Product Details

• Actors: Kathy Baker, George Cheung, John Savage, James Hong, Ken Leung
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Showtime Ent.
• DVD Release Date: February 7, 2006
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000CCD1TS
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,542 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As is the case with many of director Spike Lee's films, especially the better ones, the issue of race is at the center of Sucker Free City, a 2004 pilot for an original Showtime series. In this instance, the tension is both inter- and intra-racial, as Lee and writer Alex Tse focus on three displaced young men from three very separate San Francisco cultural groups: Nick (Ben Crowley), a white kid with a straight day job and a couple of criminal hustles on the side; Keith, aka K-Luv (an exceptional performance by Anthony Mackie), a member of the African-American gang the V-Dubs; and Lincoln (Ken Leung), a junior member of the Chinese Mafia who spends most of his time extorting payoffs from local businesses. That these three and their respective crews will eventually cross paths is inevitable, but it happens in ways both expected (when Nick's family moves into the predominantly black Hunter's Point neighborhood, they're immediately harassed, and worse, by the V-Dubs) and otherwise (K-Luv's aspirations as a CD bootlegger leads to alliances of a sort with both Nick and Lincoln). The cast is sizeable (look for a brief but effective turn by Jim Brown), and while the potential for rampant stereotyping is there, Lee and Tse deftly avoid it; K-Luv, for instance, is clearly unsettled by the violent ways of the V-Dubs, and his palpable inner conflict emerges in some very surprising ways. Gritty and unflinching (the film's violence is considerable but not especially graphic; the profanity is virtually non-stop), Sucker Free City mostly rings true. Alas, Showtime chose not to pick up the series, so one can only wonder what further episodes might have revealed. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Sucker Free City is an original film directed by Spike Lee that takes a riveting look at the seductive, dangerous world and life choices of a diverse group of young people inextricably caught up in the unique gang culture of San Francisco. When racial tension erupts and emotions collide three young men from different ethic backgrounds perpetrate low-level crimes that eventually infringe upon each other’s neighborhoods. As their lives intersect on the streets, will they come to realize they are not all that different from one another or will they fight to keep their neighborhoods?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid movie - accurate potrayal, March 31, 2006

By	Ken McCarthy (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As someone who lived in San Francisco for ten years and spent time in the Mission, Chinatown, and Hunters Point, this movie is not only entertaining, it's also an extremely accurate portrayal of life in these particular neighborhoods.

If you're a San Franciscan, you've got to see it. If you're not from SF, but are curious about what's beyond the tourist brochures, this movie is it.

The only thing missing is documentation of the insanely corrupt political culture of the city, but hey, the film maker covered a lot of ground.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, December 2, 2008

By	Jennifer E. Crowley (Columbia, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This movie is great! Gritty underbelly sort of story. Typical Spike Lee "real life" story played by guys you believe. Not a happy ending kind of movie but well worth the watch!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome! - Real! - Exceptinal film making!, December 11, 2005

By	M. Maharajh "rajh" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'll keep it short and sweet: This movie is a must see. I'm not really a Spike Lee fan but he really nails the social/racial conflicts that exist in America today, as the three main characters(a White, Black and an Asian guy) cross paths.

A must have for any dvd collection!