The Five Heartbeats is a 1991 musical drama film directed by Robert Townsend, who co-wrote the script with Keenan Ivory Wayans. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, the film's main cast includes Townsend, Michael Wright, Leon Robinson, Harry J. Lennix, Tico Wells, Harold Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers, and Diahann Carroll.[1] The plot of the film (which is loosely based on the lives of several artists; The Dells, The Temptations, Four Tops, Wilson Pickett, James Brown, Frankie Lymon, Sam Cooke and others)[6] follows the three decade career of the fictional band The Five Heartbeats. The film depicts the rise and fall of a Motown inspired soul act through the eyes of the film's main protagonist Donald "Duck" Matthews (portrayed by Townsend), who serves as a narrator[7] throughout the film, although a majority of the cinema is presented in a consecutive time line as opposed to traditional flash backs.[8]
Due to the fact the movie predominantly features the fictional musical quartet The Five Heartbeats, the film's content includes a significant amount of original music conceived by various artists for the film's soundtrack which includes singles such as "A Heart Is a House for Love", "We Haven't Finished Yet", and "Nothing But Love" (which serves as the main protagonists' signature song in the film). A soundtrack was released on June 29, 1992, a year after the films initial release,[9] with additional songs including both songs from the film and others recorded after its release .[10]
The film was released to most North American audiences January 1, 1991[11] however it was not made available to audiences in other continents until 2002 when a DVD was released prior to another DVD release in 2006 for the film's 15th anniversary.[12] The movie received mixed reviews from critics.[13][14] The film performed modestly on its opening weekend at the box office grossing $1,630,689 its first week in a total of 862 theaters, in total the film made between 8,431,000[2] and 8,750,400[15] US dollars which can be considered a moderate success due to the movie's significantly lower budget.
Plot
The movie begins in the 1980s as Donald "Duck" Matthews browses through a Rolling Stone magazine conveniently noticing an article questioning the recent exploits of The Five Heartbeats, The Temptations, and The Four Tops and why the groups disbanded.[16] This leads to a flashback which features the entire plot. Donald Matthews, Anthony "Choir Boy" Stone, and Terrence "Dresser" Williams are preparing to perform at an on stage music contest however they are forced to prepare to sing both their vocals and those of other members since J.T. is upstairs being intimate with his girlfriend, Rose, and Eddie King, Jr and Bobby, the lead singers, are absent from the area. (Duck is originally the group's piano player.) (NOTE: Many people think Eddie's last name is Kane by the way he slurs his words when he says it in one scene. His last name is King as seen in the end credits). Meanwhile Bobby and Eddie King, Jr. make their first on screen appearance. They are found cheating while gambling and the two are forced to abandon the game in order to run from what could otherwise be their demise, Bobby is shot in the leg while running. However, Eddie is able to make it just in time (in fact, sliding across the stage on his knees and grabbing the mic to start singing) to perform along with the other Heartbeats. While Bobby survived the adventure, he is no longer shown throughout the movie.
The group ultimately loses the contest to Flash and the Ebony Sparks but they manage to please the crowd and are noticed by music producer Jimmy Potter.[16] Jimmy offers to manage the group and to show them he only has their best interests at heart he confidently promises the group he will pay them the $100 out of his own pocket if they don't win first prize the next month. After a more polished performance the group looks and sounds better but still lose. Jimmy pays the group (mainly because of Eddie) but at this time they announce they will sign a contract with Jimmy. Jimmy becomes the groups new manager and brings in Ernest "Sarge" Johnson as the group's choreographer in which Dresser wasn't too happy about it because he felt he was the groups choreographer. Sarge displays his excellent tap dancing skill. After vigorous dance training Sarge and Jimmy are confident that the Heartbeats are ready to perform in a much larger music competition. Bird witnesses the Heartbeats rehearsing their routine and is concerned that they could lose, so he reminds his girlfriend to invite all her friends to insure their victory by booing the Heartbeats and cheering The Midnight Falcons. Additionally the announcer (Bird's cousin) at the stadium introduces a new rule to The Heartbeats forcing them to play with a piano player they are unfamiliar with. To further hinder the group's success the announcer misleads the audience to dislike the group even more falsely stating they had compared themselves to other soul acts (including the Falcons and The Temptations) and believed themselves to be better than the other groups combined.[2]
The Heartbeats then perform "A Heart Is a House for Love," which would later become a hit song after the films release. Subsequent to Jimmy and Sarge's unsuccessful attempts to reach the pianist, who is intentionally playing the song badly. Duck grows frustrated with the house piano player's butchering of the music and throws him offstage, taking over the piano and revamping the performance. Eddie leads the group in a rousing a cappella number which results in Bird's girlfriend fainting in Eddie's arms. Also watching in the audience is Flash, the leader of the Ebony Sparks. This performance leads to winning with a standing ovation and the interest of Big Red, who owns Big Red Records.[2] Big Red is impressed by their prior performance and offers them a deal however Jimmy and his wife Eleanor (aware of Big Red's corrupt operations) decline it. The group along with the Potters go in search for a record company they can trust however the only other ones that will sign them are predominately Caucasian operated and will only allow their songs to be conceived if first covered by a white group (named The Five Horsemen), giving the Heartbeats only minor song writing credit. Ultimately they decide to sign with Big Red.
