| | | A child's chance to escape anger and injustice begins with one man. His father.
Features: DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Interactive Menu
Hang with your homeys. Rule the night. Bobby Johnson has been there and back. He knows firsthand the ways of an L.A. gang -- and has been jailed for it. But he has won his freedom and faces a new do-or-die urgency: reclaim his 10-year-old son from the mean streets' cycle of hate and death. Tough, compelling and as immediate as today's headlines, South Central is "even more emotionally stirring [than Boyz 'N The Hood]. The climax is startlingly powerful" (Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly). Talent-to-watch Glenn Plummer (Colors, Pastime) is Bobby, whose hard life leads to hard time -- and a determination to turn it all around. Carl Lumbly (Cagney & Lacey) plays the convict who inspires Bobby to change. And a talented cast keeps the cutting edge on this Oliver Stone presentation based on Crips, Donald Bakeer's bestseller about gang life.
"Stirring. An heroic triumph." Desson Howe, The Washington Post
"...emotionally stirring... the climax is startlingly powerful." Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Editor's Note
The emotional, hard-hitting tale of a former L.A. gang member who returns to his neighborhood from prison resolved to steer his young son away from street-gang life, SOUTH CENTRAL is a no nonsense drama from director Steve Anderson. Deuce gang member Bobby Johnson has just been released from prison. He returns to his old neighborhood to find a few surprises: First, Bobby learns he has a son, Jimmie. But Carole, Jimmie's mother, is now a drug addict and the lover of fellow gang member Ray Ray. To make matters worse, the local pusher-pimp, Genie Lamp, hires a thug to force Bobby to take heroin. Vengeful, Bobby kills Genie and is sent to prison, this time for 10 years.While serving his sentence, Bobby transforms himself from die-hard delinquent to righteous radical only to discover that his Jimmie -- now also involved with the Deuces -- was shot while robbing a car. Hopefully, Bobby will make it out of prison in time to be a real father to his son.
| Features | English Dolby Surround | | Standard Version | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Access |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner Music |
| Release Date: 8/3/2004 |
| Running Time: 99 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1992 | | Catalog ID: 12594 | | UPC: 00085391259428 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 4:3 |
| Cast & Crew
| Memorable Quotes| "We have allowed death to change his name from Southern rope to Northern dope." |
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| | Professional Reviews | Chicago Sun-Times
"...Movies like this one let us feel the emotions..." 09/18/1992 p.42The Washington Post 0 of 10
Another L.A.-side heartbreaker about young black men caught in a self-perpetuating cycle of hatred, incarceration and bloodshed, South Central purposely pulls you down. Then, with its clarion call to black fatherhood, it lifts you back up again. If it's loaded down with Message, it's armed to the teeth with conviction -- and a powerful performance from Glenn Plummer. The movie's ultimate mission to save a child's life becomes transcendentally vital... At first, the violence, unconscionable references to "bitches" and widespead use of crack and PCP raise serious questions about the filmmakers themselves. You wonder if South is having an R-rated blast in the lip-service guise of putting it all down... But there's method to the madness... A bare-bones outline ignores the performances, the stirring music, the close-in camerawork and the direction of Steve Anderson. The emotional punch and atmosphere of the movie soar through any hokiness. Plummer's search for the son he never saw grow up becomes a powerful odyssey. In a gun-toting finale, in which blood ties are pitted against man's atavistic need for revenge, and willpower takes on firepower, the winner is Plummer. He transforms a potentially thankless (and catcalling) role into heroic triumph. - Desson Howe
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