The Cotton Club Encore

media release: USA | 1984/2019 | DCP | 139 min. 

Director: Francis Ford Coppola; Cast: Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Lonette McKee 

The real-life, white gangster-owned Harlem nightclub that allowed only black performers on stage but refused customer entry to people of color provides the backdrop for the fictional story of the ascending careers of musician Dixie Dwyer (Gere) and dancer Sandman Williams (Hines) from the late 1920s into the early 1930s. Marked by a troubled, controversial production history and modest box-office receipts upon its original release, The Cotton Club can now be appreciated as the most entertaining and satisfying of Coppola’s 1980s movies. The co-screenwriter/director has re-edited the film and inserted several sequences never seen before, including a performance of “Stormy Weather” by the magnetic McKee. Coppola’s impeccable flair for casting and discovering new talent is evident when listing the supporting cast: Diane Lane, Nicolas Cage, Bob Hoskins, Fred Gwynne, Maurice Hines, James Remar, Jennifer Grey, Gwen Verdon, Joe Dallesandro, Woody Strode, Laurence Fishburne, Tom Waits, and Giancarlo Esposito.

Admission free for all screenings, seating limited. No admission 15 minutes after scheduled start times. Please visit our website for a complete listing of programs and descriptions.