The group goes out on the road, which is hard for all of them. ChoirBoy's father is concerned he will forget where he comes from, Dresser has a girl back home, Eddie's father is just waiting for him to fail and JT and Duck have a large family depending on them. The travel is hard due to racism, poor living conditions and the close quarters. Things come to a head when Dresser's girlfriend comes to visit at the same time as the record rep from Big Red. Dresser finds out his girlfriend is pregnant and they are faced with their first album cover having white people on the cover in an attempt to crossover. They overcome all of this (Dresser marries his girlfriend and they have the child) to finally find success.
Throughout this era (mid- to late 1960s) The Five Heartbeats are very successful, receiving numerous awards, charting several hits, and being featured on national magazine covers. However, when Eddie begins to abuse alcohol and cocaine,[2] (just like his father) leading him to miss rehearsals and various performances as well as losing his girl, BabyDoll. This leads Eddie to become very paranoid and even attempt to blackmail the other Heartbeats and Jimmy using his affiliation and new deal with Big Red along with buying Jimmy out of his contract. Jimmy doesn't take this sitting down. He threatens to go to authorities with information about payola and cooked books that could have Big Red arrested leading Red to have Jimmy killed; a garbage truck runs him down just as he leaves his apartment and attempts to get in his car. At the funeral Sarge is supposed to speak, but is overcome with grief. Red attends the funeral and approaches Jimmy's wife Eleanor in a big show of sympathy, but since he called her and warned her of Eddie's pending demise (via his trademark laugh) the night he died, she knows he had her husband killed and slaps him in anger. In the wake of the murder, the group finds out that Eddie's deceit was behind the argument between Jimmy and Big Red, resulting in his murder. Dresser goes after him and he cries that he had no clue that his actions would cause Jimmy's death. The group gets together to talk and include Bird (whom Red beat up when he questioned his bookkeeping and asked for records) to put Big Red away. He is convicted of Eddie's murder and the group moves to a new record label. Due to overwhelming grief, Eddie leaves the group despite Duck's pleas.
Throughout the post-Eddie era the Heartbeats add former rival Flash as their lead singer, which angers JT due to their rivals for women (after a show, Eddie, now a full blown homeless junkie approaches his former bandmates only to run off ashamed). Now successful, Duck has finally gained the attention of Tanya Sawyer, whom he has lusted after since first meeting her in Eddie's living room years ago. Over time and after their engagement, he begins to think she is having an affair. He is correct, but wrong about who she is cheating on him with (he thinks it's ChoirBoy, who has strayed far from his religious upbringing). After waiting for her to leave the house, he follows her to a hotel (on the radio he hears that Eddie was shot in a shoot out with police after attempting to rob a liquor store but it's not said if he's dead or alive). As he approaches the door, the doorman asks him for his autograph and marvels at the fact that he's the second Heartbeat he's seen that night since his brother was already upstairs. This is when he realizes that his brother is the one Tanya is cheating on him with. As Duck leaves dejected from the dual betrayal, his fiancee and brother are upstairs fighting. Tanya has been trying to break things off with JT, but he insists that she break things off with Duck since dating was OK, but now that they are engaged it's gone too far. Tanya refuses, insisting that she is in love with Duck which is different than loving JT. At an awards ceremony celebrating their success, as each member thanks the crowd, several things come to light: Flash announces he is leaving the group to become a solo artist AND announces his new record (which is coming out soon). When it's Duck's turn, he reveals that he knows about Tanya and JT, and that he is no longer a Heartbeat either. Several years go by and Duck receives a letter. It's from ChoirBoy, who has returned to his father's church. He asks Duck to come to a service and informs him of a surprise waiting. When he walks in, the choir is singing and to Duck's surprise, it's Eddie and Baby Doll who step up to sing lead. After the service Duck reunites with Eddie, ChoirBoy and BabyDoll. Eddie is not only clean, sober and married to BabyDoll, he is a manager of a group. He asks Duck to write some dongs for them, to which he agrees. He also urges Duck to contact JT. When he does he finds his brother in a park with a wife and 2 children. His heart softens when the little girl calls her brother "Duck", which shows that regardless of their estrangement, JT kept their deal of the first to have children to name the boy after the other brother.
