1997·Crime·2h 10m
7.0
★
In 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running 'the numbers'. When Madam Queen—the powerful woman who runs the scam in Harlem—is arrested, Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson takes over the business and must resist an invasion from a merciless mobster.
Directed by Bill Duke
gangster
mobster
1930s
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Laurence Fishburne
Bumpy Johnson
Tim Roth
Dutch Schultz
Vanessa Williams
Francine Hughes
Andy Garcia
Lucky Luciano
Cicely Tyson
Stephanie St. Clair
Chi McBride
Illinois Gordon
Clarence Williams III
Bub Hewlett
Richard Bradford
Captain Foley
William Atherton
Thomas E. Dewey
Loretta Devine
Pigfoot Mary
Queen Latifah
Sulie
Mike Starr
Albert Salke
Crew
Bill Duke
Director
Elmer Bernstein
Original Music Composer
Frank Tidy
Director of Photography
Bill Duke
Executive Producer
Laurence Fishburne
Executive Producer
Otis Sallid
Choreographer
Russell Towery
Stunts
Otis Sallid
Second Unit Director
Ray Conchado
Grip
Ray Conchado
Production Assistant
Popular Reviews
26 reviews
BW Pacino LoverPRO
7.0★ · 06/23/26
Movies are a collection of choices, and I love that they chose to show a guys’ severed testicles in the first 15 minutes of this movie! I was already in from all the names on the dvd box, but this really sealed the deal and assured me that this would be two hours well spent.
Bill Duke directing, Frank Tidy behind the camera, and Elmer Bernstein composing hits so fucking hard, I can’t believe this only came to my attention recently! This thing is so stylized from start to finish that you have to be amazed by the attention to detail in the framing, camera movement, sheer number of extras in any given crowd scene, and the insistence to bring this era to life - from the clothing to the cars, and never forget the rampant racism.
The whole cast was great and felt period-appropriate, and I found myself questioning why these actors haven’t been more a part of mainstream Hollywood in the 30 years since this came out, or at least been more a part of conversations around character actors with the most depth! Chi McBride as Tiny was hilarious and heartbreaking, Andy Garcia always plays a great version of this same character, and Tim Roth playing the abhorrent Dutch Schultz just felt right. The real two stand outs for me though, were the Two Bumpys™️! Clarence Williams III played Bumpy Johnson in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, where I first became aware of him, and I thought he was even better here. No knock on AG, this just gave him even more of a chance to shine, which I loved. But the real star, obviously, is Larry Fishburne! He has never been better, and while reminiscent of King of New York, this iteration of Powerful Man takes the aura to a whole new level. His ships in the night moment of turning down Pulp Fiction had passed as this was coming out, and this really feels like the ultimate demonstration of his star power needed to land him Morpheus with no confusion that, yes, this guy is the fucking man.
The funeral at the end hit me like a truck? This was not an overly sentimental movie at all, but I found myself really touched by Bumpy’s appearance at Tiny’s funeral. The number of people who had turned out to celebrate Tiny’s life, and how large Bumpy looked to all of them, mixed with that KILLER Bernstein score added up to me shedding a single tear as they did that dumb ass zoom in to close the entire fucking movie 😂 I was dying laughing at the wild contrast between how suddenly emotional I had become, mixed with the deep confusion over why we were zooming in soooo far to the point of grain, and then eventually going to black and white! Odd choice, but within a collection of otherwise great ones!
Recommend wholeheartedly to guys who retain one piece of historical information per movie and consider that learning (me)! Some great shootouts, too.
Bill Duke directing, Frank Tidy behind the camera, and Elmer Bernstein composing hits so fucking hard, I can’t believe this only came to my attention recently! This thing is so stylized from start to finish that you have to be amazed by the attention to detail in the framing, camera movement, sheer number of extras in any given crowd scene, and the insistence to bring this era to life - from the clothing to the cars, and never forget the rampant racism.
The whole cast was great and felt period-appropriate, and I found myself questioning why these actors haven’t been more a part of mainstream Hollywood in the 30 years since this came out, or at least been more a part of conversations around character actors with the most depth! Chi McBride as Tiny was hilarious and heartbreaking, Andy Garcia always plays a great version of this same character, and Tim Roth playing the abhorrent Dutch Schultz just felt right. The real two stand outs for me though, were the Two Bumpys™️! Clarence Williams III played Bumpy Johnson in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, where I first became aware of him, and I thought he was even better here. No knock on AG, this just gave him even more of a chance to shine, which I loved. But the real star, obviously, is Larry Fishburne! He has never been better, and while reminiscent of King of New York, this iteration of Powerful Man takes the aura to a whole new level. His ships in the night moment of turning down Pulp Fiction had passed as this was coming out, and this really feels like the ultimate demonstration of his star power needed to land him Morpheus with no confusion that, yes, this guy is the fucking man.
The funeral at the end hit me like a truck? This was not an overly sentimental movie at all, but I found myself really touched by Bumpy’s appearance at Tiny’s funeral. The number of people who had turned out to celebrate Tiny’s life, and how large Bumpy looked to all of them, mixed with that KILLER Bernstein score added up to me shedding a single tear as they did that dumb ass zoom in to close the entire fucking movie 😂 I was dying laughing at the wild contrast between how suddenly emotional I had become, mixed with the deep confusion over why we were zooming in soooo far to the point of grain, and then eventually going to black and white! Odd choice, but within a collection of otherwise great ones!
Recommend wholeheartedly to guys who retain one piece of historical information per movie and consider that learning (me)! Some great shootouts, too.
