Until I checked this out on IMDB, I had no idea that Dennis Hopper was the director. Wow, that says a lot about his directing ability.
In a void, this movie might not be great. Someone from the UK complained about it. I'm not from Compton but, this movie rates up there with the other true-to-lifers like Boyz in the Hood, and other gang related "classics" (as they deserve to be called).
This is a great movie with great acting and a great plotline. It's a pretty realistic view (again, I'm not a gang banger, so maybe my view is skewed) of the gang life in L.A. And it was the first to really portray it... I'm still a big fan of Boyz in the Hood (not for excitement, but for a good story about a tough life). But this was the first (as I recall) and Hopper deserves a great deal of credit for that. Penn and Duvall are fantastic actors and both come through in a big way in this movie.
My personal opinion: This movie has been, by far, underrated...
In a void, this movie might not be great. Someone from the UK complained about it. I'm not from Compton but, this movie rates up there with the other true-to-lifers like Boyz in the Hood, and other gang related "classics" (as they deserve to be called).
This is a great movie with great acting and a great plotline. It's a pretty realistic view (again, I'm not a gang banger, so maybe my view is skewed) of the gang life in L.A. And it was the first to really portray it... I'm still a big fan of Boyz in the Hood (not for excitement, but for a good story about a tough life). But this was the first (as I recall) and Hopper deserves a great deal of credit for that. Penn and Duvall are fantastic actors and both come through in a big way in this movie.
My personal opinion: This movie has been, by far, underrated...