Mo' Better Blues [Blu-ray]

Director: Spike Lee Spike Lee

Overview

Trumpeter Bleek Gilliam has many problems: his jazz quintet is troubled by internal rivalry, his manager and friend is deeply in debt to a bookie, and he is torn between two women. Spike Lee's colorful, jazz-fueled drama follows Bleek's attempts to juggle his friends, lovers, and, most importantly, his music.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/04/2020
UPC:	0738329237158
Original Release:	1990
Rating:	R
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	2:10:00
Sales rank:	25,353

Special Features

Audio Commentary by Film Critic Kameron Austin Collins; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Denzel Washington	Bleek Gilliam
Spike Lee	Giant,Indigo Downes,Composer
Wesley Snipes	Shadow Henderson (Sax)
Giancarlo Esposito	Left Hand Lacey (Piano)
Robin Harris	Butterbean Jones
Bill Nunn	Bottom Hammer (Bass)
John Turturro	Moe Flatbush,Josh Flatbush
Dick Anthony Williams	Big Stop Williams,Clarke Bentancourt
Jeff 'Tain' Watts	Rhythm Jones (Drums)
Samuel L. Jackson	Madlock
Leonard L. Thomas	Rod,Joe
Steve White	Born Knowledge
Rubén Blades	Petey
Abbey Lincoln	Lillian Gilliam
Linda Hawkins	Jeanne
Raye Dowell	Rita
Coati Mundi	Roberto
John Terrell	Actor
Monty Ross	Actor
Mamie Anderson	Club Patron
Robi Reed-Humes	Actor
Carol M. Wiggins	Actor

Technical Credits

Spike Lee	Director,Producer
Jon Kilik	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Spike Lee's film on the life of a jazz musician features some wonderful music, but in its slapdash construction and melodramatic hokiness, it does little to illuminate the nature of the profession it attempts to explore. Lee, whose father was a noted bass player, has an unquestionably vast knowledge of the jazz idiom and the kind of life that goes with it. But the conflict between a personal and professional life that can become a problem for so many musicians -- as it is for Lee's protagonist, Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington) -- is dealt with in only the most glib and superficial manner. A gifted trumpet player who can't decide which of his two women he cares for, he's reluctant to do the "mo better" when he feels he should be practicing, as though vital musical fluids might somehow be drained from his body. There's some amusing by-play among the musicians, and Wesley Snipes makes a strong impression as Bleek's sax player, but the film contains none of the intensely competitive, hothouse atmosphere of this musical world. The problem of the exploitation of musicians is addressed only in a repulsively anti-Semitic caricature of a pair of Jewish club owners. To top everything off, the film's ludicrous, deus ex machina ending is as bad as anything Hollywood pumps out at its worst. Still, there are some things to like, including the standup comedy of the late Robin Harris, the vibrant camera work of Ernest R. Dickerson, and Terence Blanchard's bracing score.