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Sugar Hill was one of the most thought provking films about drugs released in the early nineties. Wesley Snipes is brilliant in the lead role of Romello a drug dealer who wants to go straight when he finds love. Micheal Wright the scene stealer is even better as his brother Ray the more violent of the two. But the standout performance belongs to Clarenece Williams III as the drug addicted father. I give *** out of ****.

"Sugar Hill" tells the story of two Harlem drug-dealing brothers, Romello & Ray Nathan Skuggs, who struggle to stay on top of their chosen profession as well as their relationship with drug-addicted father Arthur Romello Skuggs(Clarence Williams III). Romello realizes that his life has gone in the wrong direction & that he wants out, to honor his deceased mother's wishes for him.

Ray Nathan(Michael Wright), heir apparent to the drug ring, wants to get rid of the competition & rule Harlem with his younger brother. Romello(Wesley Snipes), fed up & idealistic, wants out of the drug business & is looking to start over with new girlfriend Melissa(Theresa Randle). Scared of becoming a target, Melissa wants nothing to do with Romello who convinces her to leave with him. Romello tries to bring together a bitter Ray Nathan & strung-out druggie Arthur to no avail. Romello forgave his father for the past & desires Ray Nathan to reconcile before its too late. Ray Nathan is still angry with his father for the death of junkie mother Ella Skuggs. Romello finally convinces Melissa to be with him & leave to begin a new life together. Romello wants only to take Ray Nathan, Arthur, Melissa & himself back to the South to start over & away from the drug & street life.

The problem: Gus(Abe Vigoda), an old Italian drug lord & Lolly(Ernie Hudson), new drug dealer & ex boxing champ, want the brothers out of the way as well as their territories in the drug trade. Gus has a history with Arthur Romello & makes Romello aware of it. Gus told Romello that his father killed his brother Sal many years ago. Lolly kills fellow dealer & best friend Ricky Goggles(Steve Harris) as a warning to Romello & Ray Nathan. Ray Nathan in turn murders one of Gus's men. Lolly calls in a hit on Romello but kills a local wannabe gangster Kymie Daniels(Donald Faison). Romello tells Gus he is out of the game & prepares to leave with Melissa. Ray Nathan kills Arthur by giving him a overdosed shot of heroin. Ray next goes to Gus & Lolly to concede but instead kills them in the restaurant. Ray Nathan then runs into Romello & tells him he killed their father. The two argue with Ray Nathan accidentally shooting Romello with Melissa watching in horror. The film ends with Romello sitting in a wheelchair with Melissa & son living in the South, starting life anew.

A good film with a very tragic ending. Unbelievable scene where Arthur(Williams III)overdoses while Ray Nathan watches in horror & shame. The realism of Arthur's overdose is unforgettable & wreaks of solid acting talent. This film does little to glorify drug dealers & rightfully so. No Nino Browns to despise this time!! Check it out.

As titles for this film go, I prefer Sugar Hill to Harlem. The title Harlem speaks to where the characters are. The title Sugar Hill refers to an ideal that has been lost and may never be regained. Harlem would be a simplistic title for a simplistic movie, while Sugar Hill is an appropriate title for a movie that frequently aims high and sometimes succeeds. So you'll forgive me if if I refer to it as Sugar Hill in this review (plus, I'm not really sure where it was actually released as "Harlem").

Sugar Hill opens with a series of pictures of urban life in the Sugar Hill part of Harlem. Since the photos are all black and white and since the people look happy and middle class, we know that these pictures are of the way things used to be. We then meet our two "heroes," Raynathan and Romoello Skuggs, as children who stand by and watch as their mother ODs on heroin and dies before their eyes. Even though she was a junkie, their mom wished for great things for her sons, but as we move into the present, Roemello's voiceover tells the hard truth: "The boy you loved as become the man you feared." Roemello (Wesley Snipes) and Raynathan (Michael Wright) control the drug trade in a part of the borough. They live a ghetto fabulous lifestyle with fancy rayon suits and fine cars. They get nice tables at classy restaurants. But things are about to change. The local mafioso Gus (Abe Vigoda) is letting a new dealer (Ernie Hudson) move in on their turf. Roemello wants out, having seen what drugs did to his father (Clarence Williams III), once a promising musician, now a struggling drug addict. But Raynathan -- the less intelligent, but more emotional of the brothers -- wants to start a turf war. The film has a "B" story involving a romance between Roemello and a beautiful woman (Theresa Randle) who loves Roemello, but is affair to be around him.

