Is "DEAD PRESIDENTS" a CLASSIC movie????
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rapmastermind
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16 years ago on 10/4/95, The Hughes Brothers dropped the follow up to their hood masterpiece Classic "Menace II Society" with the release of "Dead Presidents". It's the story of Black youths during the Vietnam era. I saw this on the Big Screen at the age of 15 and was blow away. All these years later, there is no doubt in my mind this is a Classic movie. 1st the cast was great from Lerenz Tate, Chris Tucker, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Terrence Howard, N'Bushe Wright, Freddy Rodriguez, Michael Imperioli, Clifton Powel, Bokeem Woodbine and Martin Sheen.
The Vietnam War Scenes were brutal and clearly some of the best for a film about Vietnam. The Armor Car Robbery scene was Epic and Classic. The Movie had amazing quotes for days. Both Soundtracks for the movie were Classics on their own right. I watched the movie recently and it still holds up. So 16 years later, do you all agree with me that this is a Classic movie and that that the Hughes Brothers dropped 2 back to back Classics? Also the movie title (EDIT echoed a Hood slang NaS said on "The World Is Yours") that was later used for Jay Z Classic single "Dead Presidents". Interesting fact was the song "Dead Presidents" was to be included on the Soundtrack but it was taken off cause the album was only suppose to feature 70's era songs. Overall amazing movie and yes I believe it is a Classic. I still love the White Painted faces, classic ? . Also it also touched on the whole Black Panther/Racial movement also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Presidents
Soundtrack:
PART I
"If You Want Me To Stay", by Sly & The Family Stone
"Walk On By", by Isaac Hayes
"The Payback", by James Brown
"I'll Be Around", by The Spinners
"Never Never Gonna Give You Up", by Barry White
"I Miss You", by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
"Get Up & Get Down", by The Dramatics
"(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go", by Curtis Mayfield
"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", by Aretha Franklin
"Where Is The Love", by Jesse & Trina
"Tired Of Being Alone", by Al Green
"Love Train" by The O'Jays
"The Look Of Love", by Isaac Hayes
"Dead Presidents Theme" by Danny Elfman
"Right On For The Darkness" by Curtis Mayfield
PART II
"I Got the Feelin'", by James Brown
Keep on Pushin'", by the Impressions
"Smiling Faces Sometimes", by the Undisputed Truth
"Right on for the Darkness", by Curtis Mayfield
"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", by the Temptations
"Cowboys to Girls", by the Intruders
"Never Gonna Give You Up, by Jerry Butler
"I Was Made to Love Her, by Stevie Wonder
"(Man Oh Man) I Want to Go Back", by the Impressions
"When Something Is Wrong with My Baby", by Sam & Dave
"We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue", by Curtis Mayfield
"Ain't That a Groove", by James Brown
The Vietnam War Scenes were brutal and clearly some of the best for a film about Vietnam. The Armor Car Robbery scene was Epic and Classic. The Movie had amazing quotes for days. Both Soundtracks for the movie were Classics on their own right. I watched the movie recently and it still holds up. So 16 years later, do you all agree with me that this is a Classic movie and that that the Hughes Brothers dropped 2 back to back Classics? Also the movie title (EDIT echoed a Hood slang NaS said on "The World Is Yours") that was later used for Jay Z Classic single "Dead Presidents". Interesting fact was the song "Dead Presidents" was to be included on the Soundtrack but it was taken off cause the album was only suppose to feature 70's era songs. Overall amazing movie and yes I believe it is a Classic. I still love the White Painted faces, classic ? . Also it also touched on the whole Black Panther/Racial movement also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Presidents
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0M58TvgrXwSoundtrack:
PART I
"If You Want Me To Stay", by Sly & The Family Stone
"Walk On By", by Isaac Hayes
"The Payback", by James Brown
"I'll Be Around", by The Spinners
"Never Never Gonna Give You Up", by Barry White
"I Miss You", by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
"Get Up & Get Down", by The Dramatics
"(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go", by Curtis Mayfield
"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", by Aretha Franklin
"Where Is The Love", by Jesse & Trina
"Tired Of Being Alone", by Al Green
"Love Train" by The O'Jays
"The Look Of Love", by Isaac Hayes
"Dead Presidents Theme" by Danny Elfman
"Right On For The Darkness" by Curtis Mayfield
PART II
"I Got the Feelin'", by James Brown
Keep on Pushin'", by the Impressions
"Smiling Faces Sometimes", by the Undisputed Truth
"Right on for the Darkness", by Curtis Mayfield
"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", by the Temptations
"Cowboys to Girls", by the Intruders
"Never Gonna Give You Up, by Jerry Butler
"I Was Made to Love Her, by Stevie Wonder
"(Man Oh Man) I Want to Go Back", by the Impressions
"When Something Is Wrong with My Baby", by Sam & Dave
"We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue", by Curtis Mayfield
"Ain't That a Groove", by James Brown
Comments
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Daaamn..I just watched this movie an hour ago LOL...yeah it's a classic imo and one of my personal favorites.
