MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 304 this week

The Cotton Club (1984)

R  |   |  Crime, Drama, Music  |  14 December 1984 (USA)
6.5
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.5/10 from 12,014 users  
Reviews: 79 user | 34 critic

The Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem. The story follows the people that visited the club, those that ran it, and is peppered with the Jazz music that made it so famous.

Director:

(as Francis Coppola)

Writers:

(screenplay), (screenplay) (as Francis Coppola) , 4 more credits »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

On Disc

at Amazon

The 25 Most Immersive Worlds in Cinema

Highly immersive cinematic worlds can carry a movie, and we've rounded up the best of the best.

See the full list

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 28 titles
created 24 Feb 2011
 
a list of 26 titles
created 07 Apr 2011
 
a list of 45 titles
created 15 Feb 2012
 
a list of 46 titles
created 30 Jan 2013
 
a list of 31 titles
created 11 Jun 2013
 

Related Items

Search for "The Cotton Club" on Amazon.com

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Cotton Club (1984)

The Cotton Club (1984) on IMDb 6.5/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Cotton Club.

User Polls

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 6 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Rumble Fish (1983)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

Rusty James, an absent-minded street thug struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days when gang warfare was going on.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane
Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

Hank and Frannie don't seem to be able to live together anymore. After a five-year relationship, lustful and dreamy Fanny leaves down-to-earth Hank on the anniversary of their relationship.... See full summary »

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia
Drama | War | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

A sergeant must deal with his desires to save the lives of young soldiers being sent to Vietnam. Continuously denied the chance to teach the soldiers about his experiences, he settles for trying to help the son of an old army buddy.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: James Caan, Anjelica Huston, James Earl Jones
Biography | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

The story of Preston Tucker, the maverick car designer and his ill-fated challenge to the auto industry with his revolutionary car concept.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen, Martin Landau
Comedy | Drama | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

Peggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up, she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Barry Miller
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Having discovered that she is pregnant, Natalie Ravenna (Shirley Knight), a Long Island housewife panics and leaves home to see if she might just possibly have made something different out ... See full summary »

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: James Caan, Shirley Knight, Robert Duvall
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

Post-teen virgin moves to New York City, falls for a cold-hearted beauty, then finds true love with a loyal lass.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Elizabeth Hartman, Geraldine Page, Rip Torn
Tetro (2009)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Bennie travels to Buenos Aires to find his long-missing older brother, a once-promising writer who is now a remnant of his former self. Bennie's discovery of his brother's near-finished play might hold the answer to understanding their shared past and renewing their bond.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, Maribel Verdú
The Outsiders (1983)
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

The rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, only heats up when one gang member kills a member of the other.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio
Birdy (1984)
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

After two friends return home from the Vietnam War one becomes mentally unstable and obsesses with becoming a bird.

Director: Alan Parker
Stars: Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, John Harkins
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

In 1942 California, two young men await induction into the U.S. Marines and say goodbye to their girlfriends.

Director: Richard Benjamin
Stars: Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, Nicolas Cage
Biography | Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.3/10 X  

Based on the life of Ned Hanlan, the late-19th century Canadian sculler and world champion. Hanlan was one of the first scullers to successfully utilize the "sliding seat."

Director: Charles Jarrott
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Cynthia Dale, Christopher Plummer
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Gwen Verdon ...
...
Maurice Hines ...
...
...
...
Bumpy Rhodes (as Larry Fishburne)
Edit

Storyline

The Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem. The story follows the people that visited the club, those that ran it, and is peppered with the Jazz music that made it so famous. Written by Colin Tinto <cst@imdb.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Where crime lords rub elbows with the rich and famous! See more »

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Music

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

14 December 1984 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Cotton Club  »

Box Office

Budget:

$58,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$25,900,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (video)

Sound Mix:

(70 mm prints)| (35 mm prints)

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Enticed by a script by Mario Puzo and the promise of funding from Las Vegas casino-owning brothers Edward and Fred Doumani, Paramount offered Evans the talents of Richard Gere as leading man and access to their studio facilities along with further production funds. However, determined to re-establish his reputation as a major player in Hollywood, Robert Evans turned down the latter offer in favour of the services of Orion Pictures - who were in the business of marketing and distributing films rather than producing them, meaning that Evans would need to raise more production money and find a studio in which to shoot the film, causing further delays and adding to the already bloated budget. See more »

Goofs

When Dixie goes to ransom Frenchy there is a different amount of shaving cream on Mad Dog's face in every shot. See more »

Quotes

[Frenchy has just broken Owney's watch]
Frenchy: You cheap son of a bitch! You only offered $500 for me?
Owney: What?
Frenchy: If you were kidnapped, I wouldn't offer more than that for you!
Owney: $500?
Frenchy: That's what I heard!
Owney: 50 grand! I paid 50 grand! They only wanted 35 but I gave 50 not to hurt you. $500. I would've given 500,000 for you. I been worried sick about you. Look at what you done to my fuckin' watch.
Frenchy: 50 grand?
Owney: Yeah.
[Frenchy hands Owney a box that Owney opens]
[...]
See more »

Connections

Featured in Precious Images (1986) See more »

Soundtracks

Drop Me Off In Harlem
Words by Nick Kenny
Music by Duke Ellington
Piano Solo: Mark Shane
Trombone Solo: Britt Woodman
1st and 3rd Trumpet Solos: Eandy Sandke
2nd Trumpet Solo: Dave Brown
4th Trumpet Solo: Lew Soloff
Clarinet Solo: Bob Wilber
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

Companion to the pictoral history of The Cotton Club
8 July 2003 | by See all my reviews

inspired by photographs of the legendary Cotton Club in Harlem, some shots appear exactly as they were (now in colour). I noticed Dutch Schultz's slumped pose when he is shot is exactly that of the police photograph, though he died several hours later (see William Burroughs "The Last Words Of Dutch Schultz"). The actors often play too broad (Diane Lane), and Richard Gere shows his lazy, grinning acting here too. However, many notable smaller roles for Gregory Hines (and his brother), Bob Hoskins, Laurence Fishburne and others who make it well worth watching. It is true that $40 million could have been used better, but when you consider both Bob Evans and Coppola's involvement it seems with hindsight that they were asking for trouble. The music deserves special credit, as do the tap sequences (which i gather were shortened and some cut - what a shame). Mostly Duke Ellington classics. As i've already suggested the look is a perfect recreation of the time, but sadly the plot is patchy, some dialogue weak and it has been said before - there is no chemistry between the romantic leads. 9/10


11 of 11 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
The Dutchman curlew-2
This is an amazing movie! probably in my top10 Asur18
Was Diane Lane really 18 when this was shot? neal2zod
ending? Saracia
Directors Cut/Extended Version? vangreun
Greatest scene I've seen in a long time. bsbdzu902
Discuss The Cotton Club (1984) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page