Sugar Hill plays a bit like New Jack City (both movies were written by Barry Michael Cooper). At its best, it feels like a smarter and more mature film than Mario Van Peebles's classic modern blaxploitation film. There's a complexity to Sugar Hill that New Jack City lacked once it regressed into a cops-vs-gangsters story. There's no law in Sugar Hill, no Judd Nelson to mess things up with moralizing. In Sugar Hill we've only got bad and worse.

Snipes's Roemello rules over the city like a God, holding the fate of thousands in his hand. Director Leon Ichaso goes a little too far to make this point. Snipes is constantly shot on rooftops and verandas, anywhere he can look out on his kingdom and loom over it. As a visual metaphor, it's effective, but it sometimes places a little too broadly, which is at odds with Snipes's wonderful, internalized performance. Snipes is physically intimidating, but as an actor he has sufficient brains to carry the film. His Roemello is the ego to the id of New Jack City's Nino Brown.

Actually, the film is full of amazing performances accentuated by the script's willingness to stop the action to allow the characters to tell stories. As the burnout father, Clarence Williams III (that would be "Linc" from the original Mod Squad) is just amazing and the story he tells Raynathan as he's about to shoot up is a devastating show-stopper. Vigoda also gives a performance tempered by age, and also has a super monologue, where he remembers the way Harlem used to be. Michael Wright's Raynathan grows on you. At first the acting seems too manic, but when you realize that it's a cover for how deeply he depends on his brother, it gains depth and Wright carries the film's final twenty minutes. Randle is fine in her romantic moments, but becomes shrieky when the role calls for high-pitched emotion.

Sugar Hill goes on for too long. It runs over two hours and there's no excuse for that. The plot involving Ernie Hudson's ex-boxer (Hudson is also excellent playing against type here) has confusing moments and there are several peripheral mob characters whose roles are never fully explained. Theresa Randle also has a very strange and random encounter with a basketball star (Vondie Curtis-Hall) which seems to have been in the script for symbolic reasons that just don't pay off properly.

On the whole, Sugar Hill works for me because of the consistent aura of sadness which fills the film. This movie isn't anywhere near as fun as New Jack City. It's not flashy, it's somber. But it worked well enough for me to give is a 7/10 recommendation.

From Nino Brown to Roemello Skuggs the two Wesley Snipes characters are only similar in their location, New York City, and their profession, drugs. In just about every other way they are different.

Roemello Skuggs has a drug dealing operation he runs with his brother Raynathan. It's a decent sized operation but nothing like a Tony Montana or even Nino Brown. But unlike the aforementioned drug lords, Roemello wants out. The question becomes how.

This movie is more a drama than a shoot 'em up, cops and robbers, turf war type movie. Roemello's simplified drug life (if that's possible), is complicated by 1.) a woman (Theresa Randle) 2.) another drug dealer (Ernie Hudson) and 3.) his desire to leave Harlem and the dope game.

The story plays out a little Spike Lee-ish. There's even a pervasive jazz tune playing throughout most of the movie much like Spike liked to do. The story was nice, acting also OK, it was just a little slow moving and Shakesperian tragedy for me.

(1993) Sugar Hill CRIME DRAMA

More than two hours too long who as a pair of young brothers Roemello and Raynathan Skuggs, when they were little used to witness their own mother overdosing herself to death while the father almost killed himself for being an user himself and betraying an Italian family member lead by Gus (Abe Vigoda). The movie then jumps to the present time to the Skugg brothers to be the Wesley Snipes as the younger brother Roemello and Michael Wright as the older one Raynathan and are successful for doing what their father failed to do which is to be the #1 drug sellers of "Sugar Hill" which is really a part of Harlem and not to be the drug doers. Things start to turn for the worse as soon as Roemello finds a girl he want to settle down with, since she doesn't like the business he's in, and when his own brother Raynathan allowed an ex-boxer named Lolly (Ernie Hudson) into the business of selling the same territories as they were doing in which he'd pay them a very small 10 percentage of the profits. And then for feeling so 'high and mighty' Lolly then kills one of Skuggs men, and while Roemello is trying to cool things down, his brother Raynathan escalates the problem by taking out one of Lolly's best side man with more pointless babbling which can be helped by a quick press of a remote control since this is pretty standard stuff except that theirs less offensive language in this one as opposed to other African American gangster movies. I would've liked this movie more had this film been shortened big time since the actors are exceptional but the movie not so much.