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I would consider it a classic
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Oh yea, NaS sampled the opening credits score on his song "Suicide Bounce" with Busta:
"Like that ? in Dead Presidents said, Money To Burn" - NaS -
Yes. I believe so.
I own it and alot of people who sort through my dvd collection seem to skip over it, but I pull them up and make them watch it coz alot of people don't even know what it is.
To me its like 3-4 movies in one, you got a gangsta movie, a political movie, a war movie and a growin up movie all in one.
Dead Presidents is BAUSE.
.......An album I was listenin too recently was samplin it heaaaaavy, it might have been that newest Prodigy one? I think that sampled "Hoodlum" entirely so I could be way off but there was most def one of recent, samplin Dead Presidents heavy. -
Hell yeah it's a classic. I remember the first time I seen it I was 8yo and My mom rented it or it was on cable, and I remember sittin by her door and watching it cause she told me I couldn't watch it but I sat my lil ass by the door and was quiet as a church mouse to watch that ? ........memories
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ImWhiteBoyAwesome wrote: »Yes. I believe so.
I own it and alot of people who sort through my dvd collection seem to skip over it, but I pull them up and make them watch it coz alot of people don't even know what it is.
To me its like 3-4 movies in one, you got a gangsta movie, a political movie, a war movie and a growin up movie all in one.
Dead Presidents is BAUSE.
.......An album I was listenin too recently was samplin it heaaaaavy, it might have been that newest Prodigy one? I think that sampled "Hoodlum" entirely so I could be way off but there was most def one of recent, samplin Dead Presidents heavy.
I agree with you, it really is like 3 or 4 movies on 1. But the Vietnam scene's rival some Classic Vietnam movies as far as Atmosphere, I'm talking "Platoon, Apocalypse Now and Forrest Gump", watching "Dead President" really brought you to the brutality of the Vietnam War. Amazing scenes.
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I don't think it's a classic but it's a great movie. A classic to me is something that changes the genre it's in, like the Matrix.
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I don't think it's a classic but it's a great movie. A classic to me is something that changes the genre it's in, like the Matrix.
Actually something can be Classic and not be Iconic, "The Matrix" was iconic and revolutionary as well as game changing. "Dead Presidents" is a Classic in the Black Community, remember we propelled "Boyz in the Hood" to Classic status too as well as "Menace II Society". "Dead Presidents" didn't change the game but that doesn't mean it wasn't an amazing movie cause it was. It was well acted, had great cinematography, cast and direction. To me it's a Classic Movie even though it didn't do that great at the Box Office. Maybe it falls under cult-classic status but it's a very quality film regardless. Success doesn't always determine Classic status. Both "Scarface" and "Casnio" also didn't do very well in the Box Office but nobody is denyin there Classic status today. I'm not saying "Dead Presidents" is as legendary as the others but it's again a quality and very well made film. -
Yes Yes and Yes
One of my Favorites. I never get tired of that film. Keith David as Kirby was a 'G' lol. "Gimme my ? leg" -
I love this movie, but Hughes had too many ideas stuck in one movie. Vietnam war, crime, drug problem, socio-economic issues, betrayal - this movie should be waaay longer to cover accurately all those issues. Soundtrack is definitely classic and Hughes masterfully caught the vibe of 70's.