In the final scene—ending in the 1980s where the film begins—Flash has made a successful transition from doo wop music to pop (as many R&B artists attempted in the 1980s), as the new lead singer of Flash and The Five Horsemen (the white group the first record label wanted them to let cover their music). The Heartbeats, however, are disappointed by the music at the time and aspire to show their families how they performed at the peak of their career. At first Eddie declines to join the other Heartbeats but Eleanor Potter, finally coming to terms with her husband's death, forgives Eddie.
Cast and characters
The Five Heartbeats
In the film, The Five Heartbeats are a popular doo-wop quintet[17] founded by members Duck and J.T Matthews, Eddie King, Jr., Anthony "Choir Boy" Stone, and Dresser Williams. The film follows their fictional career and personal ordeals over the decades.[2]
Lamont Johnson as Bobby Cassanova:[1] Bobby and Eddie are originally co-lead singers of the group. Bobby is only seen in the movie's opening scenes when he and Eddie are running after being caught cheating at a high stakes poker game. Bobby gets shot in the leg while running and does not perform with the group in any part of the movie. Duck becomes an active member of the group, thus replacing him.
Robert Townsend[1] as Donald "Duck" Matthews:[4] Robert Townsend's character along with the character's brother (J.T Matthews) originally hail from a poor background shown sharing their room with almost ten other individuals in one scene. One of the film's main protagonists, Duck serves as The Five Heartbeats' co-founder, brother of fellow Heartbeat's member J.T Matthews, and originally was only the composer and musician for the group. He is a permanent vocalist after group member Bobby disappears from the plotline. He takes his composing very seriously, as can be seen when he shoves a piano player off stage during a Heartbeat performance. Duck is depicted to be very shy and usually unsuccessful when attempting to maintain a relationship. He's devoted to the other members of the fictional quintet and is usually forgiving in instances where he is betrayed by various members (such as when J.T. is supposed to introduce a girl to Duck but introduces himself instead). He serves as the movie's narrator, with the film beginning as he reminisces about the group's entire career when looking at a Rolling Stone article featuring The Heartbeats as well as The Temptations and The Four Tops that questions their recent exploits and why the groups disbanded in the first place. The rest of the movie is told as one long flashback until the story returns to present day.[2]
Michael Wright[1] as Eddie King, Jr. :[4] (Note: Many times throughout this you see his last name as Kane when it's actually King per the end credits). Eddie comes from an area that features predominantly poor individuals, his own father believing his attempts to start a career in the music industry will be unsuccessful once claims "You ain't gonna be shit cause I ain't shit," he also states within the same conversation, "I just want him [Eddie] to be better than me." Similar to David Ruffin,Eddie is the lead vocalist of the band and falls into a life of drugs that eventually leads to his expulsion from the group as well as emotional trauma from various members of the band. In the film Eddie King, Jr. is one of the founding members of The Heartbeats and serves as the crowd pleaser who's voice leads to success in many of their performances. This gives him a high level of confidence to the point he becomes arrogant believing even without the other members of the group he'd still be successful. After missing various rehearsals and not showing up for performances[16] the group rotates lead singing responsibilities.[2], Eddie is reluctant to leave and tries to use his affiliation with Big Red to attempt to buy out the group's manager, Jimmy Potter. This inadvertently leads to Jimmy's death and Eddie's being replaced with Michael "Flash" Turner, of Flash and the Ebony Sparks. Eddie falls into a life of destitution before finding his way to Christianity. He then becomes sober and joins the church choir that Choir Boy directs at his father's church. Eventually the group and Jimmy's wife Eleanor forgive him for his role in Jimmy's death.