'Sugar Hill' looks very fine on the surface. You get Wesley Snipes likable charisma and he re-teams with the same writer from 'New Jack City' so it feels like a win-win. Then you watch a picture devoid of any sweeping message, full of one note characters with very little intelligence and you can't help but be disappointed. Going for grandiose and failing is the name of the game here honestly.

Roemello Skuggs (Snipes) and brother Raynathan (Michael Wright) had to endure a lot of family tragedy growing up, but present day sees them as big successful heroin pushers in Harlem. An alliance, fragile history with Italian mobster Gus (Abe Vigoda) becomes strained as Roe faces the decision he wants out from the game which alienates his brother. Meanwhile an ex-pro boxer Lolly (Ernie Hudson) turned street hood wants to be cut in on the action complicating matters further.

Can't tell you how many times I chuckled at a scene or piece of dialog that wasn't meant to be funny. How many times I checked out when smart players made bad decisions or couldn't see two moves ahead. That's on top of the typical suspect morality play going on where bad people are glamourized to be good except it's ten times worse here. They show the family being torn apart in flashbacks by heroin. Dad a junkie who gets repeatedly shot but survives in front of his kids. Mom OD's right in front of them again as kids. Yet they grown up to be this?

Any issue I had with the tale going down a routine path of push & pull via drugs, violence with a "getting out" card was nothing compared to how much I hated an utterly whack romance subplot tacked on though. Watch her make a really big mistake. Watch the "hero" take her back. That's not touching on the ending where it all gets tied together. I had to restrain myself from laughing too hard as people lay gut-shot in the street as a saxophone solo went crazy.

'Sugar Hill' wants to be remembered. Wants to be held in high esteem as other genre pics, but it doesn't have the pedigree to do so. Even if you look past a fairly shallow story with nothing new to say you'll find it isn't as noble as it wants you to believe. Certainly not enough substance to milk a two hour runtime. It's not a complete loss, but a lot of faces are adrift in a sea of moral nothingness.

I really felt this story starring Wesley Snipes and Michael Wright. It really shows the struggle of two brothers up to their present point in time, of how they were exposed to the drug game at such an early age from the death of their strung out mother to the crippling of their father thanks to the mafia. It was such a real story that sent out a strong message that got through to me - it's kind of a good guy/bad guy hood flick with a strong crime element and brutal murder scenes. Wesley Snipes is great as the hustler w/ a conscience but it was Michael Wright who delivers as the trigger-happy older brother who will murder just about anything that tries to invade his...

Sugar Hill is a movie that packs a wicked punch...great movie - in urban cinema this is easily a classic

Sugar Hill is an intense movie that exposes the harsh reality of drug addiction and drug dealing. Roemello(Snipes) and Raynathan(Wright) are two brothers who are drug dealers in Harlem. Snipes and Wright gave great performances. Sugar Hill has a lot of drama and suspense and it is very realistic. The film has al ot of great monologue, And the message is very clear: "Don't Do Drugs".

This is an excellent movie with a tremendous performance by Wesley Snipes. He is a much better actor than he gets credit for, with terrific range.

A story of a street drug dealer trying to break free of the life he has led. Unfortunately, circumstances and people conspire to threaten his dreams. A very interesting, thoughtful movie, with a great performance by Snipes and Clarence Williams.

SH was one of those fine drug movies, like Deep Cover, Menace To Society, that were around, pretty much the same time. What sucks, is like Menace To Society, this one missed an S.A. cinema release. From the first frame, or credits, you can tell you're in for none other, a fine two hours film, and this is exactly what you get with good black actors you like. We have a wonderfully refreshing opening, where a black mother O.D's. She has two little boys, where she uses the older one to cook her up a fix. This makes quite an impact on him, as we cut to a later time. Now grown up, this man (Wright, the wilder, out of control one) and brother (Snipes) are in the drug business, working for the NY mafia, under their boss played beautifully by Abe Vigoda, a fine sculptured performance. Snipes has fallen in love, and now sees that the future in this business is short limited, so he best be smart and get out now, so we know what's to ensue. He tries to pull his brother out of it, but he wants no part. I really like the drawn characters, as we really understand, who they are, but more importantly, why they are, what they are, especially Wright's character, that all come full circle in that dinner family scene with KFC. Wright is an exceptionally talented black actor, who really carves out his characters, like no other of his race I've seen. He's a more pathetic type, here, and he plays it wonderfully real, while Snipes is very good, and Clarence Williams 111, what can I say? Just another fine performance. Randle as Snipes's love interest is really good, where she plays a budding actress: waitress, that joke really old now. She's the victim of a nasty rape scene, too, by another black guy, which added some venom to this engrossing film. The end is rather hard hitting, engaging, which as to Snipes's fate, a real blow. The whole anti drug film is engaging, and lovers of these film, and others, I recommend it to ya, if you haven't seen it.

