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The Cotton Club

The Cotton Club

Crime · Drama · 1984

Harlem's legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide.

Movie details

The Cotton Club

“Where deals were made, lives were traded and the legends of jazz lit up the night.”

1984 Crime · Drama 2h 10m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Harlem's legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Cotton Club?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Two of New York's most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, vie for control of the city's streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that will reshape the Mafia (and America) forever.

American Gangster

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GoodFellas

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Francis Ford Coppola

Written by

Francis Ford Coppola · William Kennedy · Mario Puzo

Richard Gere

Richard Gere

Richard 'Dixie' Dwyer

Gregory Hines

Gregory Hines

Delbert 'Sandman' Williams

Diane Lane

Diane Lane

Vera Cicero

Lonette McKee

Lonette McKee

Lila Rose Oliver

Bob Hoskins

Bob Hoskins

Owney Madden

James Remar

James Remar

Dutch Schultz

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage

Vincent Dwyer

Court is in session

Put The Cotton Club on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.