Leon Robinson[1] as J.T. Matthews:[4] The character referred to in the movie only by the nickname J.T. is the older brother of Duck Matthews. The character is depicted to be sexually vigorous and his brother once states that J.T. should seek "rehabilitation" in order to control his urges. He often loses interest with women after having slept with them, this becomes so common throughout the film he describes it as a disease. Following Eddie's departure from the band and Flash becoming The Heartbeats' new lead singer J.T. begins to believe his contributions to the group are not appreciated by the audience and improvises his vocals during one performance stealing the spotlight from Flash. J.T. and Duck have disputes throughout the film usually involving the theft of petty items such as tooth brushes (one argument was the inspiration for a staged brawl during a performance). However J.T. has an affair with Duck's fiancee' (which she planned to end, choosing Duck over J.T.), which resulted in Duck leaving the group. Years later the brothers reconcile.
Tico Wells[1] as Anthony "Choir Boy" Stone:[4] Featured much less commonly than the other members of the other group, Stone is arguably the youngest member of The Heartbeats. Often criticized by his peers due to his small demeanor, high pitched vocals, and background, Stone is given the nick name "Choir Boy" (much to his offense) for his past as a choir boy in his father's church. Similar to Eddie, Stone's father does not support his decision to become a music artist fearing rock and jazz are music of the devil[14] believing Stone should remain at the church. However Choirboy contradicts his father's advice stating that "God gave [him] [his] voice" and goes on tour with The Heartbeats after their first single is released. He appears with the band in all their performances as the falsetto singer. After the group disbands, he returns home and resumes his place as the choir director of his father's church. He helps Eddie get over his drug addiction and is the first Heartbeat to forgive Eddie for Jimmy's murder. He is also the one who reaches out to Duck via a letter (that arrived in the mail at the beginning of the movie) to reconcile their friendship. Duck jokingly states in the final scene "I wasn't the worst dancer. Choir Boy was."
John Canada Terrell as Flash:[1] Michael "Flash" Turner is the lead singer of Flash and the Ebony Sparks, the Heartbeats' only competition they haven't managed to defeat. When Eddie goes into a downward spiral, Flash is brought in as the new lead singer. Since he's also a ladies' man, this leaves J.T. feeling out of sorts and J.T. upstages Flash at a performance, serenading a woman until she faints. The group has high commercial success with Flash at the helm until at an awards ceremony he thanks the Heartbeats for the career boost and announces that he will be going solo, releasing an album within the next month.
Harry J. Lennix[1] as Terrence "Dresser" Williams:[4] The original choreographer of The Heartbeats, Dresser also serves as the groups bass singer and one of the founding members. He is replaced by Ernest "Sarge" Johnson as the choreographer after Sarge proves he's more qualified by out-dancing Dresser. He is the least forgiving of Eddie's role in his Jimmy Potter's murder and he along with Eleanor Potter holds his grudge against Eddie until the end of the film.
Other characters
Hawthorne James as Big Red Davis: The owner of the first record label The Five Heartbeats are signed to, Big Red serves as the films main antagonist. Davis is affiliated with the Potter family before the film begins though the exact details of their prior meetings are never revealed. Eddie King, Jr. attempts to rejoin The Heartbeats by black mailing the Potters and the other members of the band, but when Jimmy Potter attempts to report Big Red's corruption to authorities Davis has Potter killed. Davis is later shown attempting to woo Potter's wife who he is shown to have affection for throughout the film at Jimmy Potter's funeral. Subsequent to this event Big Red is arrested and convicted of organizing Potter's assassination due to the testimony of The Heartbeats including Bird, who he had his men dangle out a window when he asked about his royalties.[2]
Chuck Patterson as Jimmy Potter:[1] The Heartbeat's manager, Jimmy is responsible for giving the group the opportunity to perform at more publicized events and receive training from Ernest "Sarge" Johnson. He replaces Eddie Kane, Jr. after he was late for various rehearsals and performances so Big Red attempts to black mail Potter and then to buy him out. Potter declines threatening to present evidence of Big Red's corruption to authorities. Jimmy's's death is orchestrated by Big Red.[2]
Diahann Carroll as Eleanor Potter:[1] Jimmy Potter's wife, Eleanor along with her husband are the original supporters of The Five Heartbeats. She dislikes Big Red from the start of the film and is most distraught when Jimmy Potter is killed, however she forgives Eddie Kane, Jr. for his role in the murder at the end of the film.
