Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Cotton Club Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 14, 2018

Francis Ford Coppola's "The Cotton Club" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian label Umbrella Entertainment. The only bonus feature on the disc is a vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH, German, Italian, and Spanish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Remember, you do as I say.

You will recognize the location and many of the names. You will surely remember bits of the story. You will quickly realize that there is a skilled director behind the camera. But there is an excellent chance that the more time you spend with The Cotton Club, the more you will begin to realize that it did not turn out to be the gem that it should have been.

Here’s what is good about this film: Francis Ford Coppola is a visual director who understands style and The Cotton Club dazzles in all the ways that a period stunner should. In terms of period detail this film really has it all. In fact, it is a prime example of an expensive production that actually looks expensive because what was spent on it is right in front of the camera and impossible to ignore. It is not an exaggeration; there is so much to marvel that at times it can actually overwhelm the eyes. Then there are the stars. Richard Gere, Bob Hoskins, Diane Lane, Gregory Hines, Nic Cage, James Remar, Laurence Fishburne -- the list just goes on and on. A lot of them do marvelous things, too. Like dancing as if they were born to do it, or playing a musical instrument like real pros would. Actually, Gere did record his own tunes. So there are bits of this film that really do look impressive.

The rest is difficult to praise. The narrative, for instance, is too loose and frequently incapable of benefiting from the glamorous visuals. After Gere’s jazz virtuoso saves the life of Dutch Shultz (Remar) and he takes him under his arm, the film immediately begins stuttering because it tries to become too many different things at once. Indeed, one part of it focuses on the dangerous romance between the musician and Dutch’s girl (Lane), while another part becomes seriosuly fascinated with the complicated relationships between a motley crew of notorious criminals. On top of this, Coppola also loads up the film with plenty of elaborate musical numbers which further complicate its identity. So the whole thing begins to look like a giant period circus where a lot of excellent performers are doing their best to impress the audience at the same time. It is awkward to say the least because there are segments that look great, but as part of a homogeneous project feel seriously mismanaged.

The most frustrating thing about The Cotton Club is that when it occasionally settles down and becomes intimate with a few of the leads, and Gere’s virtuoso in particular, it immediately becomes clear that it could have been a vastly superior film. The drama actually becomes appealing and it feels like the film is in fact willing to tell an engaging story. But these moments are short, and as soon as they end the film resumes its practice of trying to dazzle with multiple acts at the same time.

A lot of the acting is very inconsistent, but given the nature of the narrative it is difficult to tell if some of the actors did not get their parts right or the problematic direction and editing actually hurt their work. For example, Cage routinely overplays his ambitious character by adding a degree of intensity to his actions and words that is very suspicious. Fishburne's character also commands a lot of respect but when he is drawn in a debate it feels like he is only producing defensive statements.

At the end of the day it is easy to understand why The Cotton Club turned out to be such a polarizing film. It is lush and beautiful but also lacking the coherence it needed to tell an engaging story.

The Cotton Club Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an older master that appears to have been licensed from StudioCanal. It is certainly not bad, but it has a fair share of obvious, and familiar, limitations. For example, density levels are inconsistent, and plenty of the darker footage, which happens to be a lot in this film, lacks proper depth. (See the good density in screencapture #1, and the lack of proper depth in screencapture #19). Elsewhere random halo effects pop up that could make the visuals appear sharper than they ought to be (see screencaptures #4 and 9). Fortunately, the darkness actually hides these issues quite well. On the other hand, the darkness also exacerbates the effects of the less than optimal shadow definition, and this typically produces overall flatter visuals. Colors are stable and there are good ranges of nuances, but there is no doubt in my mind that a fresh and proper 4K remaster will significantly expand the primaries and the supporting nuances. Image stability is good. All in all, for the most part this is a fine transfer, but the larger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to begin spotting its limitations. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

The Cotton Club Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH, German, Italian, and Spanish subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The quality of the lossless track is excellent. However, I have an older DVD release of the film from MGM which also has a 5.1 track so one should have been included on the Blu-ray release as well. To be perfectly clear, the 5.1 track isn't just a random mix that someone created on a whim, the film actually needs it. Regardless, clarity, depth, dynamic intensity, and stability are excellent, so the 2.0 track still handles the sound design very well. There are no audio dropouts, background issues, or purely digital anomalies to report in our review.

The Cotton Club Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for The Cotton Club. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Cover - reversible cover.

The Cotton Club Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The star power, the stunning period costumes and decors, and Francis Ford Coppola behind the camera should have ensured that at the very least The Cotton Club emerges as a good film. However, I have always had a difficult time describing it as such. There are bits of it that are nice, but the narrative is so loose that to me the entire project looks like a period circus where a lot of excellent performers are doing their best to impress at the same time. So coherence is a serious issue with this film that negates the overwhelming majority of the good things that should have made it special. This recent release from Umbrella Entertainment is sourced from an older master with some limitations, but I have compared it to my DVD release and I would say that it offers a decisively better technical presentation of the film.