B-Movie Gazette: UNDERRATED SPIKE LEE - WESLEY SNIPES IS HAVING AN INTERRACIAL AFFAIR IN "JUNGLE FEVER" (1991) - MEANWHILE HIS OLDER BROTHER SAMUEL L IS ON CRACK

B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - THE DEATH OF RITCHIE (TV 1977)

Looks like a lot of fun to me, I don't know. Seriously and for those that don't know, The Death Of Ritchie is one of the most iconic TV movies of the entire '70's decade. I was roughly 15 when it aired and i can tell you that both Robby Benson and teens taking drugs were very hot topics at the time. The film is based on a true story where a father who couldn't control his teen's behavior from drug abuse was forced to take the law into his own hands. The father here is good ole Ben Gazzara and he is at his Gazzara best with a ferocious intensity, his scenes with Benson as father and son a perfect chemistry. At the time more emphasis was on Benson as a model but his performance here is really amazing. Streams free on Tubi, Freevee, Roku and Plex, if this was being rated on the standard scale I would give it five stars, 'nuff said. 2.75 stars/2.75

Sunday, May 5, 2024

UNDERRATED SPIKE LEE - WESLEY SNIPES IS HAVING AN INTERRACIAL AFFAIR IN "JUNGLE FEVER" (1991) - MEANWHILE HIS OLDER BROTHER SAMUEL L IS ON CRACK

Jungle Fever is a film I take off the shelf probably once every five or seven years yet it becomes more and more enjoyable. It's deep exploration of interracial tensions in love as well as elsewhere should now be considered legendary. Watching it last night on the original VHS reminded me of how poignant these truths remain today and how far we still are from remedies.

The cast in this is off the chart with the best talent out there at the time and a lot of these are early performances (and great ones at that) from A-listers - Samuel L, John Tuturro, the dearly departed Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Tim Robbins, Halle Berry and the list goes on. Good ole Debi Mazar is even in this!

It's one hearty slowburn of a drama with Spike using super long takes and letting the actors and story breathe through. Add in songs from Stevie Wonder sprinkled throughout the soundtrack and you've got one beautiful film that deserves to be revisited again and again. The basic premise is still true to this day - color has all of us still messed up.

Jungle Fever is not currently available in the streaming world, only Blu-ray or DVD. 4.5 stars/5