Mo' Better Blues

Director: Spike Lee Spike Lee

Overview

"Spike Lee's stylish drama about jazz musicians, Mo' Better Blues, comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1. English, Spanish, and French soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital Surround. There are no subtitles, but the English soundtrack is closed-captioned. Supplemental materials include the theatrical trailer, production notes, and biographies of the cast and crew. This is a solid release from Universal that will please any Spike Lee fan."

Product Details

Release Date:	01/30/2001
UPC:	0025192053627
Original Release:	1990
Rating:	R
Source:	Universal Studios
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:10:00

Special Features

Production notes; Cast and filmmakers' biographies; Film highlights; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Denzel Washington	Bleek Gilliam
Spike Lee	Giant,Indigo,Composer
Wesley Snipes	Shadow Henderson
Giancarlo Esposito	Left Hand Lacey
John Turturro	Moe Flatbush,Josh Flatbush
Charlie Murphy	Eggy
Robin Harris	Butterbean Jones
Cynda Williams	Clarke Bentancourt,Big Stop Williams
Flavor Flav	Impatient Movie Patron
Bill Nunn	Bottom Hammer
Samuel L. Jackson	Madlock
Tracy Camilla Johns	Club Patron
Coati Mundi	Roberto
Scot Anthony Robinson	Cooley
Abbey Lincoln	Lillian Gilliam
Rubén Blades	Petey
Diahann Carroll	Jazz Club Singer
Leonard Thomas	Rod,Joe
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.