Cheap Mo' Better Blues (DVD) (Spike Lee, Denzel Washington) (Spike Lee) Price

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Customer Reviews of Mo' Better Blues

So much to feel, so much to enjoy
You don't have to be a musician who has found himself grappling with the same fundamental spiritual issues as the main character (and similiar romantic dilemma) to enjoy this movie. MO BETER BLUES is one of my favorite feel good/life lesson movies because of the sheer nobility that underlies and underscores every nuance of character, plot, situation, and every note of the music. Denzel Washington as a self-absorbed, brilliant trumpeter and band leader, discovering the fragility of his life and the unrealized strength of his heart; Wesley Snipes as his ambitious, equally brilliant- and equally alpha male- saxophonist who, though on the surface a seemingly ungrateful rival ready to break and emerge with his own band, loves him more than he loves himself; Turturro as the fundamentally disinetersted producer, an archtype of the music business; two women- one who loves the music more than him, the other him more than the music; a score by Spike's father, musician and composer Bill Lee; performances by terrance Blanchard and Branford Marsalis... deft screenwriting by Spike- in one of the few movies he's made where his presence as a character doesn't take away from the ensemble product... what's not to like in this beautiful film? If you are not a jazz fan, trust me, you will become one after seeing this. A feel good movie that does not let you down; MO BETTER is, "Mo' better".

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Not perfect but far from a dud
The music clearly is the star of this film. Mixing avant garde jazz with more standard fare and doing it successfully. You love music, you love this film. The film itself is worth watching too. The usual expert and hardworking performance from the very photogenic Denzel Washington. Cynda Williams is so sexy I wouldn't care if she couldn't act (but she is a competent actress). Spike Lee (properly speaking, his long-time cinematographer Ernest Dickerson) is an artist and the way he photographs his scenes is always a pleasure. This is a better story than some of his other films. Don't see how a real lover of cinema could hate this movie.

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Beautiful
This is one of the most visually beautiful film with African-American actors I've ever seen (another that comes to mind is Devil in a Blue Dress, also starring Denzel Washington). The opening credits are a masterful combination of music and shadows.
Overall, an enjoyable contemporary story of young, single African-Americans filmed in Brooklyn and Manhattan, a rarity for its time. They're making more of this type of film today . . . but the actors are getting younger and younger!