Customer Reviews

Dead Presidents

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This film was really good. By the end of the movie, I did not condone what was done, but I understood. How many of us know people who came back after fighting for their country, and they are working jobs that suck, and living a tough life. That's pretty much the message I got from the film. I watch this movie about once a month, I like it that much. Chris Tucker had a role in this film that makes you stand up and take notice. I would love to see him in more dramas in the future. He could do the roles.

Is Larenz Tate one of the most slept on, talented young black actors in Hollywood today? I have to say YES!! He brings a deep intensity to just about any role he plays. "Dead Presidents" is just more proof of that and this film probably shows the best performance of Tate's career.

In this film, he's Anthony, an idealistic young high school graduate from the Bronx who enlists in the Marine Corps in the late 1960s and is shipped off to serve in Vietnam. Along with a couple of his high school buddies, he witnesses horrific violence and death there like he's never seen, comes back home after his tour of duty ends and finds it hard to adjust to civilian life. He finds that after serving his country, his country has very little to offer him in return. This was a dilemma faced by many young men coming home from Vietnam, and one that was even harder on black men like Anthony. He has no job, no money, and begins looking for other ways to support himself. Eventually he finds a job, but it is barely enough to pay the bills. He also has to deal with jealous guys from the neighborhood who envy him for various reasons.

Having a young daughter to support and a shady pregnant girlfriend who was his high school sweetheart (Rose Jackson Moye), the financial pressures begin to mount in Anthony's life. As things begin to crumble around him, he then begins to have thoughts of resorting to breaking the law in order to try set things right in his life, and hatches a plan to pull off this high-stakes heist. He enlists his willing friends, who are also looking to get rich quick, in his plot. However, the reprecussions of this plot are deadly.

The Hughes Brothers ("Menace II Society", "From Hell") have done a knockout job with this well-written, well-directed film with the Vietnam War as a backdrop and how it affected young black men in its aftermath. But I feel the main point of it was that even the most positive, upstanding and law-abiding person can resort to doing something unthinkable if they are desperate and they are pushed far enough. In that aspect, anyone can relate to this film. Along with Larenz's performance, Keith David, Chris Tucker (who shows he has REAL acting chops in this film - his performance is unforgettable), Bokeem Woodbine and Freddy Rodriquez as Anthony's buddies pull out all the stops to create nothing short of a realistic and dramatic experience for the viewer. The soundtrack is amazing as well. Definitely a must-see.

What do you do when your debut film is one of the top 100 movies of all time? This was the predicament the Hughes brothers faced after releasing 1993's stunning _Menace II Society_. My guess is they wanted to get away from what they were doing while still preserving the Highes style that made _Menace_ such a fantastic film, so they decided to do a flick about Black Americans' involvement in Vietnam, and its fallout. (Does anyone remember if this was based on a true story? I seem to recall hearing that...)

More than anything, Dead Presidents suffered from awful marketing. Everyone flocked to the film expecting the whole thing to be about a bank heist, and instead they were treated to the story of Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate, the actor who made O-Dog so memorable in _Menace_) and two of his high school friends in the late sixties. Fully three-quarters of this movie is setup, if you go in thinking it's about the bank heist, and I can see why a lot of people ended up panning this. However, if you realize it's a story about one person growing up, coming of age in the middle of the jungle, and his attempted reintegration into society, it suddenly gets a whole lot better. Add an ensemble cast worthy of many praises (including a young, hip, and very funny Chris Tucker as Curtis' best friend, N'Bushe Wright as his sister-in-law, and the brilliant Keith David as Kirby, the guy who originally gets Curtis involved in crime while still in high school), and it becomes an absorbing, painful meditation on life during wartime.

There are still some bad things about Dead Presidents, the main one being that the Hughes Brothers didn't go anywhere near far enough away from Menace to make this into a film with its own separate identity; in some cases, they might have been using the same sets, the same props, and the same dialogue. If you've never seen Menace, it probably comes off just as fresh and original as it did there, but those who compare the two (and saw them in order of release) will probably end up finding Menace the better film. One also wonders if the Hughes brothers didn't use the Vietnam footage as an excuse for some extra gratuitous violence; the more Vietnam war films we get, the more brutal the footage becomes. We KNOW war is hell, folks, and there's something to be said for the power of suggestion. Instead, Al and Al give us every gory, and I mean that in the nicest possible way, detail.