Roy Fegan[1] as Bird:[4] Originally the antagonist of the film, Bird is known as the lead singer of Bird and The Midnight Falcons. Early in the film the character attempts to defeat The Five Heartbeats in a vocal contest by organizing a group of females to boo The Heartbeats and cheer the Falcons. Later on in the film Bird is beaten up and dangled over a window by Big Red's men after asking about his royalties. After Big Red orchestrates the murder of Jimmy Potter (The Heartbeat's manager) Bird joins members of the Heartbeats in testifying against Red and helps to convict him of the murder.[2]
Harold Nicholas of Harold and Fayard Nicholas as Ernest "Sarge" Johnson:[1] Johnson is The Five Heartbeat's choreographer. His role is small but it is indicated he choreographs all the dance moves for the group. Sarge is last seen in the hospital on his birthday. He (who makes a significant transition and his age between his different appearances in the film) asks for a cigarette. Though there is no funeral he is never mentioned again.
Troy Beyer as Baby Doll:[1] Eddie's girlfriend, also a singer, who leaves Eddie after he begins to abuse drugs and alcohol. She later reprises her role (who eventually married Eddie) and they are shown singing together in a choir with Anthony Stone as their director.
Theresa Randle as Brenda: - Dresser's girlfriend, who later becomes his wife. She became pregnant during the Heartbeat's first tour, and Dresser had planned to quit the group to return home to support her, since the group wasn't making a lot of money during the tour. At one point the other group members give Dresser the extra money they had to help him support his young family.
Other bands
Bird and The Midnight Falcons portrayed by actors Roy Fegan, Gregory Alexander, Roger Rose, Jimmy Woodard:[2] The group The Five Heartbeats compete against their fellow Big Red label mates in their second onscreen performance. The Midnight Falcons attempt to cheat by ordering their girlfriends to deliberately cheer against The Heartbeats and cheer for the Falcons, additionally the announcer misleads the rest of the audience to do the same by falsely stating the Heartbeats made numerous arrogant claims.[2]
Flash and the Ebony Sparks portrayed by John Canada Terrell, Ron Jackson, Recoe Walker and Wayne "Crescendo" Ward:[1] The Ebony Sparks consecutively defeat The Five Heartbeats in singing competitions—many of whiched often rigged—prior to their mainstream popularity. The frontman (Flash) later becomes the lead singer for the Five Heartbeats when Eddie is forced out of the group due to his drug use.
Production
After writing (along with Keenan Ivory Wayans), producing, directing, and starring in his previous film Hollywood Shuffle, Robert Townsend had gained a near cult status with independent filmmakers due to his dedication to the past film which caused him to max out all his credit cards and spend nearly $100,000 of his own money raised through savings and various acting jobs in order to produce the film. When writing Townsend's first feature length film, The Five Heartbeats, Townsend and Wayans kept comedy an important aspect of the film, but ventured to explore complex characters in a more dramatic way.[16] After extensive research with R&B singing group The Dells, who are renowned for their four-decade career, Townsend used his film to depict a similar story following three friend's who aspire to become musicians.[2] Due to the setting of the film, he was able to tie in other elements, such as race relations, as well.[2] Due to the movie's budgetary constraints, Townsend used little-known actors of the time, with the exceptions of Leon Robinson, Diahann Carroll and Harold Nicholas of The Nicholas Brothers.[1]
'Heartbeats of America'
To promote the film, Townsend, along with other actors who portrayed the fictional musical quartet The Five Heartbeats (Leon Robinson, Michael Wright, Harry J. Lennix, and Tico Wells) performed with real life Soul/R&B band The Dells (one of the many groups that inspired the movie) in a concert prior to the film's released. Similar to the movie's musical performances, The Dells sang the vocals and recorded mix tapes as the actors lip synced.[18]
Soundtrack
A soundtrack for the film was released by Virgin Records featuring original music from both the film and those recorded by various artists (most predominately the Dells) for the soundtrack. Both Nights Likes This and A Heart Is a House for Love went on to become top 20 hits on the Hot Black Singles section of the US Billboard music charts.[10] The entire album is described in an inuniverse tense, crediting the songs to fictional characters in the film as opposed to the actual vocalists. (Note: While original music by The Four Tops, The Dells and The Delfonics was played during the 60's era of the movie, none of the songs appear on the soundtrack.)
