Gang Related

Last updated
Gang Related
Gang related ver1.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jim Kouf
Written byJim Kouf
Produced byJohn Bertolli
Brad Krevoy
Steven Stabler
Starring
CinematographyBrian J. Reynolds
Edited byTodd C. Ramsay
Music by Mickey Hart
Production
companies
Kouf/Bigelow Productions
Orion Pictures
Distributed by MGM Distribution Co.
Release date
October 8, 1997
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5.9 million [1]

Gang Related, alternatively known as Criminal Intent, [2] is a 1997 American action crime thriller film written and directed by Jim Kouf, and starring James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Dennis Quaid, Lela Rochon, David Paymer and James Earl Jones. The film revolves around two corrupt cops (Belushi and Shakur) who attempt to frame a homeless man (Quaid) for the murder of an undercover DEA agent that they themselves had actually killed.

Contents

Synopsis

Vice squad detectives Frank Divinci and Jake Rodriguez set up narcotics runner Lionel Hudd in a bogus drug trafficking deal; they execute Hudd and pocket his money. Having recovered the cocaine Hudd purchased from them, the detectives return that to the evidence room at their headquarters. When Divinci and Rodriguez find out Hudd was actually a "deep cover" DEA agent — because Hudd's partner, Richard Simms, drops by their precinct for help sniffing out the killers — they resolve to pin the murder on any likely suspect they can find.

The detectives finally frame a homeless drunk named "Joe Doe", by tricking him into confessing to the crime. Needing a witness, Divinci and Rodriguez press stripper Cynthia Webb — with whom Divinci has been cheating on his wife — into picking Joe out of a police lineup. It turns out Joe is actually William Dane McCall, a physician hailing from a wealthy family, who has been missing and presumed dead for years; the family's lawyer, Arthur Baylor, is brought in to defend him. At McCall's trial, he is promptly shown to be innocent. The case falls apart and McCall is released.

Rodriguez records a conversation with Divinci in which the latter admits to Hudd's killing and McCall's setup. In response, Divinci forces Rodriguez out of the car at gunpoint. Returning to his apartment, Rodriguez is met by his bookie Vic, and by Vic's bodyguard, "Mr. Cutlass Supreme". They murder Rodriguez over an outstanding gambling debt. Investigating Rodriguez's death, the police find the damaged tape which contains Divinci's confession. Baylor questions Webb about Hudd's murder, playing back the plan by Divinci to kill her as a loose end. Webb tells Baylor everything she knows about Divinci's crimes. Divinci hides out in Webb's apartment and shoots her for betraying him. Webb is rushed to the hospital; her gurney is wheeled past Doctor McCall. Divinci arranges for a limousine ride to the airport. The driver is revealed to be recently-acquitted serial killer Clyde David Dunner, who murders Divinci and abandons the limousine in an alley.

Cast

Production

Writer/director Jim Kouf recalled in a 2018 interview where he got the inspiration for the film:

"I had done a few cop movies, like Stakeout and The Hidden, and the cops were the good guys. I was toying with the idea of reality and memory and how they can be manipulated. And crime is where reality and memory are always tested. I think of Gang Related as grim farce. It’s about a couple cops who think they have a handle on how to clean up the streets by taking down drug dealers, making a little profit on the side, and blaming it on a "gang related" murder". [3]

In a previous interview, Kouf had discussed working with Tupac Shakur:

"He was a talented guy and knew what he was doing on set. I heard a lot of nightmare stories about him going on but I never had any problems with him". [4]

The film was shot over a period of a month in August 1996 and wrapped filming just two weeks before Tupac Shakur’s death on September 13, 1996. It marked his final film appearance and would be released a year after his death. [5]

Reception

Gang Related opened in North America on October 8, 1997 in 1,260 theaters. It made $2,443,237 on its opening weekend with an average of $1,939 per theater, ranking at No. 10 at the box office. The film ended up earning $5,906,773. [1] The film received mixed reviews, and has the rating of 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4 out of 10. [6] On Metacritic — which assigns a weighted mean score — the film has a score of 49 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [7] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale. [8]

The film was released in the United Kingdom on August 14, 1998, and opened on #11. [9] Roger Ebert appraised the film more positively in an episode of At the Movies :

