DEEP COVER (DVD/ST&WS/ORIG TRAILER/CAST & CREW BIO/FILMOGRAPHICS) DVD

Deep Cover
Laurence Fishburne plays no-nonsense LAPD narc Russell Stevens, Jr., who has worked all his life to expunge the memory of his dope-addict father, whom he saw die in a liquor-store robbery. DEA agent Jerry Carver (Charles Martin Smith) orders Stevens to work as an undercover operative on a major case. The cop is to pose as a dealer in order to get the goods on South American drug lord. Stevens is so convincing as a dealer, that he fast works his way up through the ranks and gains the trust of lawyer and narcotics dealer David Jason (Jeff Goldblum) and his sinister associates, all lackeys to the kingpin who is the target of Stevens' assignment. Through a series of fantastic but credible circumstances, Stevens eliminates the lower echelon, getting closer to his quarry, but in the process he finds himself so deep into the sinister and seductive world of the drug trade that he may never get out. In a surprise move, and just when he is about to bring the ringleader down, the DEA pulls the plug on his assignment, because the top dealer, an influential Latin American politician, may someday be useful to the State Department. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Laurence Fishburne as Russell Stevens, Jr./John Hull Jeff Goldblum as David Jason Victoria Dillard as Betty McCutcheon Charles Martin Smith as Jerry Carver Gregory Sierra as Felix Barbosa Clarence Williams III as Ken Taft Rene Assa as Hector Guzman Alex Colon as Molto Roger Guenveur Smith as Eddie Sidney Lassick as Gopher Kamala Lopez as Belinda Julio Oscar Mechoso as Hernandez Glynn E. Turman as Russell Stevens, Sr. James T. Morris as Ivy Arthur Mendozo as Gallegos Sandra Gould as Mrs. O.

Crew Daniel W. Bickel - Art Director Deborah Moore - Co-producer Arlene Gant - Costume Designer Bill Duke - Director John Carter - Editor David Streit - Executive Producer Michel Colombier - Composer (Music Score) Pamela B. Warner - Production Designer Bojan Bazelli - Cinematographer Michael De Luca - Producer Pierre David - Producer Henry Bean - Producer Thomas Baer - Producer Doanld Elmblad - Set Designer Michael Tolkin - Screenwriter Daryl Haney - Screenwriter Henry Bean - Screenwriter

Deep Cover
What could have been just another crime thriller becomes a startlingly effective neo-noir, charged with a sublime racial outrage. Deep Cover's racial politics give the film a complex, world-weary subtext so crucial to a noir. They start with Laurence Fishburne's character, doomed to a life in the drug world he's quietly desperate to escape. They continue with the anti-Semitism Jeff Goldblum's David Jason suffers with his Hispanic partners, who are bitterly aware of the racism shutting them out of legitimate business. Of the police in the picture, one (Clarence Williams III) is black and near saintly; the other (Alex Colon) is Italian and corrupt. The movie's dénouement presents Charles Martin Smith -- in the movie's sole WASP role -- as all-knowing ("I'm God" is his refrain) but powerless to infiltrate -- and ultimately indifferent to -- the film's minority-dominated world of drugs. Director Bill Duke's knowing take on the collateral destructiveness of the "war on drugs" places his film with Menace II Society, Boyz 'N the Hood, Fresh, and Juice as one of the keynote black film movement works of the late '80s and early '90s. It also establishes Fishburne (just plain old "Larry" in the credits) as a black leading man on par with Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes. Yet Deep Cover is no civics lesson: Duke fluidly handles several revved up action sequences and pays homage to groundbreaking '70s minority artists by casting Williams, Gregory Sierra, and Rene Assa in key roles. (Also watch for Sidney Lassick of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest fame.) ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
 

Jeff Goldblum: Independent Spirit Awards, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominated) Laurence Fishburne: Independent Spirit Awards, Best Actor (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects SS: Surround Sound Additional Features: Widescreen and full-screen versions of the film Original theatrical trailer Cast and crew biographies and filmographies DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 107 min   DVD Chapters: Scene Selections 0. Scene Selections 0. Menu Group #1 with 18 chapter(s) covering 01:47:39 1. Main Title: Cleveland, 1972. [4:40] 2. Cincinnati: 20 Years Later. [3:02] 3. Los Angeles: 2 Weeks Later. [8:00] 4. Set Up. [6:26] 5. Busted. [4:53] 6. Gaining Respect. [7:25] 7. Illegal Dealings. [6:24] 8. The Wild, Wild West. [9:21] 9. Climbing the Ladder. [4:25] 10. A Rift is Created. [5:15] 11. Felix the Rat. [7:35] 12. New Responsibilities. [4:32] 13. A Change of Plans. [6:45] 14. Payback with Interest. [8:16] 15. Diplomatic Immunity. [10:58] 16. Credit Where Credit is Due. [5:25] 17. End Credits. [4:08]