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Hood Classic Fa Sho
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ImWhiteBoyAwesome wrote: »Yes. I believe so.
I own it and alot of people who sort through my dvd collection seem to skip over it, but I pull them up and make them watch it coz alot of people don't even know what it is.
To me its like 3-4 movies in one, you got a gangsta movie, a political movie, a war movie and a growin up movie all in one.
Dead Presidents is BAUSE.
.......An album I was listenin too recently was samplin it heaaaaavy, it might have been that newest Prodigy one? I think that sampled "Hoodlum" entirely so I could be way off but there was most def one of recent, samplin Dead Presidents heavy.
I think that was the problem... the pacing was awful... it didnt know what it wanted to be...
and with that said... its a classic to me -
rapmastermind wrote: »Also the movie title created a Hood slang that was later used for Jay Z Classic single "Dead Presidents".
???Hold up NAS dropped illmatic(the world is yours) before this movie came out, so the credit goes to NAS.
As far as the movie I wouldnt call it a classic but a good movie nonetheless. I found it downright depressing couldnt find a job, lost the one decent job he had, struggling, not a movie I could watch over and over again. But my favorite scene is when that pimped sucker punched larenz tate, now that scene is classic... "dont you ever bite the hand that feeds you n***a, bye santa clause"..owned. That same ? owned woodbine in caught up, he plays those kind of roles down to a t. -
damn rite its a classic & so is the soundtrack...i remember when i borrowed the soundtrack from my homeboy, he never got that ? back....yall remember doing that 2 ur friends..borrowing ? & never givin it back....but it actually worked both ways(they would borrow ur ? & neva give it back...i miss the good ol dayz
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rapmastermind wrote: »Actually something can be Classic and not be Iconic, "The Matrix" was iconic and revolutionary as well as game changing. "Dead Presidents" is a Classic in the Black Community, remember we propelled "Boyz in the Hood" to Classic status too as well as "Menace II Society". "Dead Presidents" didn't change the game but that doesn't mean it wasn't an amazing movie cause it was. It was well acted, had great cinematography, cast and direction. To me it's a Classic Movie even though it didn't do that great at the Box Office. Maybe it falls under cult-classic status but it's a very quality film regardless. Success doesn't always determine Classic status. Both "Scarface" and "Casnio" also didn't do very well in the Box Office but nobody is denyin there Classic status today. I'm not saying "Dead Presidents" is as legendary as the others but it's again a quality and very well made film.
I respect your opinion but I guess I'm more objective than you. All those films you just listed aren't classics to me. I think the term "classic" gets dished out to easy nowadays. For example when the Dark Knight came out people where calling it a classic and I said no because to me that movie hasn't changed anything. But don't get it twisted I love Casino, Scarface etc. but I don't consider those flims classic. -
I respect your opinion but I guess I'm more objective than you. All those films you just listed aren't classics to me. I think the term "classic" gets dished out to easy nowadays. For example when the Dark Knight came out people where calling it a classic and I said no because to me that movie hasn't changed anything. But don't get it twisted I love Casino, Scarface etc. but I don't consider those flims classic.
i also respect ur opinion but i wuz in high school when this movie came out & as a young buck back then, the kids my age at that time period would consider it a classic...in all actually i would say home alone is a classic movie & i wuz 13 when that came out -
Bump all that hood classic ? .. its a personal classic
saying ? is a hood classic is marginalizing it.. save that ? for... some bs like hotboyz -
Even though I've watched it like 7 times I last watched it like 3 years ago.
I forgot what happens right at the end?
Bokeem Woodbine ? up and he snitches or some ? doesnt he?
And they all end up in the box..? Right? -
I respect your opinion but I guess I'm more objective than you. All those films you just listed aren't classics to me. I think the term "classic" gets dished out to easy nowadays. For example when the Dark Knight came out people where calling it a classic and I said no because to me that movie hasn't changed anything. But don't get it twisted I love Casino, Scarface etc. but I don't consider those flims classic.
