Jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam makes questionable decisions in his professional and romantic lives.Jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam makes questionable decisions in his professional and romantic lives.Jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam makes questionable decisions in his professional and romantic lives.
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations
Charlie Murphy
- Eggy
- (as Charles Q. Murphy)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDenzel Washington and Wesley Snipes were trained to mimic the playing of the instruments they play in the film (trumpet and saxophone), by musicians Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison. Washington later admitted that he was lucky if he could play three notes of a simple tune prior to filming, and ended up being able to correctly mimic most of the songs performed in the film, as did Snipes.
- GoofsDuring the performance of Bleek's "Pop Top Urban 40 Funk Love ... Song", Bleek's headgear changes from hat to baseball cap.
- Crazy creditsFlavor Flave of the rap group Public Enemy spells out the letters in "Universal" as the studio logo appears on the screen.
- ConnectionsEdited into Cynda Williams: Harlem Blues (1990)
- SoundtracksHarlem Blues
Written and performed by Branford Marsalis Quartet and Terence Blanchard
Vocals by Cynda Williams
Featured review
I really enjoyed this film. Everyone has a Bleek in his life: someone whose love of his life is all he knows, wants to know, etc. However, we always lose the love of our life for various reasons. Then, what do you do when the love of your life is suddenly taken from you? That is this film's theme. Bleek's only love was jazz music. Bleek's music was the only thing that mattered to him. Music overrode everything: an incompetent manager (who was his best friend), his lovers, and the contentment of his bandmates (the money issue which is related to having an incompetent manager). When Bleek lost the love of his life (watch the film to learn why), he was forced to make some hard choices about his life and face some unpleasant truths (something we've all had to do).
I enjoyed the score and the jazz pieces included in this film (after all, Bleek played the trumpet). I really liked the cinematography in this film because the film showed the beauty of New York City - the brownstones, the Manhattan skyline (a brief glimpse), the Brooklyn Bridge, etc.
I enjoyed the score and the jazz pieces included in this film (after all, Bleek played the trumpet). I really liked the cinematography in this film because the film showed the beauty of New York City - the brownstones, the Manhattan skyline (a brief glimpse), the Brooklyn Bridge, etc.
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $16,153,593
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,387,360
- Aug 5, 1990
- Gross worldwide
- $16,153,593
- Runtime2 hours 10 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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