Hoodlum Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Hoodlum Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 28, 2016

Bill Duke's "Hoodlum" (1997) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Bumpy Johnson

Bill Duke’s Hoodlum is a film of odd contrasts. It’s got a great cast and pretty good period atmosphere, but it tries so damn hard to be an epic that one cannot but question its sincerity. And the more one does it, the clearer it becomes that the film was put together hastily.

The place is Harlem sometime during the year 1934. Here Madame Queen (Cicely Tyson) controls a big gambling game that has become so popular that Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) and his boys have decided to move in and redistribute the wealth. Madame Queen of course isn’t happy, which is why there is plenty of static in the air.

On the day when Shultz’s boys trash a few businesses where tickets for the game are sold to make it official that Madame Queen will have to share her profits with their boss, Bumpy Johnson (Laurence Fishburne) returns to Harlem. Bumpy is a hoodlum who has spent the last couple of years in prison and is now ready to begin a new chapter in his life. Instead of getting an honest job, however, he quickly becomes Madame Queen’s right-hand man and urges her to defend her turf.

Fearing that the inevitable chaos will affect business in other parts of the city, the powerful mafia boss Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia) attempts to deescalate the situation, but Shultz makes it clear to him that he is ready to be independent and increases the pressure on Madame Queen’s people. Corrupt police officials working for Shultz then promptly put Madame Queen behind bars and her dealers are forced to start redirecting cash to Shultz. Bumpy steps in and takes over Madame Queen’s organization, but instead of declaring an all-out war on Shultz he reaches out to Luciano to figure out a way to restore order in Harlem.

There is enough material for a great period gangster film, but it is fractured into bits and pieces that are arranged in some pretty strange ways. For example, Luciano plays a major role in the big conflict but is routinely treated as an outsider. The segments where he meets Bumpy and Shultz are either extremely short or filled with banal lines that completely mischaracterize him. Shultz’s image is equally unconvincing. The film introduces a vile but incredibly naive simpleton who somehow controls a large network of people that remain loyal to him despite the fact that he routinely mistreats them. Bumpy’s relationship with the elegant Francine (Vanessa Williams) also comes off as a distraction rather than an important segment of the story. It feels like it was supposed to be as intense as Ace and Ginger’s relationship in Casino, but it grows and collapses so quickly and in such a conventional fashion that it never looks even remotely convincing.

What makes the film attractive is the action. The executions and shootouts are very well choreographed and lensed by cinematographer Frank Tidy. The segment in which the two Salke brothers quietly go in Bumpy’s place and try to kill him, for instance, easily could have been used in a Marty Scorsese film.

But when the final credits roll it just feels like this film could have been a lot better. It temporarily excites, but it never quite figures out how it wants to treat its characters and ultimately those who are supposed to embrace them.

Hoodlum Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.84:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bill Duke's Hoodlum arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

Detail and clarity range from good to very good, but it is easy to tell that the release has been sourced from a pre-existing master. Indeed, during some of the darker footage shadow definition isn't optimal, and elsewhere depth isn't as good as it should be. (There is one very short segment right after the meeting that is seen in screencpature #2 where flatness affects the transition that occurs there in a pretty obvious way). Still, there are no traces of recent digital corrections, including color boosting, and as a result the film manages to maintain a nice organic appearance. It remains stable as well. A few tiny dirt spots pop up, but there are no distracting large damage marks, debris, cuts, stains, or warped frames to report in our review. Ultimately, there is no doubt that the film could look better in high-definition, but this is a a fine and quite well balanced organic presentation that represents a decent upgrade in quality over the existing DVD release. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).

Hoodlum Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Rather predictably, during the shootouts dynamic intensity is very good. Separation and balance are also convincing, though some of the background chatter occasionally sounds a bit too distant. Still, overall fluidity is very good and all of the enhancements (music and effects) are distributed quite nicely. There are no audio dropouts, pops, or digital distortions.

Hoodlum Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Hoodlum. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Hoodlum Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bill Duke's Hoodlum could have been an impressive period gangster film, but there is plenty in it that simply does not work. It seems like the film never really managed to choose an identity that is comfortable with. It has big stars, but the chemistry between them is very problematic. It has the right period atmosphere, but its narrative is fractured into bits and pieces that are arranged in some pretty awkward ways. If you saw the film when it came out in the late '90s and liked it, you can add this Blu-ray release to your collections. It looks rather nice in high-definition. If you have not seen it yet but want to, I think that it is best that you find a way to RENT IT first.