Still, I'd be wrong to not recommend this. It's good, solid work. But if you haven't encountered the Hughes brothers yet, I cannot urge you enough to go, now, today, and rent a copy of Menace II Society.

many people have told me about this movie, but for some reason it kept on slipping my mind but i just watched it finally and it was spectacular. the acting was top notch and the plot was up there with it as well. the characters are completely believable and that is what makes a movie good. i have been a fan of chris tucker since friday, so i am surprised i haven't seen this before, but he played the role of a man who cannot handle reality so he became an addict. he did that very well.

there was a funky part where a preachers son cut the head off one of the vietnam enemies and kept it in his bag. i thought that was pretty funny because everyone was getting tired of the nasty smell but he wanted to hold onto it like a trophy.

i wasn't surprised by the ending, but i felt bad for the guy even though he did what he did. i'll leave it at that for anyone else who haven't seen this movie yet. this is a must watch performance and i pretty much recommend it to anyone.

I rented this movie because it was recommended to me, and I love the Hughes Brothers. I saw it in October of 2001, and I wanted to see a little action that might takemy mind off the news lately (boy, did I get a wrong number there) and be at least mildly entertained.

SPOILERS AHEAD, WARNING!

Yeah, they definitely mis-marketed this-- it is not a 'heist' movie, or a simple 'action' movie. There is a heist, but only the last half hour of the film (and it's a 2 hour film) is spent on it. It starts out in the late 60's-- I was thinking please God, let this not just be a short prologue and have the whole movie take place in the 60's and 70's, and I got my wish. Tate's character hangs out with his friends, wants to have fun and get laid, and go to Vietnam and 'make a difference' since a local poolhall owner and his father are both vets, he looks up to them. The first 1/3 or so takes place in 1969, shows what a dangerous but fun lifestyle (not to mention, great music and great wardrobe) Tate's character is living it up with his friends (including Chris Tucker, who has more depth than I thought; too bad he's now typecast as the Streetwise Guy who fast-talks his way out of trouble). By the first 15 minutes, I was glad the movie was mis-marketed, because I was enjoying the kind of coming-of-age story and characters. The next 45 minutes or so--there's a great transition talked about in the other reviews, switching from Tate's character (sorry, blanked on the name!) sprinting over fences and backyards after he almost gets caught with his pants down, to him literally dodging bullets in Nam-- are spent showing his tour of duty in Vietnam.

Things get ugly there, I mean really gory and disturbing- BIG switch in tone. I feel like all the most gruesome, disturbing moments and scenes from hours of Nam movies were all crammed together, and the 45 minutes or so in this movie still tops them. Do NOT eat while watching this.Just skip the whole segment if you are easily disturbed. All the violence and nightmarish scenes are not just for the sake of being violent, they are essential to the plot, and I'm not complaining (though something tells me I'm in for some really bad dreams tonight) but I was totally unprepared. I'm surprised Fangoria didn't do a story about all the splatter effects. There's twice as much gore as all 3 'Scream' movies put together. We're talking heads chopped off with machetes, said heads carried around by insane soldier as a 'souvenier' (As he was shoving the head into his pack with difficulty, I was thinking that if he was going to start taking souveniers, he should pick a much smaller body part if he wants to get a collection of souveniers going) keeping it around until said head is rotting with maggots, people being blown into smithereens, body parts all over the place, characters with their guts strewn everywhere but still alive, people's genitals chopped off and shoved in their mouths, and this is all **on-camera** and in daylight-- really, really graphic. Tate manages to get through this without developing a serious drug habit or going insane (not an easy task). He comes home after a 4 year tour of duty, so the last third takes place in 1973. He goes back to the old neightborhood to find some unpleasant surprises-- not the least of which is money problems, so that's when he and his surviving buddies- who are not in the greatest mental or financial shape themselves-- start to work out the heist.

The movie got the message through without hitting me over the head-- black men fighting a white man's war, coming home and finding things much worse, little respect. The character understandably ends up joining a revoluntionary group. I guess I was dissapointed when he decided his only option was to pull a very ill-advised heist (hmmmm, at least one of the guys in on it hasa serious drug habit, a few of them don't get along, another has totally lost it and just wants to blow up things and people just for the hell of it, could this possibly have a happy ending?) but considering all the atrocious, hideous experiences in Nam (he has very graphic and disturbing nightmares and flashbacks) then coming back to all the depressing [stuff] that he does, I guess I don't blame him for having bad judgement or doing something desperate.

