Rent Deep Cover (1992)

3.5 of 5 from 116 ratings
1h 47min
Rent Deep Cover Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
Laurence Fishburne stars as Russell Stevens, a police officer who goes undercover as 'John Hull', the partner of a dangerously ambitious cocaine trafficker David Jason (Jeff Goldblum), in order to infiltrate and bring down a powerful Latin American drug ring operating in LA. But the further Stevens descends into this ruthless world of money, violence, and power, the more disillusioned he becomes - and the harder to make out the line between right and wrong, crime and justice.
Actors:
, , , , , Bilal Bashir, , , , , , , , , , Joseph Ferro, , , Neil Goldberg,
Directors:
Producers:
Henry Bean, Pierre David
Writers:
Michael Tolkin, Henry Bean
Studio:
Entertainment In Video
Genres:
Action & Adventure, Drama, Thrillers
Collections:
All the Twos: 1972-2012
BBFC:
Release Date:
28/06/2004
Run Time:
107 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 2.0
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.85:1
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • Original Theatrical Trailer
  • Cast And Crew Biographies And Filmographies
BBFC:
Release Date:
23/08/2021
Run Time:
107 minutes
Languages:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.85:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • New interview with director Bill Duke
  • AFI Conservatory seminar from 2018 featuring Duke and actor Laurence Fishburne, moderated by film critic Elvis Mitchell
  • New conversation between film scholars Racquel J. Gates and Michael B. Gillespie about Deep Cover's place within both the Black film boom of the early 1990's and the noir genre
  • New conversation between scholar Claudrena N. Harold and professor, DJ, and podcaster Oliver Wang about the film's title track and its importance to the history of hip-hop
  • Trailer

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Reviews (2) of Deep Cover

90s neo-noir that tackles issues of race - Deep Cover review by KW

Spoiler Alert
30/01/2022

'Deep Cover' is a neo-noir crime thriller in which Laurence Fishburne (at this point still Larry) plays a cop who moves from being in uniform to going undercover as a drugs dealer to try to take down the hierarchy of fellow dealers from within.

Plotwise this has more holes than an English packet of polos or American lifesavers (I'm not going to win noir fiction prizes with lines like that). Why does the cop take the assignment when it makes absolutely no sense for him to do so? Really the only plausible answer is that it is the predestination of a noir set-up that makes it so. Why can a city's entire police force not manage to stop a limousine fleeing the scene of a crime and why is it okay to stay in that limousine for a chat when the chase is over? How come 1990s policing is so devoid of ethics that drug-dealing and murder by officers barely raises an eyebrow?

In a sense to raise such questions is to miss the point, as this is one of those noir films that to me seems to exist in a parallel kind of reality, where neon lights reflect brightly on a rainswept street in a city that doesn't sleep but whose dark corners emit moody voiceovers that provide plot exposition to paper over underwritten cracks (I'm still not getting that noir writing gig).

Taken as a straightforward thriller then, 'Deep Cover' has some unresolved issues, but this is not a straightforward thriller and unresolved issues are the bread and butter of its characters. Casual racism and both conscious and unconscious bias underscore the interactions of many of the central characters in a way that may be more shocking to a contemporary audience than it was in 1992. The film doesn't get preachy but we are left in no doubt where it is coming from.

Laurence Fishburne is good and is ably supported by Jeff Goldblum, whose hair gets more slicked back as he gets more greedy and evil. That tends to happen in films of this era. It's like the villains blow all the money they spend on Brylcreem and then apply it to their heads all in one go.

In fact, Jeff Goldblum is, at the start of the film anyway, fairly low in the pecking order of villainous villains. His immediate superior is a very nasty and murderous piece of work, though I found his resemblance to Groucho Marx a little off-putting.

I rented the Masters of Cinema blu-ray edition of this film and I found the transfer to have really vibrant, clear colours and the sound was great. It seems to have been remixed to surround sound, which really allows the impressive soundtrack of the film to do its work, perhaps as never before.

An exciting, significant and slightly unusual film, that is well worth checking out.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

Stylish Cop Thriller - Deep Cover review by GI

Spoiler Alert
05/05/2022

A cop thriller filmed in a noir style and with a subversive undertone. The story though seems a bit clichéd when seen today and there have been better films that deal with the pressures and conflicts of police undercover work. Laurence Fishburne plays uniformed cop Russell who is recruited by DEA agent Carver (Charles Martin Smith) to infiltrate and work his way up in a major drug trafficking ring run by a South American cartel. The aim to nail the foreign politician who runs things. The film follows Russell as he struggles with the boundaries of his role especially as he has a past that causes him particular angst. When his loyalties get tested and political priorities interfere Russell begins to disobey his boss. There's romance, violence and some of the characters are a little stereotypical although the film has it's entertainment value but it seems a little dated today.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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