New Jack City
| New Jack City | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Mario Van Peebles |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Thomas Lee Wright |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
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| Cinematography | Francis Kenny |
| Edited by | Steven Kemper |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8 million |
| Box office | $47.6 million (US) |
New Jack City is a 1991 American crime film based upon an original story and screenplay by Thomas Lee Wright, and directed by Mario Van Peebles in his directorial debut, who also co-stars in the film. The film stars Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne, Chris Rock, Mario Van Peebles and Judd Nelson. The film was released in the United States on March 8, 1991.
Wesley Snipes plays Nino Brown, a rising drug dealer and crime lord in New York City during the crack epidemic. Ice-T plays Scotty Appleton, a detective who vows to stop Nino's criminal activity by going undercover to work for Nino's gang.
The story begins in Harlem, 1986, and Nino Brown and his gang, the Cash Money Brothers (CMB), become the dominant drug ring in New York City once crack cocaine is introduced to the streets. His gang consists of his best friend, Gee Money; enforcer Duh Duh Duh Man; gun moll Keisha; Nino's girlfriend, Selina, and her tech-savvy cousin, Kareem. Nino converts the Carter, an apartment complex, into a crack house. Gee Money and Keisha kill rival Fat Smitty, the CMB throws out the tenants, and Nino forces the landlord out onto the streets naked. Meanwhile, Undercover detective Scotty Appleton attempts to make a deal with stick-up kid Pookie, but Pookie runs off with the money. Scotty chases Pookie and shoots him in the leg, but the police let him go. Nino's gang successfully run the streets of Harlem over the next three years.
When Det. Stone comes under pressure, Scotty volunteers to infiltrate Nino's gang and is partnered with loose-cannon Nick Peretti. Elsewhere, mobster Frankie Needles attempts to collect taxes from Nino, who refuses to pay. While Scotty and Nick spy on Nino and his gang as they hand out Thanksgiving turkeys to the poor, Scotty spots Pookie, now a crack addict, as Pookie beats his junkie girlfriend. Instead of arresting him, Scotty puts Pookie in rehab, and, later, Pookie offers to help bring down Nino. Against his better judgment and the disapproval of Stone and Peretti, Scotty recruits Pookie as an informant in the Carter.
When Pookie relapses, Gee Money realizes that he is wired, and he orders the Carter destroyed. The cops find Pookie's bloody corpse, but it is booby-trapped; Nick defuses the explosives mere seconds before it explodes. Angry, Nino warns Gee Money not to make such a costly mistake again. After Pookie's funeral and no longer needed by Stone, Scotty and Nick go undercover as drug dealers. After bribing Frankie Needles, Scotty infiltrates the CMB due in part to Gee Money's increasing ambition and drug use. Though Nino distrusts them, he agrees to do business. After relating an anecdote about his own violent initiation into a gang, Nino warns that he will kill both Scotty and Gee Money if there are any problems.
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