Not a cheerful movie. But grim as it was, I was very impressed, especially considering how young the directors were-- they pay homage to other directors but don't rip them off. It is too bad the studios didn't market it to be more of the themes of war, struggle, and survival the movie really focuses on. I'm pretty sure that the Hughs wanted to market it that way, but the racist studio heads took it out of their hands and figured that all audiences expected to see a black cast doing was shooting and robbing people, so they geared it towards that. Too bad, the movie deserves a better campaign and a wider audience.

(A note on the DVD-not much in the way of extras:no commentary, deleted scenes, production notes. I think there might have been a trailer, but that was about it. But if you're looking for this DVD to be packed with specal features, you won't find them here.)

Dead Presidents is a well plotted drama that grabs your attention from beginning to end. Larenz Tate's killer performance definitely makes this film worth while. Honestly, i've haven't seen much Larenz Tate movies but watching this makes you more interested in his other works. I won't give you a whole plot summary of the film but "Dead Presidents" is very gory especially in the war scenes. It's basically about a young man trying to find himself fresh out of high school. HE decides to fight in Vietnam but comes back havin to care for his baby girl which causes him and his buddies to try to make some quick cold cash, robbing a federal reserve bank. Chris Tucker even brings some humor to this outstanding drama. Keep an eye out for this movie and other works by Larenz Tate. In my opinion he could be the next big thing. You'll believe me when you see it.

I don't know what it is about this guy but Larenz Tate can mesmerize a screen. Lackluster films like " Love Jones " and " Love Come Down " would have surely fizzled out if it hadn't been for his strong screen presence. This is one actor who deserves an Oscar ( but realistically will probably never get one ). If you're a Larenz Tate fan I am sure you've already seen " Dead " a thousand times. You won't get tired of it because Larenz brings his natural freshness to the film each time.

The movie begins in the late 60's where Anthony ( Tate ) and his friends, Skip ( Chris Tucker ) and Jose are riding to school on their bus. We quickly realize there is a war going on and this gives Anthony his golden opinion, which controls the direction of the film: Anthony wants to fight for his country. Anthony seems to be the perfect citizen by his innocent face and polite quality but has done some wrong things in the past like help the ongoing pool hall hustler cash in on illegal gambling money. After Anthony declares his love for Juanita ( the delightful Rose Jackson )he's off to fight. Anthony and the audience is thrust into some realistic yet vicious war segments. Let me warn you that this film is one of the most violent I've seen in a long time. It is not for those who can't stand blood. After learning he's become a father Anthony finally returns from the war. This is where the story gets emotional. As if it wasn't bad enough Anthony was fighting for his country, he comes home to a " country " that still sees blacks as less than human. He finds a dinky job cutting meat and loses it. If that wasn't a kick in the head he finds his woman has been seeing the local mobster/pimp Cutty. Meanwhile he and Juanita are struggling to keep their relationship together with a young daughter. After a violent confrontation with Juanita, Anthony storms off and finds Juanita's sister ( the lovely N'Bushe Wright ) who guides him to the " latest " war...the ongoing revolution for the militant black brothers and sisters to reclaim what's righfully theirs. Anthony's got other plans. A plan that stems from his pals. They decide to heist a money truck and half of them ( including N'Bushe ) end up murdered to death. This scene was graphic and incredibly violent. When Anthony thinks he's gotten away with something, he ends up meeting his destiny.

Larenz Tate was wonderful in this film. I have the feeling if this had been for the " Saving Private Ryan " audience he would have won recognition, but only the black community seems to appreciate Tate and films like " Dead Presidents ". The supporting characters were believable with the exception of Chris Tucker ( who I love ) but he needs to learn how to act less like himself in his roles and more like the character. He acts the same way on everything. He seems to be hired for his real-life persona instead of his acting ability. But Chris is always entertaining. Rose Jackson was who I especially enjoyed. She was lively and strong just like Anthony's lady would have been. The direction was slow at parts but realistic. The violence was a bit much but hey...that's life. This is a truly good film and it was screwed of mainstream attention like so many other good black films. It seems to me that if you're not Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, Samuel L. Jackson or Denzel Washington, you stay in the " black " forest of the cinema industry and that's unfortunate. Because our commmunity has turned out some of the most versatile actors in the world.

