User reviews

"Hoodlum" is a film that deserved much better. Bill Duke, its talented director, gives us a picture of what the Harlem of the thirties was like. In fact, "Hoodlum" suffers when it's compared to Coppola's "The Cotton Club". Mr. Duke, an actor himself, was able to amass a great cast and he got performances that are amazing from this first rate ensemble.

The cast headed by the brilliant Laurence Fishburn is amazing. Mr. Fishburn is basically the whole reason for watching the film. His Bumpy Johnson is a larger than life figure in that era. Tim Roth also is quite amazing as Dutch Schultz, a white man who saw the hidden treasures of the black community of Harlem and tried to capitalize in that world. Andy Garcia plays Lucky Luciano, an Italian man who also was instrumental in the criminal activities one sees in the film.

Also in the cast, Vanessa Williams, Cicely Tyson, Loretta Devine, William Atherton, Queen Latifah, and the rest, respond well to Mr. Duke's command.

The film is entertaining and will not disappoint fans of the genre, or of Mr. Duke.

Overlong but riveting, highly visceral mob movie with a difference, as it shows the rise to prominence of "Bumpy" Johnson (Laurence Fishburne). Johnson, fresh from a stint in prison, goes to work for successful Harlem numbers racketeer Stephanie St. Clair (Cicely Tyson), then takes over the operation when she is sent to prison. His approach, unsurprisingly, is much different and more proactive than hers, which comes in handy when they are forced to deal with the activities of Arthur Flegenheimer, a.k.a. "Dutch Schultz" (Tim Roth), a pathologically greedy, flamboyantly nasty creep just full of swagger.

Fishburne commands the screen with his calm and cool performance as Bumpy. His Bumpy is a man never caught off guard, a man with his own philosophy and way of life that prevents him from wanting to enter churches. His love story in this fictionalization is Francine Hughes, played by the lovely Vanessa L. Williams, who adds a great deal of humanity to the scenario as she tries to distance herself from Bumpys' actions; even when she is clearly acting in self defense as she shoots a would be assassin, she feels very uneasy about it.

Andy Garcia is merely passable as mob boss of the day "Lucky" Luciano, but there are plenty of other despicable antagonists to raise the ire of the audience. Richard Bradford plays a corrupt police captain, calling to mind his role in "The Untouchables", except that here his character is a racist as well. William Atherton plays real life attorney Thomas Dewey, who is portrayed as being just as crooked as anyone in this tale. The radiant Tyson shines in her limited screen time. Chi McBride supplies both comedy relief and a level of heart as Bumpys' cousin "Illinois" Gordon, and Loretta Devine is likable as his lady friend. Queen Latifah isn't given much to do in her small supporting role. Some very fine character actors dot the landscape: Clarence Williams III, real life brothers Mike and Beau Starr, Paul Benjamin, Joe Guzaldo, Ed O'Ross, J.W. Smith, Eddie Bo Smith Jr., and John Toles-Bey. Roth tends to steal the show, although there's nothing subtle about his performance or the way that Schultz is written.

On the technical side, some reasonably good period recreation is done, Bill Duke directs with style, and there's a lovely score by Elmer Bernstein as well as a few musical numbers.

"Hoodlum" is decent entertainment, but that's what it is: entertainment. It's only loosely based on the real stories of the real life people involved, so it isn't to be mistaken for a history lesson.

Seven out of 10.

This film had a lot of talent in it, but it just wasn't very good. It seems like it was a throwback of some of the old blaxploitation films. But I am not sure if they were trying to do that, or if it just came out that way. Anyway, a flat drawn out story, and choppy direction didn't help this movie in the least bit. Even that action scenes weren't very good. See it if you must, but you really aren't missing anything.

I really enjoyed this film. As far as crime dramas go it is up there with The Godfather to me. Laurence Fishburne was great in his role as Bumpy Johnson. Tim Roth gave a great performance also.

The film did a great job portraying the inner turmoil of people. Also it did a great job at showing the racist attitudes of the times. Example: Dutch asking his main guy, who is black to wrap up his (shultz) sandwich scraps so that he (the black guy) could take them home to feed his grandkids. Classic subtle racism.

The clothes and the music were also good for the period. One scene was even shot at the cotton club which no movie during this period is complete without.

Great Job! Great Film!

An epic gangster story. Great performances. They don't make them like this no more!😎

Colorful, violent, a good cast, and excellent period recreation highlight this depression era Gangster Movie. Directed by Actor Bill Duke, it is at times talky and languishes a bit, but the action pieces are stylish and visceral.

Guilty of repetitive speech making and some over acting, the Movie waivers between High Camp and a serious Character Study. Tim Roth almost steals the Show with a sleazy, disgusting, foul-mouthed portrayal of Dutch Schultz, but Laurence Fishburne as Bumpy Johnson, and Vanessa Williams in a supporting Role make their mark.

