Coppola, always a capable craftsman, occasionally a deficient storyteller, fails to do much with "The Cotton Club", which has an interesting setting but ultimately derails. There are several gorgeous shots to distract from the practically nonexistent plot, totally uninteresting characters (Gere and Hines' lukewarm performances don't help much) and an annoyingly upbeat conclusion. Still, the aesthetically high production and the interesting backdrop are enough to make the film relatively decent.

69.000

I can overlook its flaws (there are many) because I simply love gangster films. Still, this film could have been so much better, it's sad.

Consistently absorbing gangland/musical story. A real winner from start to finish. Hats off to Coppola

Pretty good.

Pleasantly stylish, but quickly forgotten.

A lumpy vehicle, eventually costing $50 million, for some of the talents who made _The Godfather_ ten years earlier. Despite a few effective moments, a prime example of the careless extravagance which all but killed the film business.

The club itself, or anyway the music it showcased (Cab Calloway doing his "Hi-di-hi-di-hi-di-ho" -- what else?), is strictly second fiddle to the hackneyed gangster plot. The one moment when the music world overlaps the underworld is, in a sense, memorable: a tap dancer in mid-performance neatly kicks the gun out of a gangster's hand without missing a tap.