At this point though it's not really debatable about "Scarface" and "Casino" Classic status. My only point in bringing up those movies is that it took time for the people to catch on and they grew into Classic status. I feel the same way for "Dead Presidents". Was it perfect? Of course not, it did try to fit a lot of themes into it but overall it did flow very well and again very well acting. Also Yes NaS said it 1st on "ILLmatic", I'm trippin but the movie was written in 93 and greenlit in 94. So though "The World Is Yours" was a single, "ILLmatic" wasn't that popular out the gate commercially. "Dead Presidents" was a Big Screen motion picture so a lot of people recognize the title from the film but to my knowledge, I agree that NaS articulated it 1st though I hear it may have been a 70's slang also which fits with the theme of the movie. -
Even though I've watched it like 7 times I last watched it like 3 years ago.
I forgot what happens right at the end?
Bokeem Woodbine ? up and he snitches or some ? doesnt he?
And they all end up in the box..? Right?
Yea, he snitched and Larenz and Tucker instead of fleeing town, stayed around. Before Chris Tucker got arrested, he overdosed on Herion. Judge Martin Sheen gave mad years to Larenz Tate's character and that court scene was wild, he threw a chair at him, Classic ? . -
rapmastermind wrote: »Yea, he snitched and Larenz and Tucker instead of fleeing town, stayed around. Before Chris Tucker got arrested, he overdosed on Herion. Judge Martin Sheen gave mad years to Larenz Tate's character and that court scene was wild, he threw a chair at him, Classic ? .
Oh yeh true you just brought back the whole ending in my memory right now...
Chris Tucker eyes was white as ? he looked like a zombie sitting on his chair dead.
And Larenz at the end, yep.
Sad story.
N'Bushe Wright dying was sad too.. -
Oh yeh true you just brought back the whole ending in my memory right now...
Chris Tucker eyes was white as ? he looked like a zombie sitting on his chair dead.
And Larenz at the end, yep.
Sad story.
N'Bushe Wright dying was sad too..
I was cool with the ending cause though I would of liked them to get away, that ending gave a great message that there were no shortcuts in life. It was sad what happen to all of them though. Reminds me of "Set it off" how only Jada Pinkett survived. But they could of gotten away if Bookeem didn't mess up the whole heist. Love ? of the movie though, the whole armor car robbery was epic, ? was hard. -
playmaker88 wrote: »Bump all that hood classic ? .. its a personal classic
saying ? is a hood classic is marginalizing it.. save that ? for... some bs like hotboyz
I agree, I feel like when people call something a "Black/Hood" movie or classic it's like they try to take away the quality of it cause it was made by Blacks. "Dead Presidents" is a very well made film regardless of the fact it had a predominately Black Cast and it was done by Black Directors. Also your "Dead Presidents" Avi is dope, I think that was the scene after he shot the officer and the blood splatted on his face. -
rapmastermind wrote: »I was cool with the ending cause though I would of liked them to get away, that ending gave a great message that there were no shortcuts in life. It was sad what happen to all of them though. Reminds me of "Set it off" how only Jada Pinkett survived. But they could of gotten away if Bookeem didn't mess up the whole heist. Love ? of the movie though, the whole armor car robbery was epic, ? was hard.
Is that a lesbian/? flick?
Queen Latifah in it so it must be. -
Is that a lesbian/? flick?
Queen Latifah in it so it must be.
Yes that's another "Hood" Classic that also had a Black Cast and directed by a Black Director in F. Gary Grey. It came out 1 year after "Dead Presidents", it was a very dope film also the bank robbing scenes were sick. Also like "Dead Presidents", the soundtrack for "Set It Off" had a lot of Classic material on it.
"Set it off in this ? , Jada Pinkett" - Drake
"I'm about to set it off like Vivica" - Big
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_oCrNjmqdo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO9MLjKiGvc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOEIKbDXX6U
