Mo' Better Blues
Short description
Bleek Gilliam is a gifted trumpeter who leads a jazz quintet with saxophonist Shadow Henderson. Bleek is devoted to his music but indecisive elsewhere: he juggles relationships with two women, a schoolteacher named Indigo and a singer named Clarke, without committing to either. Shadow's larger presence in the group fuels a rivalry that threatens the band's stability. At the same time, Bleek tries to protect his manager, Giant, a childhood friend whose gambling debts have made him a target for creditors. As these pressures converge, Bleek's world proves more fragile than he imagined.
Spike Lee directed from his own screenplay and produced; the film was released in 1990 and runs 129 minutes. Chronologically it is the fourth of 26 films Lee has directed, arriving between Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever. Denzel Washington plays Bleek, with Wesley Snipes as Shadow, Giancarlo Esposito as pianist Left Hand Lacey, Robin Harris as Butterbean Jones, and Lee himself as Giant; Joie Lee appears as Indigo. The credited cast numbers 53.
On IMDb the film holds 6.7/10 from about 15,000 votes, while on TMDB it is rated 6.5/10 from 268 votes. A critics' rating of 7/10 from 35 reviews places critical appraisal slightly above the audience scores. Produced for 10 million dollars, it returned 16 million worldwide, a modest commercial result relative to its cost.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is dedicated to the memory of stand-up comedian Robin Harris, who died of a heart attack on March 18, 1990.
- Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes specifically learned to mimic playing the musical instruments they play in the film (trumpet and saxophone), with musicians Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison acting as instructors. Washington later admitted that by the start of filming, he could play at best three notes, and only learned to simulate playing (as did Snipes).
- Halle Berry was considered for the role of Clark, played by Cinda Williams, at one point, but she declined the offer due to the presence of sex scenes in the script.
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