I'm surprised that someone else has this opinion, but so be it. I thought this was a wonderful story about a young man from the projects, his close relationship with his younger brother, and his ambitions borne out of a disgraceful upbringing by his absentee, addicted parents. Also involved is his relationship with his brother, who seems to never have grown up at all. They start as drug runners on "Sugar Hill," and eventually run the place, with Romey the big kingpin. What's ironic, though, is that Sugar Hill (sugar = euphoric high on hard drugs) is the same place they grew up, and where their parents got strung-out thereby neglecting their responsibilities in guiding their children. Luckily, Romey came out of it with some sense, street and book, and he takes over as head of the family (the family that's left that is). This is a what I believe is a common tale of the recycling of the same woes that happens to families on the mean streets. I think it's an interesting phenomenon. Also very reminiscent of Scarface, in that the youths grow up with outrageous ambitions that no amount of money can ever appease, a need for power, money, success. The ending is bittersweet, but you feel satisfied with the outcome overall.

The movie has a very dark yet thoughtful feel to it. Wesley Snipes plays his role with a warm compassion for those around him. Michael Wright does overact quite a bit but he probably had a few years to go to become a good actor. Clarence Williams III was superb as the father. Theresa Randle is very good as the girlfriend. I almost fell in love with her myself. She seemed like the perfect woman. The rest of the movie is straight gangster done by a black cast except for Abe Vigoda who played his part excellently.

I love the setting of the movie as well as the cinematography. Director Leon Ichaso has an eye for things and you can see that as you watch this movie. Its a shame that the movie didn't do well and the director never did another movie again. Snipes is at his best as he is trying to leave his troubled past but each time gets pulled back by the ghosts that haunt him. The atmosphere is pure noir, and though it is clearly set in the present, it has the magical sheen of a 1940's film. Recommended viewing for all lovers of film, despite the occasional preachiness.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Sex, money, and drugs. Broken families, and broken dreams. You'll recognize the lead character Romello as played by Wesley Snipes right away, but Michael Wright (of +The 5 Heartbeats+ and the TV series 'V: The Final Battle') turns in a strong and compelling performance of his own as Rome's brother Ray Nathan. The action builds slowly, until the kettlepot boils over at the end, so this is not a movie for those lacking patience. It's worth the wait to see Wright and Snipes struggle through their harsh reality, and to see Snipes try in vain to resurrect a family life with his father in the film that didn't exist and never would. Powerful and compelling, you'll want to see this movie more than once.

One of the greatest of its genre, Sugar Hill is one of very few drug thrillers to seriously tackle many issues facing inner city life without glamorizing or venturing into "blaxploitation" territory. Snipes and especially Michael Wright give exemplary performances and every character is well fleshed out. Even though we don't agree or condone the actions of most characters, we can understand their motivations for the things they do.

Sugar Hill will provide intelligent, thought-provoking entertainment, but most who are looking for an action-packed drama will likely be disappointed by this drawn out character study. That's more than likely why it received so many poor reviews by critics and audiences. See this as a drama rather than an action flick.

I first seen this movie last year during quarantine and every I watch it again, I'm always impressed by what Sugar Hill gave. I'm also impressed by the performances, especially Wesley Snipes, Michael Wright and Clarence Williams lll. Even though there are moments where we don't agree of what characters in this movie says or do, we can understand what there trying to do and the motivation behind it and Sugar Hill is one of those examples of that.

Sugar Hill provides you with that hood drama drug related film with some thought- provoking entertainment or you can call a little bit of an action packed drama film. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

but it can't be.

It's just not that good. The writing is substandard. And the one thing that stands out is the weepy jazz soundtrack that is intrusive and annoying.

The basic plot, how the black drug runners in the ghetto relate to each other and to the Mob, not a bad idea. And the idea that Wesley Snipes gets sick of the whole thing and wants more from life. Not bad. In fact, Snipes is pretty good in the role. Almost everyone else is pretty awful.

