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Deep Cover

Name: Deep Cover
Released: 1992-04-15T00:00:00.000000Z
Rating: 6.8

There's a thin line between catching a criminal... and becoming one.

1992 • 108 min • ★ 6.8 (264) • Released

Action Crime Thriller

Black police officer Russell Stevens applies for a special anti-drug squad which targets the highest boss of cocaine delivery to LA—the Colombian foreign minister's nephew. Russell works his way up from the bottom undercover, until he reaches the boss.

IMDb ↗

Original title: Deep Cover
Language: EN
Country: US
Budget: $8,000,000
Revenue: $16,600,000

Reviews & Ratings 1

John Chard

Aug 15, 2015 · via TMDB

★ 8.0

Two Masks. Deep Cover is directed by Bill Duke and written by Michael Tolkin and Henry Bean. It stars Larry Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Charles Martin Smith, Victoria Dillard and Gregory Sierra. Music is by Michel Colombier and cinematography by Bojan Bazelli. Traumatised as a youngster by the death of his junkie father, Russell Stevens (Fishburne) becomes a police officer. Passing an interview with DEA Agent Gerald Carver (Smith), Stevens goes undercover to bust a major drug gang that has links to high places. But the closer he gets in with the targets, the deeper he gets involved - emotionally and psychologically. A splendid slice of gritty neo-noir, Deep Cover follows a classic film noir theme of a man descending into a world he really shouldn't be part of. This is a shifty and grungy Los Angeles, awash with blood money, single parents prepared to sell their kids, where kids in their early teens mule for the dealers and get killed in the process. A place of dimly lighted bars and pool halls, of dank streets and scrap yards, and of course of violence and misery. The look and tone of the picture is as intense as the characterisations on show. Duke (A Rage in Harlem) knows some tricks to imbue psychological distortion, canted angles, step-print framing, slow angled lensing, jump cuts and sweaty close ups. Bazelli photographs with a deliberate urban feel, making red prominent and black a lurking menace. While the musical accompaniments flit in between hip-hop thunder and jazzy blues lightning. Fishburne provides a narration that works exceptionally well, harking back to classic noirs of yesteryear. As this grim tale unfolds, his distressingly down-beat tone goes hand in hand with the narrative's sharp edges. The screenplay is always smart and cutting, mixing political hog-wash and social commentary with the harsh realities of lives dominated by drugs - the users - the sellers - the cartel, and the cop going deeper underground... Great performances from the leading players seal the deal here (Goldblum is not miscast he's the perfect opposite foil for Fishburne's broody fire), and while some clichés are within the play, the production as mounted, with the narrative devices of identification destruction (hello 2 masks) and that violence begets violence, marks this out as one the neo-noir crowd should note down as a must see. 8/10

User reviews courtesy of TMDB.

Keywords 11

black cop drug trade drug trafficking drugs infiltrate investigation murder neo-noir police undercover undercover cop

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Cast 26

Laurence Fishburne

Russell Stevens Jr. / John Hull

Jeff Goldblum

David Jason

Victoria Dillard

Betty McCutcheon

Gregory Sierra

Felix Barbosa

Clarence Williams III

Taft

Alex Colon

Molto

Roger Guenveur Smith

Eddie

Sydney Lassick

Gopher

Kamala Lopez

Belinda Chacon

Julio Oscar Mechoso

Hernandez

Glynn Turman

Russell Stevens Sr.

Sandra Gould

Mrs. G.

Charles Martin Smith

Gerald Carver

Bruce Paul Barbour

Policeman

Anna Berger

Congresswoman

Jaime Cardriche

Shark

Alisa Christensen

Ivy's Driver

Erik Kilpatrick

Dealer

Nick LaTour

Republican Congressman

Paunita Nichols

Jacquiline

Tony Perez

Guzman's Lawyer

Clifton Powell

Leland

Vicellous Shannon

13 Year Old

Ron Thompson

Store Owner

Tyrin Turner

Dealer

John Boyd West

Cal Tech

Crew 28

Dan Perri

Title Designer

Bojan Bazelli

Director of Photography

Gary Jones

Special Effects Assistant

Alisa Christensen

Stunts

Barbara Anne Klein

Stunts

Bob Minor

Stunts

Conrad E. Palmisano

Stunts

Eugene Collier

Stunts

Fred Lerner

Stunts

George Fisher

Stunts

Henry Kingi

Stunts

Mary Peters

Stunts

Steve Kelso

Stunts

Thomas Rosales Jr.

Stunts

Tom Morga

Stunts

Tony Brubaker

Stunts

Bill Duke

Director

Conrad E. Palmisano

Second Unit Director

John Carter

Editor

Michael De Luca

Co-Executive Producer

Henry Bean

Producer

Pierre David

Producer

Michel Colombier

Original Music Composer

Harry Cohen

Sound Designer

Harry Cohen

Sound Effects Editor

Henry Bean

Screenplay

Michael Tolkin

Screenplay

Michael Tolkin

Story

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US Release Dates 2

Apr 15, 1992

R Theatrical

Jul 13, 2021

Bluray

Physical