Knights of the City

I recently watched Knights of the City (1986) on YouTube. The storyline follows a street gang with dreams of making rap music mainstream. To achieve their goal, they must fend off the police and rival gangs while trying to turn their musical ambitions into reality.

This picture is directed by Dominic Orlando (The Substitute Teacher) and stars Leon Isaac Kennedy (Lone Wolf McQuade), Nicholas Campbell (Cinderella Man), John Mengatti (Dead Men Don't Die), and Kurtis Blow (Krush Groove).

The premise is familiar to many 1980s films centered on aspiring musicians or dancers chasing their big break. I enjoyed the era-appropriate attire, urban settings, and solid soundtrack. The acting is average, and the love story feels awkward, but the film does capture a gritty, street-fighter vibe at times. The fight scenes are more fun than impressive, though the final brawl serves as a satisfying conclusion.

In conclusion, Knights of the City is a straightforward, nostalgic slice of 1980s urban cinema that's worth watching mainly for its throwback charm. I'd score it a 4/10.

One thing that I found rather strange in this movie is that everywhere you go, you can see people dancing. On dimly lit street corners, in alleys, everywhere! What's up with that???.

Chris,

Little known fact, I suppose, but I want to let you know that this movie was made by a now ex-mob boss (Michael Franzese) who was dubbed by Tom Brokaw as "The Prince of the Mafia," and made more money than anyone since Al Capone. In the manner of sucking up, I'm going to say that I love this movie. Though it was made in the 1980's, it is still a beautiful representation of everything that the culture back then stood for.

Thanks.

Katy

This hard to find 1986 movie where rappers are gangsters trying be fo gooders was cheesy even for the 80s. I was a kid during the breakdancing, rapping, hey day movies of Breakin, Rappin, Beat Street, Krush Groove, and forgotten film of Lorenzo Lamas-Body Rock. Back then street dancers like Shabba Doo and Boogaloo Shrimp set a pretty good tone for these kind of movies with Breakin. After that producers went crazy offering every goofy looking rapper a movie deal. This was one of them and by far one of the goofiest.

I was a fan of the Fat Boys and remember renting this on video. I remember I tried to like it, I wanted to like it, but man this movie was just stupid. Rappers as gang members trying get a record deal break out into song and dance. There really is no plot to this movie but an excuse to capitalize on the hip hop popularity of more superior music movies. Breakin opens and makes 40 million on a 1 million dollar budget so every studio wanted that same success.

Like I said, nothing happens here just rappers playing gang members performing songs. Theres a sort of back story of crime from an ex inmate producer but I've seen betting acting in six grade Christmas plays. This was cheesy in 86 and ever hilarious in 2024.

It isn't often that I would say that a film has almost no redeeming value. Sadly, this is one of those cases. "Knights of the City" has virtually nothing going for it. The story is pretty bad and rather uninteresting. The characters are decent, I suppose, but nothing spectacular. The acting is far from top-notch, but I've seen worse. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the cast is made up of unknowns (and this was made back in 1986...so they've all had some time to make a name for themselves).

The only cast member that I did recognize is Janine Turner from "Cliffhanger" and must I say that she is the ONLY reason to watch this film. Janine looks absolutely fantastic in the film.

The ending to the film is unbelievably unsatisfying. The whole point of the film was that these a-little-too-old-to-be-gang-bangers wanted to get out of their wasted lifestyle and do something meaningful. But in the end, they basically threw it all away and stuck with their barbaric ways...at least they have each other right? ...And the main guy (Leon Isaac Kennedy) didn't even get the girl in the end!!! I guess I have to give the makers some credit for not being predictable and somewhat ballsy...but this was just stupid if you ask me.

I definitely wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone, unless you are really into the look of Michael Jackson's "Bad" Music Video or films like "The Warriors" (1979). I thought this film was rather laughable and obviously made in the 1980's. If for some reason you MUST see this film, I hope you enjoy it more than I did. Thanks for reading,

-Chris