Plot: What’s it about?
I’ve had several signs as of late that I might be getting on in the years. E-Mails saying “Your 15 year High School Reunion is next year – start planning NOW” and such. I refuse to believe them, of course, but then I get “New Jack City” and realize how dated it seems (the clothes, hairstyles, etc. not the acutal movie theme) and I think back to when I first saw it – in the Spring of 1991. Ok, so it’s been nearly fifteen years since this movie hit theaters and now we have a “Two Disc Special Edition” of it. As vast as Warner’s catalog of titles is, I was rather surprised that this title got the deluxe treatment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of my favorite movies and though I’d certainly like to see others get the WB treatment, this will do just fine. Aside from the obvious references to drugs and gang warfare, “New Jack City” marked the directorial debut of Mario Van Peeples – he’s since gone onto make some rather interesting films, with mixed results critically. His latest effort, “Baadasssss!” showed a bit of a resurgance and perhaps that is why Warner thought they’d re-introduce the world to “New Jack City”. Regardless, here’s how it went down…
The year is 1986 and we’re immediately introduced to Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes) as one of his hired henchmen is dangling someone off a New York City bridge. The man falls to his death and we see that Brown is a force to be reckoned with. Crack was just becoming mainstream and Nino sees this as the drug of the future. Together with his partner and longtime friend, Gee Money (Allen Payne), they start a drug regime that makes them serious players in the market. Flash forward five years (“Present Day” at the time) and time has shown that crack was for real and the operation has expanded. Nino and his crew now control a hotel that they use for their base of operations. This hasn’t gone unnoticed though as Det. Stone (Mario Van Peeples) has a plan to bring down the whole thing. He enlists the help of renegade cop Scotty (Ice-T) who then turns to a reformed drug addict, Pookie (Chris Rock) as his inside man. Scotty is partnered with Nick Peretti (Judd Nelson) as they’re “the only two who are crazy enough to work with each other”.
The movie made quite a statement at the time and is held in the same light along the likes of “Scarface” and “The Godfather”, though obviously not as highly regarded. The anti-drug sentiment is something the movie preaches to an extreme point (anyone in the movie who uses drugs ends up dying by one method or the other), but also tried to hammer home that the problem itself isn’t ficticious. As a Director, Van Peeples got help from none other than Cint Eastwood and the rest, as they say, is history. This also marked the first leading role for Wesley Snipes, who oddly enough had been in a similar movie the previous year, “King of New York”. As it stands, “New Jack City” was a good movie at the time, pulling in a modest amount at the box office. The soundtrack was even more successful as it combined the right elements of pop, R & B and rap – thereby playing to a large audience. If “New Jack City” isn’t in your DVD collection, this new Two-Disc set easily erases the older single disc version. Recommended.
Video: How does it look?
The previous release was enhanced for 16:9 TV’s, but Warner seems to have gone back and cleaned up the transfer a bit. The 1.85:1 image looks breathtakingly good at some points and dirty/muddy at others. This lack of consistency prevents the score from being higher, but suffice it to say that this is the best “New Jack City” has looked on any home video format. Colors are generally bright and vivid – there’s several scenes which feature neon colors as part of the wardrobe (man…did we really wear stuff like that). There are seveal shots at night and inside and I noticed some dirt on the print during those scenes, but for the most part it was a really good-looking transfer. “New Jack City” looks as good as ever and with the supplements on the second disc, the bit rate has plenty of room to spread itself out.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track leaves a little to be desired, though it does have its moments. The film, made in 1991, was a few years short of when everything went fully digital and as such, there is a bit of a “hollow” sound to some of the scenes. I was surprised, though, at the depth that other scenes did have. The soundtrack plays a big part in the movie and every song sounds very robust, illuminating out of all channels. There is also a Dolby Surround track that sounds nearly as good, but I’d go for the 5.1.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This is a pretty straight-forward offering with the first disc containing the movie and a commentary track by Actor/Director Mario Van Peeples. Peeples gives us a very insightful commentary track often lapsing and admiring his own work. He tells of how he’s grown as a filmmaker, but seems generally satisfied with his effrots here. The next disc contains three featurettes: “NJC: A Hip-Hop Classic”, “Harlem World: A Walk Inside” and “The Road to New Jack City”. “NJC: A Hip Hop Classic” is probably the best of the three in that we get interviews with the cast of the movie (note to Judd Nelson – buy a brush) as they reflect back on it and such. “Harlem World…” is more of an on site tour of some of the spots that the movie was filmed at. Peeples gives us a hands on look at the various locales that were featured in the film. Finally “The Road to New Jack City” tells us of how the film came to be and contains more interviews with the cast and crew. Now…the moment everyone has been waiting for: Music Videos! For all of those people out there who are disappointed that a DVD compliation of “Color Me Badd’s” videos aren’t out (or maybe they are, I didn’t check to see), we know have “I Wanna Sex You Up” on DVD as well as “New Jack Hustler” by Ice-T and “I’m Dreamin'” by Christopher Williams. Throw in a theatrical trailer and there you go. Love it or hate it, “New Jack City” is a pretty good gangster/hip hop movie. It’s a bit dated, but features great performances by Allen Payne and Wesley Snipes. If this isn’t on your shelf, this is the version to get.
