Dead Presidents

Dead Presidents
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Albert Hughes Allen Hughes
Produced by	Albert Hughes Allen Hughes
Written by	Hughes brothers Michael Henry Brown
Starring	Larenz Tate Keith David Chris Tucker N'Bushe Wright Freddy Rodriguez Bokeem Woodbine
Music by	Danny Elfman
Cinematography	Lisa Rinzler
Editing by	Dan Lebental
Studio	Buena Vista Pictures Caravan Pictures Underworld Entertainment
Distributed by	Hollywood Pictures
Release date(s)	October 4, 1995
Running time	119 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Box office	$24,147,179 (domestically)[1]

Dead Presidents is a 1995 American crime film written by Michael Henry Brown and also written, produced and directed by the Hughes brothers (Albert and Allen Hughes), starring Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Freddy Rodriguez, N'Bushe Wright and Bokeem Woodbine. The film chronicles the life of Anthony Curtis, focusing on his teenage years as a high school graduate and his experiences during the Vietnam War. As he returns to his hometown in The 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, whose true story was detailed in the book Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans by Wallace Terry. Certain characters from the film are based on real acquaintances of Kirkland, who served time in prison after committing robbery in facepaint.^[2] Haywood eventually changed his name to Ari Sesu Merretazon and was released from prison for good behavior and contributing to the prison community.^{[citation needed]}

Synopsis

In the spring of 1969, Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate) is about to graduate from high school. However, Anthony is not going to college, but needing to get away from home to find himself, he enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps shortly after graduation. He is sent to Vietnam, leaving behind his middle-class family, a pregnant girlfriend (Rose Jackson), and small time crook Kirby (Keith David), who is like a second father.

Anthony's close friend Skip (Chris Tucker) later joins Curtis's squad after flunking out of college, and Jose (Freddy Rodriguez) is drafted into the Army. Once in the Marines, Curtis meets gung-ho lieutenant Dugan (Jaimz Woolvett), and his wartime friend, Cleon (Bokeem Woodbine), a religious yet deadly staff sergeant. During their tour in Vietnam as members of a Force Recon unit, they experience the horrors of war, losing several fellow Marines during combat. The Marines (especially Cleon) also commit atrocities, including executing enemy prisoners and beheading corpses for war trophies. One of their squad, D'Ambrosio (Michael Imperioli), is the victim of terror tactics of the North Vietnamese, and is disemboweled and castrated. While waiting for medivac, Anthony, succumbing to the request of the dying D'Ambrosio, gives the man a fatal dose of morphine. One of their squad is killed by stepping on a land mine and a night ambush ensues, with NVA troops and half of Anthony's team killed; Dugan is killed after Skip "freezes up" during the gunfight when he is ordered to cover him. Cleon manages to hold off the enemy long enough for Anthony and the last of the crew to escape.

When Anthony returns to The Bronx in 1973, after four years of service and presumably multiple combat tours in Vietnam, i.e. multiple tours of duty, and attaining the rank of sergeant, he finds returning to "normal" life is impossible. He finds his friend Skip, who used drugs during the war, is now a heroin addict. Jose, after serving as a demolitions expert, during which he lost his hand, has become a pyromaniac. Cleon is now a devoted minister. And Kirby has since become legitimate due to police cracking down on his criminal business. Anthony is laid off from his job in a butcher shop and finds himself unable to support his daughter. During a pool game at Kirby's, Cowboy (Terrence Howard) makes fun of Anthony and informs him that Cutty (Clifton Powell) was having sex with his girlfriend Juanita while he was deployed in Vietnam. Anthony then beats Cowboy with a pool stick out of rage. Anthony pesters Juanita into admitting to sleeping with Cutty to provide for their daughter (who may not even be Anthony's). Anthony meets his girlfriend's sister Delilah (N'Bushe Wright), a member of the "Nat Turner Cadre", a fictional group similar to black revolutionaries. Delilah has always had a crush on Anthony and decides to help him with a plot he devises. Anthony, Kirby, Skip, Jose, Delilah and Cleon plan to rob an armored car making a stop at the Noble Street Federal Reserve Bank of the Bronx.

Skip and Cleon act as lookouts, Kirby is the getaway driver, Delilah waits in a dumpster across the street and Anthony and Jose hide under the loading docks, all armed. Though they plan the heist very carefully, it goes horribly wrong when a policeman stumbles on the scene. The policeman interferes, resulting in Kirby attacking him, only to be shot in the arm, and Skip's eventual shooting of the policeman in the head. The security guards engage the robbers in a gunfight, ending with Anthony and Delilah killing most of the guards, and Delilah dying while saving Anthony as the truck leaves. After Kirby tries to block the truck with his car, Jose makes use of an excessive amount of explosives, destroying the armored car and burning most of the cash. They escape with what money is left, but Jose is killed after being struck by a police car.

The surviving four try to lie low after the robbery. Cleon however begins handing out cash to members of his congregation, also buying a new Cadillac car which he obviously cannot afford. Anthony and Skip give out presents to poor children on Christmas. Cleon is finally arrested at his church and gives up the other thieves. NYPD officers storm Skip's apartment to find that he has died of a heroin overdose. As Kirby and Anthony prepare to leave the country, they are detained at Kirby's pool hall by the police and arrested. In court, Anthony is tried, convicted, and sent to prison for 15 years to life. Anthony berates the judge (Martin Sheen), a war veteran himself, who goes so far as to call him a disgrace to any person who put on uniform and served his country. Upon receiving his sentence, Anthony gets angry and throws a chair at the judge. The films ends as Anthony boards a police bus and goes to prison.

Themes

The film depicts the struggle of returning war veterans who are neglected by the US government. Many veterans of the Vietnam War were denied benefits, compensation, and recognition for their efforts in serving their country.^[3] Anthony is no exception; upon his return to the Bronx, he is unable to find gainful employment to support his daughter, born while he was on tour in Vietnam. His friend Kirby, a Korean War veteran, who lost a leg during combat, is a man who turned to crime to sustain a living.

Cast

Actor	Role
Larenz Tate	Anthony Curtis
Keith David	Kirby
Chris Tucker	Skip
Bokeem Woodbine	Cleon
Freddy Rodríguez	Jose
Rose Jackson	Juanita Benson
N'Bushe Wright	Delilah Benson
Alvaleta Guess	Mrs. Benson
James Pickens Jr.	Mr. Curtis
Jenifer Lewis	Mrs. Curtis
Clifton Powell	Cutty
Elizabeth Rodriguez	Marisol
Terrence Howard	Cowboy
Jaimz Woolvett	Dugan
Ryan Williams	Young Revolutionary
Larry McCoy	Nicky
Rodney Winfield	Mr. Warren
Martin Sheen	Judge

Soundtracks

Year	Album	Peak chart positions		Certifications
		U.S.	U.S. R&B
1995	Dead Presidents Released: September 26, 1995 Label: Capitol	14	1	US: Gold
1996	Dead Presidents, Vol. 2 Released: April 2, 1996 Label: Capitol	–	45

References

1. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/2001-10-18-hughes-brothers.htm%7C
2. ^ "'Dead Presidents' Precedent: The Heist Is Only Half of the Story, Says the Man Who Pulled It Off."
3. ^ Evans-Pfeifer, Kelly. American Veterans. Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. 1996.

External links

• Dead Presidents at the Internet Movie Database
• Dead Presidents at Rotten Tomatoes