The Film is never boring even though it tends to drag in spots and is over-long to a fault. Overall it is a mostly fictitious account that is worth a watch for its style, pizazz, great period detail, and brutal Gangster violence that the Genre demands.

This is probably one of the best gangster films, where an adapted real story is shown. Andy Garcia is the famous maffia boss Lucky Luciano and Tim Roth is the sharky Dutch Schultz, they both acted very well. Roth knows well how to be a real villain and Andy is a master in roles of cynic persons, but the best acting belongs to Larry Fishburne as a maffia black boss Bumpy Johnson. The film shows how the groups led by Schultz and Johnson fought for the control of different areas of New York City including Harlem, to what extent local police and politic people were involved in favoring one or another group. Bill Duke should be proud of directing such a quality film, which unfortunately has received modest attention from the critics.

It seems to me like in today's film world, critics, whether it be Ebert or the viewers, are quick to down a film if it has a large budget. I think Hoodlum fell victim to this epidemic. With a bankroll of wonderful actors and actresses, and some of the best historical recreation of the locations, the movie delivers. The plot was simple, but it doesn't need to be complicated in a gangster flick like this. It was based on real people, so the creators of the film cannot go ballistic on changing the story. Maybe the 'critics' would like it better if it had a little green man who uses the force, or maybe a future crime prevention device. Well, you won't find this here. It's a wonderful, semi-true story about the way things were in Harlem and the surroundings areas back then. Fishburn turned in a wonderful performance, and Roth played a great villian as he always does. Just relax, and take it for what it's meant to be. Entertainment.

"Hoodlum" shows an interesting side of the mafia in the 1930's: The African-American side. This movie is basically about two major white gangs and one major black gang battling and dealing to try and take total control of "the lottery" one of the best income-sources in the Depression. There are a lot of gunfights and bloodshed and quite a few of the main characters die, and the plot is semi-predictable and confusing. The cops are all crooked and some gangsters even are portrayed as noble. It's not a boring movie is rather hard to sit through, with all of the different characters and stories. Still, it's worth seeing for the interesting story of the 1930's black gangsters.

I had this movie on homemade VHS for a while and just received the DVD.

Mesmerizing!!! Beautifully Filmed! Hats off to Bill Duke - another very distinguished African-American director!! Once you get past the fact that the movie is FILLED with phenomenal performances from the likes of Laurence Fishburne, Andy Garcia, Tim Roth, Vanessa Williams. Queen Latifah, Loretta Devine, Clarence Williams III, and of course, Miss Cicely Tyson you also discover a gem of a movie.

It follows the exploits of a 30s Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson. Fishburne reminds you of why he is such a charismatic actor. His performance here is one you can watch over and over again. Of course the movie may have been exaggerated but what movie isn't?! It is a very stylized presentation and the obvious attention to detail to create the look and the feel of the period help intensify the viewing experience.

I am quite proud of the production and highly recommend it become part of your movie collection. Notwitstanding that is a worthy project, there are treasures of performances here that warrant attention.

It is my opinion that this film is very unrealistic. It has a very Hollywood way of looking at the story behind the movie. I think if you were to make a movie about a person, make the story line capture more of who Bumpy Johnson really was, and this movie mist the mark by a mile. Also, Bumpys real story never crossed paths with Lucky Lucianos story, in any way. The portrayal of the queen was very inaccurate, the women was a ruthless Pearson, a psychopath, to say it best. Not a faithful women of God. Also the blacks were not as independent as the movie portraits them as them having their own organization. At that time they worked for the Italian mob , because the Italians had more power, plus the politicians... All I have to say is this movie is very inaccurate on everything. The only thing that the writers got right, is that "Bumpy" was from Harlem and he ran numbers, that's it......................

Hoodlum.....what can I say, if you had cool Grandparents that grew up in Harlem in the 1930's who liked to party, dress and play numbers then maybe you'd of heard some of the stories about the going ons in Harlem U.S.A. during that period. Numbers were literally the Black mans lottery back then and communication between runner and player no matter how small the amount played was the lug that connected dreams with hope for the little guy; Hoodlum is a story about the preservation of those hopes and dreams by a one Bumpy Johnson. The music, wardrobe and cinematography is superb, I highly recommend this tale of Harlem history.

Macheeste~

I thought this movie was good just halfway.There are a lot flaws and misses artistically.And the ending didnt correct the errors.

First of all,i think it was a mistake to cast Fishbourne here.Iam else a fan of the guy,but in this kind of role i think someone like Denzel Washington would have done a much better, or anyway, better job.Fishbourne does have the rough looks that compliment his role,but he doesnt have the charisma that this role requires.Thats why iam not a big fan of him.He has the talent,but lacks in charisma.He has the coolness,but not the looks.Thats why Denzel is better.He has it all.He can play both rough and tender guys with the same effect.But back to the film.

