if you will. It just went on and on with no end in sight.

LONNETTE MCKEE STEALS THE SHOW!!.......2006-05-29