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| Dead Presidents | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | The Hughes Brothers |
| Screenplay by | Michael Henry Brown |
| Story by | Albert Hughes Allen Hughes Michael Henry Brown |
| Produced by | Albert Hughes Allen Hughes |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Lisa Rinzler |
| Edited by | Dan Lebental |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million |
| Box office | $24.1 million (domestic)[1] |
Dead Presidents is a 1995 Americancrime film co-written, produced and directed by theHughes Brothers. The film chronicles the life of Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), focusing on his teenage years as a high school graduate and his experiences during theVietnam War as aRecon Marine. As he returns to his hometown inThe Bronx, Curtis finds himself struggling to support himself and his family, eventually turning to a life of crime.
Dead Presidents is based partly on the real-life experiences of Haywood T. Kirkland (aka Ari S. Merretazon), whose true story was detailed in the bookBloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans byWallace Terry. Certain characters from the film are based on real acquaintances of Kirkland, who served time in prison after committing robbery infacepaint.[2] The film also is loosely based on several incidents involving theBlack Liberation Army, notably theBrink's armored truck robbery.
In 1968, Anthony Curtis, a soon-to-be high school graduate inThe Bronx, chooses to enlist in theUnited States Marine Corps rather than go to college. Hedeploys to Vietnam, leaving behind his middle-class family, his girlfriend Juanita, and small-time crook Kirby, who is like a second father. Anthony's close friend, Skip, later joins Curtis'Recon squad after dropping out ofHunter College. His other friend, Jose, is drafted into theUnited States Army. Once in Vietnam, Curtis and his squad lose several fellow Marines during combat, and commit several atrocities of their own, such as executing enemy prisoners and beheadingViet Cong corpses for war trophies.
When Anthony returns to the Bronx in 1973, he finds returning to "normal" life impossible. Skip is now anAgent Orange victim andheroin addict; Jose, forced to wear aprosthetic hand, is apyromaniac who works as apostman at theJames A. Farley Building, and Cleon, the squad's religious but homicidalstaff sergeant, is now a devoted minister inMount Vernon.
After being laid off from his job at a butcher shop, on the verge ofalcoholism, and suffering from heavily inducedPTSDnightmares, Anthony finds himself unable to support Juanita (who is having an affair with apimp) or his infant daughter. After an argument with Juanita, Anthony meets her sister, Delilah, who is now a member of the "Nat Turner Cadre", a militantBlack powerMarxist group. Anthony, Kirby, Skip, Jose, Delilah and Cleon devise a plan to rob anarmored car making a stop at the Noble StreetFederal Reserve Bank.
The next day, the group strategically position themselves around the street, armed with weapons and disguised with face paint, ready to ambush the truck. The plan goes awry when Cleon is approached by aNew York Police Department (NYPD) officer who unknowingly stumbles upon the robbery, leading to Kirby being shot in the arm and Skip killing the officer. At the same time, Anthony and Jose are spotted by the truck's driver, causing a shootout with the security guards.
Jose plants an explosive device on the escaping truck to blow off the door, but instead it destroys the entire vehicle. Delilah saves Anthony's life by killing one of the guards. A second guard appears and shoots Delilah multiple times, killing her. As the group collects what cash they can from the burning wreckage, they flee and split up to escape the police. Jose gets cornered in an alley by an approaching police car. When he shoots the officer, he is hit by the car and killed as the car crashes into a wall.
Not long after the heist, Kirby hears that Cleon has been giving out $100 bills and purchased a newCadillac. Anthony drives over to Cleon's church to speak to him, only to find him being led out the front door in handcuffs by two detectives. Cleon gives up the other robbers as part of a remorsefulplea bargain. NYPD officers storm Skip's apartment to arrest him, only to find that he has died of a heroinoverdose. As Kirby and Anthony prepare to flee to Mexico, police raid the bar. Kirby tries to distract the officers to allow Anthony to flee, but it is to no avail, as multiple officers corner Anthony and arrest him.
In court, Anthony's lawyer pleads for a fair sentence, noting that he served his country in the Marines and earned aSilver Star. Anthony also pleas for leniency, expressing remorse for the deaths of those involved, and that he did what he did out of desperation and hardship. However the judge, a Marine andBattle of Guadalcanal veteran, proclaims that Anthony has forgotten his values and shouldn't use the Vietnam War as an excuse for his actions, sentencing him to fifteen years to life. Anthony, furious at his sentence, throws a chair at the judge before being escorted away by bailiffs. The final scene shows Anthony looking out the window of his prison bus.
The film depicts the struggle of returning war veterans of color who are neglected by the US government and the mistreatment of Vietnam veterans. Many black and Latino veterans of theVietnam War were denied benefits, compensation, and recognition for their efforts in serving their country.[3]
Principal photography commenced on October 31, 1994.[4] The production filmed through the remainder of the year and into early February across a variety of locations, including location shootsBrooklyn andMount Vernon, New York. Sound stages in Queens and Los Angeles served as interior locations. All Vietnam scenes were shot in Florida, with former celery farm Lee Ranch serving as the outdoor sets.[5]
Dead Presidents received mixed reviews from critics. Film review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reports that 49% of critics gave the film a positive rating, based on 35 reviews with anaverage score of 5.8/10.[6]
Todd McCarthy ofVariety gave the film a positive review stating, "In all respects an extremely ambitious follow-up to their crackling debut,Menace II Society, the Hughes Brothers' mordantDead Presidents may eventually box itself into a narrative dead end, but its muscular engagement of weighty themes and explosive situations makes it a powerful drama."[7]Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times called the film "both expected and surprising, familiar and yet somehow different. Made with fluid skill and a passion for storytelling, its tale of how the Vietnam War and American society affect a black Marine remains accessible while confounding expectations."[8]
Caryn James ofThe New York Times felt the film "takes on much more than it can handle." Comparing the film with the Hughes Brother's previous film James said, "The Hugheses obviously knew the world and generation ofMenace II Society better than the past ofDead Presidents, but that is only part of the problem. InMenace they trusted the audience more, immersing them in a violent world the film explained without condoning."[9]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film a mixed 2.5 star review, and explained that the directing duo "have a sure sense of the camera, of actors, of the life within a scene. But they are not as sure when it comes to story and meaning, and here is a film that feels incomplete, as if its last step is into thin air. Scene by scene you feel its skill, but you leave the theater wondering about the meaning of it all."[10] The early scenes were the best, according to Ebert, and the film "goes off the rails" in the final act.
Mark Kermode placed it at number two in his countdown of top five underrated films of all time.[11]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | U.S. R&B | |||
| 1995 | Dead Presidents
| 14 | 1 |
|
| 1996 | Dead Presidents, Vol. 2
| – | 45 | |