Themes: Sibling Relationships, Drug Trade, Inner City Blues
Main Cast: Wesley Snipes, Michael Wright, Theresa Randle, Clarence Williams III, Abe Vigoda
Release Year: 1994
Country: US
Run Time: 125 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Wesley Snipes and Michael Wright play druglord brothers who have a mob-like crime empire in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem. Through flashbacks, we see how Roemello Skuggs (Snipes) and Raynathan Skuggs (Wright) entered the drug culture, with Raynathan helping his mother inject heroin. She died when the boys were young, but their father A.R. Skuggs (Clarence Williams III) survived, remaining a hopeless and frightful heroin addict. Roemello has grown up to be an educated, culturally pretentious businessman who stays away from his own merchandise, wears expensive cashmere coats and other colorful clothes, and lives in a beautiful uptown apartment, while being plagued by guilt. Raynathan, however, is losing his battle with drug addiction and spiraling downward. Roemello runs the family drug business with the help of an old-fashioned mob boss, Gus Molino (Abe Vigoda), whose grocery is a front for the dealing. To fuel his doubts, Roemello becomes involved with a beautiful aspiring actress, Melissa (Theresa Randle), and she urges him to get out of the drug business. But a rival dealer, Lolly Jonas (Ernie Hudson), cuts into Roemello territory, there is a brutally violent turf war, and Roemello must decide whether to defend or abandon his livelihood. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Larry Joshua - Harry Molino; Ernie Hudson - Lolly Jonas; Leslie Uggams - Doris Holly; Khandi Alexander - Ella Skuggs; Ray Serra - Sal Marconi; Joe Dallesandro - Tony Adamo; Vondie Curtis-Hall - Mark Doby; Samuel Bottoms - Oliver Thompson; Nicky Corello - Coco; O.L. Duke - Tutty; Donald Faison - Kymie Damiels; Michael Guess - Y.G. (Young Gun); Karl Johnson - Bouncer; Andre Lamal - Martin David; DeVaughn Walter Nixon - Raynathan (Age 11); John Pittman - Lucky; Kimberly Russell - Chantal; Anthony Thomas - Worker; Frank Ferrara - Sal's Bodyguard; Barbara Cohen; Mary Gail Artz; Alex Brown - Nigerian #2; Bryan Clark - Dean
Credit
Eduardo Castro - Costume Designer, Leon Ichaso - Director, Gary Karr - Editor, Terence Blanchard - Composer (Music Score), Michael Helmy - Production Designer, Bruce Greenfield - Production Designer, Bojan Bazelli - Cinematographer, Marc Abraham - Producer, Armyan Bernstein - Producer, Tom Rosenberg - Producer, Rudy Langlais - Producer, Gregory Brown - Producer, Elaine O'Donnell - Set Designer, Kathryn Peters - Set Designer, Barry Michael Cooper - Screenwriter