- A Heart Is a House for Love - The Dells
- We Haven't Finished Yet - Patti LaBelle, Tressa Thomas, Billy Valentine
- Nights Like This - After 7
- Bring Back the Days - U.S. Male
- Baby Stop Running Around - Bird and the Midnight Falcons
- In the Middle - Flash and the Five Heartbeats
- Nothing But Love - The Dells with Billy Valentine
- Are You Ready for Me - Flash and the Ebony Sparks
- Stay in My Corner - The Dells
- I Feel Like Going On - Rance Allen[10][19] (Eddie, Baby Doll and the L.A. Mass Choir)
Reception
The film grossed approximately $8,500,000[2][15] after being released in 862 theaters throughout North America, however despite the film's moderate success it was not well received by a majority of critics.[7] On Rotten Tomatoes The Five Heartbeats accumulated an average of 46% positive reviews, although only 13 reviews were counted (6 of which were positive, the remaining seven negative).[7]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times described the movie as "Townsend's first traditional feature film; his directorial debut, some four years ago, was Hollywood Shuffle, a series of comic sketches that parodied the cliched ways Hollywood has used black characters in the movies. Most of those sketches were under 10 minutes; this time, at feature length, Townsend shows a real talent, and, not surprisingly, an ability to avoid most cliches, to go for the human truth in his characters. Townsend tells their [the members of the Five Heartbeat's] stories in an interlocking series of episodes that's confusing at first - the opening 20 minutes or so are hard to follow - and then settles down, as if he's found his way. I doubt if the movie was shot in chronological order, but it certainly picks up confidence and power as it goes along, until by the end we really care about these guys, especially in a couple of scenes where they have to make decisions for a lifetime."[14]
However due to the nature of the film, music montages were commonly used to progress the plot; critics considered this to be a major flaw.[20] Ebert also states in his review that numerous scenes in the film serve no purpose other than to represent the racism encountered by various African-American musical acts during the early 1960s.[14]
Despite the film receiving negative criticism, the numerous musical performances were highly acclaimed,[20] All music complimented the Dells lead singer Marvin Junior (the vocalist who provided the singing voice for fictional character Eddie King, Jr.) stating him to be "one of the most underrated voices in pop music."[19] Tressa Thomas's performance of "We Haven't Finished Yet" in particular was described by critics as favorable.[8][21] The film received an ASCAP award for Most Performed Songs in a Motion Picture for the song "Nights Like This."[22]
DVD releases
A DVD was released for the film in 2002, a special edition was also released in 2006 for the film's 15th Anniversary which includes additional content.[12]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r http://www.vh1.com/movies/movie/11969/castcrew.jhtml
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p http://www.vh1.com/movies/movie/11969/details.jhtml
- ^ http://www.vh1.com/movies/movie/11969/plot.jhtml
- ^ a b c d e f g h http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101891/
- ^ http://search.ew.com/EWSearch/ew/search/search.html?search=the+five+heartbeats&x=0&y=0/
- ^ http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie/the-five-heartbeats/?pkw=PI&vendor=Paid%20Inclusion&OCID=iSEMPI
- ^ a b c http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/five_heartbeats/?name_order=asc#
- ^ a b http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/thefiveheartbeatsrhinson_a0a9e7.htm
- ^ http://entertainment.circuitcity.com/Music/Album.aspx?prodid=VIR86208.2&si=ccity-prod&store=Music
- ^ a b c d http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,86336,00.html
- ^ http://search.ew.com/EWSearch/ew/search/search.html?search=the+five+heartbeats&x=0&y=0
- ^ a b c http://www.answers.com/topic/the-five-heartbeats
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/five_heartbeats/?name_order=asc#mo
- ^ a b c d http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19910329/REVIEWS/103290301/1023
- ^ a b http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=fiveheartbeats.htm
- ^ a b c d http://books.google.com/books?id=5YWgxVkJmT4C&pg=PA220&dq=the+five+heartbeats&lr=&sig=ACfU3U0Nl-quxN9UYyRjd5Q6i_fBRfUcNw#PPA220,M1
- ^ http://www.fakebands.com/fakeband_f.html
- ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,313030,00.html
- ^ a b c http://www.allmusicguide.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jnfqxqe5ldke
- ^ a b http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/20018/five-heartbeats-15th-anniversary-special-edition-the/
- ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,313751,00.html
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101891/awards
External links
