#1086: DUKE, Bill: Deep Cover (1992)
DUKE, Bill (United States)
The Film
Deep Cover (1992)
Spine #1086
Blu-ray
Blu-ray
Film noir hits the mean streets of 1990s Los Angeles in this stylish and subversive underworld odyssey from veteran actor-director Bill Duke. Laurence Fishburne stars as Russell Stevens/John Hull, a police officer who goes undercover as the partner of a dangerously ambitious cocaine trafficker (Jeff Goldblum) in order to infiltrate and bring down a powerful Latin American drug ring operating in LA. But the further Stevens descends into this ruthless world of money, violence, and power, the more disillusioned he becomes -- and the harder to make out the line between right and wrong, crime and justice. Steeped in shadowy, neon-soaked atmosphere and featuring Dr. Dre's debut solo single, this unsung gem of the nineties' Black cinema explosion delivers a riveting character study and sleek action thrills alongside a furious moral indictment of America and the devastating failures of the war on drugs.
107 minutes
Color
Color
2.0 Surround
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2021
Director/Writers
Story by Michael Tolkin.
Screenplay by Tolkin and Henry Bean.
Bill Duke was 49 when he directed Deep Cover.
The Film
A
Film Rating (0-60):
The Booklet
Ten-page wraparound featuring an essay by Michael B. Gillespie.
Commentary
None.
Interview
With director Duke.
AFI Conservatory seminar
From 2018 featuring Duke and actor Fishburne, moderated by film critic Elvis Mitchell.
Conversation 1
Between film scholars Racquel J. Gates and Gillespie about Deep Cover’s place within both the Black film boom of the early 1990s and the noir genre.
Conversation 2
Between scholar Claudrena N. Harold and professor, DJ, and podcaster Oliver Wang about the film’s title track and its importance to the history of hip-hop.
Trailer
Extras Rating (0-40):
60
The ExtrasThe Booklet
Ten-page wraparound featuring an essay by Michael B. Gillespie.
Commentary
None.
Interview
With director Duke.
AFI Conservatory seminar
From 2018 featuring Duke and actor Fishburne, moderated by film critic Elvis Mitchell.
Conversation 1
Between film scholars Racquel J. Gates and Gillespie about Deep Cover’s place within both the Black film boom of the early 1990s and the noir genre.
Conversation 2
Between scholar Claudrena N. Harold and professor, DJ, and podcaster Oliver Wang about the film’s title track and its importance to the history of hip-hop.
Trailer
Extras Rating (0-40):
Comments
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