Boyz n the Hood (1991)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

John Singleton

Writer (WGA):

John Singleton (written by)

Release Date:

12 July 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Once upon a time in South Central L.A. ... It ain't no fairy tale

Plot:

Saga of a group of childhood friends growing up in a Los Angeles ghetto.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Violence | Los Angeles | South Central Los Angeles | Drugs

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Hudhail Al-Amir	...	S.A.T. Man
Lloyd Avery II	...	Knucklehead #2
Angela Bassett	...	Reva Styles
Mia Bell	...	Female Club Member
Lexie Bigham	...	Mad Dog
Kenneth A. Brown	...	Little Chris
Nicole Brown	...	Brandi - Age 10
Ceal	...	Sheryl
Morris Chestnut	...	Ricky Baker
Darneicea Corley	...	Keisha
John Cothran Jr.	...	Lewis Crump
Ice Cube	...	Doughboy
Na'Blonka Durden	...	Trina (as Na' Blonka Durden)
Susan Falcon	...	Mrs. Olaf
Jessie Lawrence Ferguson	...	Officer Coffey (as Jesse Ferguson)

Also Known As:

Boys in the Hood (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

John Singleton's Oscar nomination for Best Director at the age of 24 makes him the youngest director to ever receive such an accolade, beating Orson Welles by a good 2 years.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Tre is given, by Furious, the tedious job of raking the leaves off of his lawn. There is, however, no tree evident in supporting shots or surrounding lawns to indicate where the leaves had come from.

Quotes:

Shalika: Why is it every time you talk about a female you gotta say bitch, ho, or hootchie?
Doughboy: 'Cause that's what you are.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the '90s" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Ooh Child

A brilliant film that many should take lessons from!

BoyZ 'N' The Hood for me was the one true film I preferred much greater than Menace II Society.

At least there were positive outlooks as well as negative, but not so abrupt and urban as the Hughes Brothers' feature.

The interesting aspect about the film was character development. In the beginning of the film's credits you hear a gang member whining about someone he has a grudge with, where as a friend calms him down by taking him for a ride which eventually turns out to be a "drive by shooting" of the very individual being bragged about by other and ending with the innocent sounds of a young boy crying over his brother's murder.

Then we see a young Tre Styles getting into trouble at school because of a classroom fight and then taken to his father (played so brilliantly by Laurance Fishburne) to live with. It's easy to see why this became such a huge hit as it was one film that many reached out to, due to the positive themes of one wishing for a better life and parents guiding him/her in the right direction.

Performances were a real stand out in this. Already mentioned was Laurance Fishburne as Mr. Furious Styles (what a name) and the beautiful Angela Basset as Tre's concerned Mother. Ice Cube and Cuba Gooding couldn't have been more rewarding in this film as well as the lovely Nia Long as Cuba's girlfriend and Regina King too (all to be later reunited in starring in Friday - except for Cuba though).

It's not surprising to learn that many of them would turn out to be huge stars due to the success of this feature and acting credibility.

Unmissable.