I think it was all made too "these guys are the good ones and these are bad".Even Lucky Luciano came out as a positive figure in the end.I dont know much about him,but hey,isnt this guy that is the main responsible for that maffia is still strong in the world today?!Andy Garcia was ok in the role,although he too could have been replaced by a better choice.I think he looked a little too "polished" and fancy for the role. Tim Roth was the one that did the best of the main characters.His real sinister face and menacing manners really brought the right image of Schulz.

And i also didnt like the way Fishbourne just waltzed in the room and took out anyone he had unfinished business with.They should have made the showdowns more exciting and difficult. Big ambitions,wrong method and wrong lead actor.Result-a half baked movie. 6 out of 10

I would highly recommend the movie. I am not a big fan of gangster movies but this one it's much larger than that. I was browsing through my cable channels, stumbled on it and got hooked right away. The performances are awesome, the directing excellent, the costumes & sets perfect. And the story, well...true. That's what makes the movie even more attractive. The reason I am posting this comment - I've never done it before - is because I got irritated by critics' opinion about it. I am no movie expert, but to trash this one it's just plain or deliberate oversight. Please don't skip the movie just because somebody else tells you so. Give it a shot and you won't regret it. I promise.

My girlfriend and I found this movie at a local video store and thought we found a diamond in the rough with Lawrence Fishbourne, Tim Roth and Andy Garcia adoring the cover. However the two hours to follow the insertion of the DVD into the player were just rough.

Although, I gave it a chance at the beginning, within the first 1/4 or 1/3 of the movie it became apparent that we were not watching Coppola, Scorsese or even what their test-tube born, genetically spliced, half aborted fetus would have came up.

In terms of flow I found there is a limited transition from complication to climax of this piece. Metaphors are overdone and almost cast in neon, like the chessboard which is used to signify Fishbourne's character's (Bumpy) strategic genius.

Scripting is perhaps the weakest part of this movie. There are scenes that function almost on a narrative level by telling us how we should feel about certain aspects of the plot, situation, setting or characters. For instance, like the evolution, so to speak, of Bumpy (Fishbourne).

A rather poignant scene takes place highlighting in two very transparent plot sequences that Bumpy has indeed changed after he became a full out gangster. These scenes are designed to let the watcher know that Bumpy has changed, instead of highlighting dramatically that he has. The conscious inclusion of a point like this, particularly as a major plot piece, shows a very poorly flushed out script that is more pieced together and edited and re-edited.

Finally, thematically and structurally this movie parallels the Godfather I and II in some very significant ways. Bumpy for instance, although a more willing participant initially within organized crime than Michael Corleone was is almost a straight copy of his character. Even major events in the plot are paralleled in Godfather I and II.

Despite all these short-coming, this is a fairly immersive piece in terms of set and setting, but with par-level cinematography, lighting and effects, the cons far outweigh to pros for this piece, I can not recommend it. Although not terrible, it's certainly not redeemable.

If you want to see a Gangster/Mob piece see the Godfather Trilogy, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, Casino or any other movie of this genre before seeing this one.

Hoodlum is a film with a sparkling cast. The actors did live up to my expectations, considering what they were given to work with, which was not much. The story in Hoodlum is wrought with cliche, and yet takes itself far too seriously. The directing seems to be a mish mash of styles that don't mesh. Take the closing shot, which attempts to be symbolic, but ends up looking like an afterthought.

Both Fishburne and Roth were excellent, as was the entire cast. Unfortunately, the whole film left me with the impression of a high school production.

This movie is magnificent.Laurence Fishburne is one of the best actors in 90s without a doubt.If you like Gangster movies, check this one out.I recommend to watch it.Laurence Fishburne is one my all time favorite actor.a lot of gangsters movies fans said that Godfather is good definitely godfather is good,but it's a little bit overrated. Bill Duke is good director.i love this movie.it's good movie.one of the greatest in 90s i think.Laurence Fishburne is good actor.i like his role in matrix too.5.7/10 in IMDb it must at least 7.0/10 i think. "Though set in New York, the movie was filmed in Chicago because it still has buildings that are of the type that were in Harlem in the 1930s unlike present day New York" without a doubt good spot.

Bill Duke directs this highly fictionalized tale about 1930's gangsters Dutch Schultz(Tim Roth)and Lucky Luciano(Andy Garcia)trying to take over the "numbers" business in Harlem. There is one big problem...Bumpy Johnson(Laurence Fishburne). When the story line goes a little flat; out comes the switch blades and tommy guns. The violence really doesn't take up that much screen time, but when it does it is ruthless and savage. A very good supporting cast includes:Clarence Williams III, Vanessa Williams, Cicely Tyson and Queen Latifah.