And by better edition, I mean a DVD with at least a few extras on it like the Dead Presidents video "Walk On By" by soulmeister Isaac Hayes (which precedes the movie on the VHS edition), as well as behind-the-scenes, or commentary from the cast and crew. I've bought "bare bone" DVDs before, so I'm not saying don't buy this DVD because there aren't extras on it. For me, it's just that having a video tape of the movie with at least the video on it, then buying a DVD (in essence, an upgrade) without the video or any other extras is crazy.

The Hughes Brothers' Dead Presidents was one of the cooler films from 1995. After the success of their debut movie Menace II Society from 1993, I remember wondering (with anticipation) how the Hughes would follow-up with their next film. Then the trailers starting running, showing the cast and choice scenes with the menacing makeup, backed by a soundtrack featuring a collection of soul classics. Incidently, the Dead Presidents soundtrack took on a life of its own as well, proving so successful a second volume was released. The movie itself is just too cool for words. The Brothers have a style unto themselves, though they admit to prominent influences as inspiration. You have to give it up to their choice cast as well - Larenz Tate (Menace II Society) , Chris Tucker (Friday), Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under), N'Bushe Wright (Blade), Keith David (The Thing), Bokeem Woodbine (Caught Up), Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez (187), and several other familiars.

Most people will credit Chris Tucker more because he provides the "in your face" funny-funny, but Larenz Tate owns this film. Tate, who I equate with other great actor Don Cheadle, turns out another great performance with the greatest of ease and likeability. Even when he pistol-whips a bank guard, Tate makes you feel for his character even if you don't exactly agree with his choices and actions because you know what motivated the action. The best thing about a Hughes Brothers movie is there is never a boring moment. The plot, direction and performances will hold your attention while the music, set design, threads, and conscienceness will have you waxing nostalgia...or bombarding your parents with a curious interest depending on where you're at in age. If you can overlook the lack of extras, I highly recommend the disc - or rather the movie.

Larenz Tate plays Anthony Curtis. In the 1960's, he ships off to Vietnam full of idealism, only to return to "The World" as a bleery eyed and completely discouraged vet. He's seen man's-inhumanity et al., and now finds himself jobless and surrounded by need. He's not really looking for a piece of the supposed American dream, as much as he is looking for some food for the hungry mouths of his family. Hooking up with a group that includes some friends, some more ambitious types, and some white-boy revolutionaries who know a thing or two about explosives, Curtis is embroiled in a hijacking of an armored car loaded with "Dead Presidents" - the Presidents being Jackson and Grant, with a few Franklins tossed on top. It's no surprise that nothing goes right (why change Curtis's luck when his bad fortunes are more entertaining?) The Hughes Brothers sketch their elaborate explosions to the tune of late 60's funk but are never ruled by the sound - it's uplifting but never forgetful of their inevitable doom. (If the Hughes' "Menace II Society" was an answer to "Boys in the Hood", then "Dead" is like a "Soul Train" come-back to the 1950's gospel of Spike Lee's movies.) Like a slow-motion car-wreck, you know what's coming but can't tear yourself away. I love the cinematography of bleak, post-Vietnam NY, where it's always winter, and cops in their 1970's uniforms and six-guns blaze away like each one think's he's the last man standing. Tate's character is maybe the only hole in this movie - he goes from being wide-eyed to dead-eyed, but never seems to connect with the violence that brings him down. Instead, the flick relies on Kieth David (Platoon) as Kirby, and Chris Tucker (that's right, Chris Tucker) as a junkie on his way out - a role that seems more poignant now.

After reading some of the reviews for this film, I must say that some people seem to be a little too technical - sometimes over-looking the fact that it's a movie (and a good one, mind you). Some films may not get every technical aspect right, but, who cares as long as you're into the story. DEAD PRESIDENTS is an overall good movie. This is a film where you'll really see the acting talent of Chris Tucker (who's usually in a birage of comedy films). Larenz Tate, as always, is great. Bokeem Woodbine is also excellent, although, I barely recognized him with the receding hairline and glasses. N'bushe Wright as the revolutionary is also great as well as great-looking (if you know what I mean). I can understand why they would rob an armored vehicle to get some easy cash. I don't agree with it, but, I understand. That, to me, is one of the points this film is trying to make and it, as far as I'm concerned, delivers. These characters are going through financial troubles. Some have responsibilities to take care of while others may have certain addictions that they feel they must "fix". I don't agree with it, but, I understand. The Hughes brothers do an excellent job with the plot, scripting, and direction. I will own it on DVD one day.

If you want to see a great movie with a thick plot, great acting, and great direction, I recommend this one.