The Five Heartbeats [15th Anniversary] [WS]

Director: Robert Townsend Robert Townsend

Overview

This tuneful drama looks back upon the career of a fictional rhythm & blues group and chronicles their rise and fall. Filmmaker Robert Townsend based much of his plot on the true stories and experiences from several popular '60s soul groups including the Temptations and the Dells.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/10/2006
UPC:	0024543225270
Original Release:	1991
Rating:	R
Source:	BUENA VISTA HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	2:01:00
Sales rank:	10,265

Special Features

Closed Caption;Bonus footage viewing option - see the filming of exclusive deleted scenes as you watch the movie; Robert Townsend profile; Original "making-of" featurette; 5 all-new featurettes: "Meet the Five Heartbeats," "The Director's Process," "In the Studio," "The Look," & "The Nomination"; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robert Townsend	Duck,Member of Matthew's Kids,Matthew's Kid
Michael Wright	Eddie,Member of Matthew's Kids
Tico Wells	Choirboy
Leon	J.T.
Harry J. Lennix	Dresser
Diahann Carroll	Eleanor Potter
Harold Nicholas	Sarge
Tressa Thomas	Duck's Baby Sister
John Canada Terrell	Michael `Flash' Turner
Chuck Patterson	Jimmy Potter
Hawthorne James	Big Red
Roy Fegan	Bird
Troy Beyer	Baby Doll
Carla Brothers	Tanya Sawyer
Deborah Lacey	Rose
Theresa Randle	Brenda
John Witherspoon	Wild Rudy
Anne-Marie Johnson	Sydney Todd,Bobby Cassanova,Mr. Matthews,Little Girl
Lisa Mende	Marcia Sayles
Bobby McGee	Leon
Don Barnes	Lester
O.L. Duke	Monroe
Veronica Redd	Mrs. Matthews
David McKnight	Pastor Stone
Phyllis Applegate	Myra Stone
Paul Benjamin	Mr. King
Marilyn Coleman	Mrs. King
Norma Donaldson	Mrs. Sawyer
Harris Peet	Phil Shumway
Kasi Lemmons	Cookie
Monique Mannen	Sandra Tillman
Suzanne Suter	Member of The Crystals
Gigi Bolden	Member of The Crystals
Kathleen Mitchell	Member of The Crystals
Ron Jaxson	Member of The Ebony Sparks
Recoe Walker	Member of The Ebony Sparks
Wayne "Crescendo" Ward	Member of The Ebony Sparks
Gregory 'Popeye' Alexander	Member of The Midnight Falcons
Bob Mardis	Member of The Midnight Falcons
Jimmy Woodard	Member of The Midnight Falcons
Brian Bradley	Member of The Five Horsemen,Theatre Security Man
Mike Conn	Member of The Five Horsemen
Barry Diamond	Member of The Five Horsemen
Carl Edwards	Member of The Five Horsemen
Joey Gaynor	Member of The Five Horsemen
Roger Rose	Member of The Five Horsemen
James Anderson	Member of Big Red's Guys
Freddie Asparagus	Member of Big Red's Guys,Big Red's Guy
Randy 'Roughhouse' Harris	Member of Big Red's Guys,Big Red's Guy
Al Simon	Member of Big Red's Guys
Shannon Chambers	Member of Matthew's Kids
Devin C. Huff	Member of Matthew's Kids
Lakisha Luke	Member of Matthew's Kids
Jeannel Phillips White	Member of Matthew's Kids,Member of Matthew's Kids
Aaron J. Galang	Theatre Security Man
Harry Stanback	Speakeasy Guy
Tiffanique Webb	Speakeasy Girl
Eugene Glazer	David Green,David Green
Timmie Rogers	Buddy Lewis
Craig Eisner	Jimmy's Doorman
Tommy Redmond Hicks	Pastor Blake
David Drummond	Policeman
Griff Ruggles	Policeman
Joel Weiss	St. George Hotel Doorman
Regina McLeod	Jackie
Shanel Cason	J.T.'s Little Girl
Jimmy Jackson	Little Duck
John Pittman	Hitman
Vince Isaac	Hitman,Hitman
Ron Smith	Poker Player
Frank Fontaine	Poker Player
Donnie Simpson	Himself
The Nicholas Brothers	Ernest 'Sarge' Johnson
Virginia Watson	Actor
Christopher Young	Composer
Stanley Clarke	Composer

Technical Credits

Robert Townsend

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Robert Townsend	Director,Screenwriter,Executive Producer,Producer
Keenen Ivory Wayans	Screenwriter
Jaki Brown-Karman	Casting
Greg W. Elam	Stunts
Loretha C. Jones	Producer
John Sherrod	Stunts
Kokayi Ampah	Producer
Christina Schmidlin	Producer
David Brownlow	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

When filming the big-screen adaptation of Dreamgirls (2006), Bill Condon undoubtedly used the Broadway staging of that musical as his template. But he could very well have been using The Five Heartbeats. In fact, Robert Townsend's 1991 labor-of-love, considerably less heralded than Condon's film, is a truer and more fulfilling "making of a Motown supergroup" movie. The films have so many surface similarities -- the tentative rise in the ranks, the windy road to success, the inevitable disappointments of fame -- that one must go deeper to determine why The Five Heartbeats works better as a narrative. Townsend himself may be the difference, but it's not because he, an African-American, has a more legitimate perspective on the material; Condon has repeatedly proven himself a consummately sensitive interpreter. Rather, it speaks more to the fact that this was the prestige project beating deep in Townsend's chest while he was toiling away on comedies -- comedies that may not have been as important to him as this project clearly was. (It's worth noting that he may have experienced an exhaustion akin to that felt by his well-traveled Heartbeats, as his next two theatrical directing projects were the dud comedies The Meteor Man and B.A.P.S., after which he made the permanent switch to directing TV). In his short-lived apex as a director, Townsend gathers together earnest, energetic performances from a spectrum of impressive actors, who add true dimension to the simpler parts of the script. Then again, The Five Heartbeats is a reminder that simple isn't necessarily bad. Townsend has made sort of the definitive version of the tumultuous band movie, one that shows his love for music and the depth of his soul. He doesn't always surprise with his choices, but he's helped establish some genre standards worth imitating.