Movies are a collection of choices, and I love that they chose to show a guys’ severed testicles in the first 15 minutes of this movie! I was already in from all the names on the dvd box, but this really sealed the deal and assured me that this would be two hours well spent.
Bill Duke directing, Frank Tidy behind the camera, and Elmer Bernstein composing hits so fucking hard, I can’t believe this only came to my attention recently! This thing is so stylized from start to finish that you have to be amazed by the attention to detail in the framing, camera movement, sheer number of extras in any given crowd scene, and the insistence to bring this era to life - from the clothing to the cars, and never forget the rampant racism.
The whole cast was great and felt period-appropriate, and I found myself questioning why these actors haven’t been more a part of mainstream Hollywood in the 30 years since this came out, or at least been more a part of conversations around character actors with the most depth! Chi McBride as Tiny was hilarious and heartbreaking, Andy Garcia always plays a great version of this same character, and Tim Roth playing the abhorrent Dutch Schultz just felt right. The real two stand outs for me though, were the Two Bumpys™️! Clarence Williams III played Bumpy Johnson in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, where I first became aware of him, and I thought he was even better here. No knock on AG, this just gave him even more of a chance to shine, which I loved. But the real star, obviously, is Larry Fishburne! He has never been better, and while reminiscent of King of New York, this iteration of Powerful Man takes the aura to a whole new level. His ships in the night moment of turning down Pulp Fiction had passed as this was coming out, and this really feels like the ultimate demonstration of his star power needed to land him Morpheus with no confusion that, yes, this guy is the fucking man.
The funeral at the end hit me like a truck? This was not an overly sentimental movie at all, but I found myself really touched by Bumpy’s appearance at Tiny’s funeral. The number of people who had turned out to celebrate Tiny’s life, and how large Bumpy looked to all of them, mixed with that KILLER Bernstein score added up to me shedding a single tear as they did that dumb ass zoom in to close the entire fucking movie 😂 I was dying laughing at the wild contrast between how suddenly emotional I had become, mixed with the deep confusion over why we were zooming in soooo far to the point of grain, and then eventually going to black and white! Odd choice, but within a collection of otherwise great ones!
Recommend wholeheartedly to guys who retain one piece of historical information per movie and consider that learning (me)! Some great shootouts, too.
Bill Duke directing, Frank Tidy behind the camera, and Elmer Bernstein composing hits so fucking hard, I can’t believe this only came to my attention recently! This thing is so stylized from start to finish that you have to be amazed by the attention to detail in the framing, camera movement, sheer number of extras in any given crowd scene, and the insistence to bring this era to life - from the clothing to the cars, and never forget the rampant racism.
The whole cast was great and felt period-appropriate, and I found myself questioning why these actors haven’t been more a part of mainstream Hollywood in the 30 years since this came out, or at least been more a part of conversations around character actors with the most depth! Chi McBride as Tiny was hilarious and heartbreaking, Andy Garcia always plays a great version of this same character, and Tim Roth playing the abhorrent Dutch Schultz just felt right. The real two stand outs for me though, were the Two Bumpys™️! Clarence Williams III played Bumpy Johnson in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, where I first became aware of him, and I thought he was even better here. No knock on AG, this just gave him even more of a chance to shine, which I loved. But the real star, obviously, is Larry Fishburne! He has never been better, and while reminiscent of King of New York, this iteration of Powerful Man takes the aura to a whole new level. His ships in the night moment of turning down Pulp Fiction had passed as this was coming out, and this really feels like the ultimate demonstration of his star power needed to land him Morpheus with no confusion that, yes, this guy is the fucking man.
The funeral at the end hit me like a truck? This was not an overly sentimental movie at all, but I found myself really touched by Bumpy’s appearance at Tiny’s funeral. The number of people who had turned out to celebrate Tiny’s life, and how large Bumpy looked to all of them, mixed with that KILLER Bernstein score added up to me shedding a single tear as they did that dumb ass zoom in to close the entire fucking movie 😂 I was dying laughing at the wild contrast between how suddenly emotional I had become, mixed with the deep confusion over why we were zooming in soooo far to the point of grain, and then eventually going to black and white! Odd choice, but within a collection of otherwise great ones!
Recommend wholeheartedly to guys who retain one piece of historical information per movie and consider that learning (me)! Some great shootouts, too.
Adrick
7.0★ · 05/10/26
A rlly good old movie but uh... not my kind of movie cause the transition Its Soo ahhhhhhhhh But the Lore Its peak
A rlly good old movie but uh... not my kind of movie cause the transition Its Soo ahhhhhhhhh But the Lore Its peak
Adham
4.0★ · 03/03/26
I thought this was never going to end
I thought this was never going to end
Najee Joyner
6.0★ · 01/09/26
Wanted to go higher on this but the last 30 minutes kinda dragged for a bit. Great performance by Fishburne here as he shows different sides to the notorious gangster bumpy johnson
Wanted to go higher on this but the last 30 minutes kinda dragged for a bit. Great performance by Fishburne here as he shows different sides to the notorious gangster bumpy johnson
Mirriau
5.0★ · 10/26/25
It doesn't matter if you have an outstanding cast and a interesting story, if make bad decisions in editing and direction, the movie is going to end up being ok at least. Crazy pacing; the movie felt quick and slow at the same time.
Andy García with Thom Yorke's eyes.
Andy García with Thom Yorke's eyes.
It doesn't matter if you have an outstanding cast and a interesting story, if make bad decisions in editing and direction, the movie is going to end up being ok at least. Crazy pacing; the movie felt quick and slow at the same time.
Andy García with Thom Yorke's eyes.
Andy García with Thom Yorke's eyes.