South Central - Zona a rischio

This movie was filmed around the time of the Rodney King riots that ripped South Central Los Angeles. Let's face it, the heart and soul of Los Angeles isn't Hollywood. It's the people like in this movie who try to make living, earnestly, honestly, and respectively. Sadly, this film is still realistic to the plight of urban problems. I spent a lot of time in one of the great urban cities of the East Coast and the problems of poverty, the lure of leading drug dealing lives is real and tempting, domestic violence, child abuse, gangs, etc. still exist and will exist much to the attempts of prevention or society ignoring their presence. Anyway, this film is truly about the heart and soul of a city of ten million Angelenos and the father's attempt to save his son from a life of crime, violence, death, and drugs in the city. It's not an easy battle.

SOuth Central was a gripping drama about a former gang member who has to decide between being a daddy and being a gangster. He rolls with the wrong crowd and gets caught up, BAD MOVE! NOt to spoil the film for those who haven't seen it I'll just leave it at that.

THe direction was fluid and well executed. S. Anderson brings the viewer into the scene and captures the moment with sheer brilliance. THe only two acting performances even worth mentioning were Glenn Plumber's and Byron Minns's. The supporting performances where sub-par but good writing rescued them from seeming cheezy.

I enjoyed South Central. It made my collection and I recommend it for yours.

BUggie

This movie is one of the best in this genre,I think of it among with "Boys N the hood" and "Menace to society". It shows how hard it can be to grow up in a bad neighborhood,and how easy drugs and criminal life takes over.

Though the film is "serious" and well intentioned, telling a heart-breaking story with a valid message, its impact is considerably weakened by a naïve story-line and a undistinguished screen-play. I hunted around to see if this was "based on a true story", like "The Birdman of Alcatraz", but I found no evidence; that might have excused some of the awkwardness. There are some movingly warm scenes, though I was never groping for a kleenex. It reminded me of one of those Worthy Westerns I watched as a kid, where the bad guy meets a good guy/woman who changes his life: it had too many predictable and not totally credible steps. When, at the end, the hoodlum about to shoot him says, "Prison sure turned you stoopid!", I was inclined to agree. He talked his way out of the jam, but only because the narrative demanded it: his speech would never have convinced me, any more than Eli's words in the prison cell would have made me turn over a new leaf. These key "speeches" lacked any eloquence, and I frequently found myself predicting the dialogue. Nevertheless its best moments, especially the confrontations, are really gripping - until the end, that is, when it's too easy to foresee that no harm will come to anyone and Good will prevail. It's unfashionable and courageous to give such a story a happy ending (cf. "La Haine", where the vicious circle of hate is NOT broken and a bleak future is foreseen), and perhaps its optimism speaks more deeply to audiences in the States.

I would like to thank all of the fans and supporters of the the film; it pleases me greatly that you got the message. I am a retired (South Central L.A.) English teacher; I wrote the novel "South Central L.A. Crips(the story of the L.A. Street gang, 1971-1985)" in 1986 as a roman a clef (faction). "Deuce" was a euphemism for "Crip" (which was censored in movies in 1991) It had become obvious to me that the old canon of American literature would not inspire the will necessary to become literate for Crips and Bloods and many other lower class African Americans, so I interviewed hundreds of gangsters over a 4 year span and wrote a book about them that would do the job. The movie "South Central" was, initially, merely a vehicle to advertise the book and promote the message of literacy. I used the book and the movie in my curriculum for 12 years. Gangsters stole it out of my classroom and the local libraries. I considered it an ironic tribute and an effective way to distribute to the people who needed it the most. But, best of all, L.A.'s gang murder epidemic has been subsiding ever since until it's now lower than it has been in over 30 years. "South Central" was made to save lives and I believe it has as "Variety" predicted when it came out in the midst of over 1000 murders in 1992. I rushed it to the screen (I signed a 6 month option w/Steve Anderson for $1)because I knew there was a volcano about to erupt in South Central L.A. from teaching 100's of gangsters in the area; I partnered w/Steve and Oliver Stone because they had the sensitivity for the mission and skill to make the film. Unfortunately, "South Central", though completed in 1991, was not released until the summer of 1992 after the South Central L.A. Uprising which stigmatized it to the owners of theaters causing it to go from a projected 1200 (approx.) screen opening to less than 100. It was a big success immediately in video stores and on cable. Hopefully, it will last as long as "Huckleberry Finn". I am not a "Hollywood" writer; although I wrote the novel and collaborated on the screenplay (for which I received no credit), I was not able to join the WGA (I played Dr. King in the movie, so I am in SAG). However, I am honored to have made the film; I, even, believe it is time to remake it for today's audience. I would have liked to: keep it PG-13; eliminated the N-word and profanity; used more of the slang from the novel("h-nk-ball"?, "ginawagon"!, please); shown more of the L.A. Islamic influence and local history, obviously Bobby (Jimmie Black in the novel) is changed by copious reading like Malcolm X, and I, being a devout Muslim, wanted to note the great work Muslims have done in prisons (this, too, was pretty much anathema in 1991, but we sneaked it in subliminally). I have written a sequel, "Inhale Gasoline & Gun Smoke (the story of the L.A. Uprising)" which is probably too hot for Hollywood but will eventually be made one way or another. I am Executive Producer of SAB Productions and my film "Bilalian" shows on BET's Black Stories every now and then. My new book is "N*GG*S-The Black Curse", and completes my trilogy on South Central L.A.

As Salaamu Alaikum, Donald Bakeer P.S. 100% literacy for African Americans by 2010 (gangstas, too)!