It's interesting how lacking in interesting this movie is. Not much seems to happen except once in a while a gun goes off.

I think "New Jack City" is likely a better call, not nearly as stylish, nor as pretentious, but more solid as a story.

Yeah my review is at 2019, I watched ton of everything and at this time nothing really comes close to this kind of intense dramatic and deep performance as this plot delivers. Highly recommended.

Years after they saw their mother OD and their father shot in the legs over drug dealings, brothers Roemello and Raynathan now run the streets of Harlem. However Roemello begins to tire of the trade and looks to leave, a new girlfriend helping to show him what he is missing out on. However getting out is never easy and is made more complicated by Lolly Jonas moving in on their territory with the beginnings of a gang war.

The score to this film is a lazy, rambling blues number that plays consistently at times, like wallpaper. It is this score that I think sums up the weakness of this film - it is too slow, too patient and too lacking in style or energy. That's not to say it's a poor film for it is not, but it could have been better. Much has been done to try and make this quite a serious film that avoids the black gangsta clichés but the plot requires too much talking and exposition. This wouldn't have been as much of an issue if the characters and narrative had been more convincing.

However, I never fully bought Roemello and Raynathan as adults having just seen flashbacks of their childhood. I could accept that they would end up selling the poison that ruined their lives, but would Roemello been as balanced and as suave as he was? Likewise, in the drug game - to get on top wouldn't he needed to have been ruthless and violent? He just seems too nice. This lack of convincing characters is an issue as they were really needed to make the rather slow and talky script more involving. Despite this weakness the film is still interesting, it doesn't really do anything different from things you will have seen before, and parts of it hark back to better gangster-epic style films. It doesn't distinguish itself but I must give it credit for trying to be a serious black gangster film in a sea of New Jack type clichés in other films.

Snipes has become a better leading man with time and he tries to give a serious role here as a younger man but it never convinced me. I never got a sense of any menace or `dark side' to his character - he played him far too upright and moral to be a convincing character - his battle to go straight would have been more interesting if it didn't look like he was already halfway there! Randle is OK but has little to really do, and I never once understand where her character was coming from. Wright is a more erratic performance and more convincing than Snipes. Support is good from a variety of well known faces including Williams, Hill, Hudson and Bottoms.

Overall this is a serious gangster film that had potential but whose delivery is just a little too slow and talky. The characters are more than just clichés but the script can't get them where they need to go - it sets up complex characters with childhood background but then fails to bring that out as adults. Worth a watch but it is quite slow, aiming for the grandeur of better films that it can't quite reach.

Wesley Snipes gives a heart felt performance in this movie about two brothers who get involved as young children with the White Mafia. Snipes and Wright truly are opposites in this one, which gives the movie a nice blend pace as you await Wright to snap at any moment. Added in the mix is actress Theresa Randle who does a nice job convincing you there is more to Snipes character than just killing for hire. Interaction between Snipes'character and his father are very well done. Adding a feel of compassion and hate. Wright's character gives this film an extra push in the category of character depth.

Best scene: Snipes'character (Romello) tries to have a sit down dinner with his father and brother. Some of the best lines in the film are said in this scene.

I recommend this movie it has appeal to a wide audience.

Very powerful film with a great story and great actors. This movie only gets better with time.

Clarance Williams III, Gave one of the best performances by a black character actor I have ever seem, he portrays an elderly junkie in this fast pace and exciting movie. Sugar Hill is a picture that every african american should see, it has all the qualities that make a motion picture excellent, see it, and you will never forget this movie. Wesley Snipes also gave a great part as the head of the herion empire in Harlem, he and his brother started from nothing, and move to become feared by the white society and the mob, what kept them going is there love for each other, it is something that we should always remember between two people, I know that I will never forget the chemistry they had in this movie.

I thought this movie was the equivalent of any Greek tragedy. The acting was superior. The plot was compelling and a grand feat in storytelling. I was deeply moved by the performances of all the actors. Wesley Snipes, Michael Wright, Clarence Williams III, and all were extremely effective in delivering the emotionally charged performances. This movie is a classic. It ranks with the Godfather in the story and acting categories. Although the scope and scale was a lot smaller and intimate the movie was still capable of delivering the emotional impact as a film like the Godfather.

I quickly added this to my collection after the first viewing. This is a movie makers movie. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to see a urban drama played out as Greek tragedy. I was especially touched by the acting.