The screenplay shows a lot of nerve in making the central characters into villains. We identify, I think, with them anyway to a degree, maybe because they trigger our own built-in guilt. The dialogue crackles with life and energy. There are a lot of colorful characters. My only complaint is that the ending is a little too neat after everything that's gone before. This movie is good enough to deserve a better ending. [10]

About the movie's reception and box office results, Jim Belushi said: "Right around that time, when that movie came out, there was a gang related shooting at a movie theater in Los Angeles. That just ruined the opening of that movie. Everyone was afraid to go to the movie theatre, especially with the title Gang Related. Nobody went. Regardless, it’s become kind of a cult film since its release." [11]

Director Jim Kouf is very fond of the movie and praised Tupac Shakur’s performance: “Tupac was great to work with. He really wanted acting to be his way out of the music world, which was controlling his life at the time. He was also going to score the movie, but was killed 10 days after we finished shooting. He was a great guy. We had a lot of fun on set. And Gang Related had one of the best casts I’ve ever worked with.“ [12]

Soundtrack

YearTitleChart positionsCertifications
(sales thresholds)
U.S. U.S. R&B
1997 Gang Related – The Soundtrack 21
  • US: 2× Platinum

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suge Knight</span> American music executive (born 1965)

Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. is an American music executive and convicted felon who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in the 1990s. This feat is attributed to the record label's first two album releases: Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993. Knight is serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afeni Shakur</span> American political activist (1947–2016)

Afeni Shakur Davis was an American political activist and member of the Black Panther Party. Shakur was the mother of rapper Tupac Shakur and the executor of his estate. She founded the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation and also served as the CEO of Amaru Entertainment, Inc., a record and film production company she founded.

<i>Predator 2</i> 1990 film by Stephen Hopkins

Predator 2 is a 1990 American science fiction action film written by brothers Jim and John Thomas, directed by Stephen Hopkins, and starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Ruben Blades, María Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Peter Hall. It is the second installment of the Predator franchise, and sequel to 1987's Predator, with Kevin Peter Hall reprising the title role of the Predator. Set ten years after the events of the first film, in Los Angeles, the film focuses on a disgruntled police officer and his allies battling a malevolent and technologically advanced extraterrestrial Predator.

<i>Menace II Society</i> 1993 film by the Hughes Brothers

Menace II Society is a 1993 American teen drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers in their directorial debut. The film is set in Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, and follows the life of Caine Lawson and his close friends. It gained notoriety for its scenes of violence, profanity, and drug-related content, and also received critical acclaim for the performances of Turner, Jada Pinkett, and Larenz Tate, the direction, and its realistic portrayal of urban violence and powerful underlying messages.

<i>Stakeout</i> (1987 film) 1987 buddy cop action comedy film written by Jim Kouf and directed by John Badham

Stakeout is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by John Badham and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Madeleine Stowe and Aidan Quinn. The screenplay was written by Jim Kouf, who won a 1988 Edgar Award for his work. Although the story is set in Seattle, the film was shot in Vancouver. A sequel, Another Stakeout, followed in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando Anderson</span> Prime suspect in the murder of Tupac Shakur (1974–1998)

Orlando Tive "Baby Lane" Anderson was an American gang member suspected in the murder of Tupac Shakur. Anderson belonged to the California-based gang known as the South Side Compton Crips. Detective Tim Brennan of the Compton Police Department filed an affidavit naming Anderson as a suspect; he denied involvement and was never charged. Anderson's uncle, Duane Keith Davis, was charged with Shakur's murder on September 29, 2023.

<i>Biggie & Tupac</i> 2002 film

Biggie & Tupac is a 2002 feature-length documentary film about the murdered American rappers Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace and Tupac Shakur by Nick Broomfield.

<i>The Big Easy</i> (film) 1987 film by Jim McBride

The Big Easy is a 1986 American neo-noir romantic thriller film directed by Jim McBride and written by Daniel Petrie Jr. The film stars Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, and Ned Beatty. The film was both set and shot on location in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Russell Wayne Poole was a Los Angeles Police Department detective who investigated the murder of the Notorious B.I.G., a rapper also known as Biggie Smalls. Poole also investigated the killing of LAPD Officer Kevin Gaines by LAPD Officer Frank Lyga on March 18, 1997. After retiring in 1999, he formed a private detective agency.

<i>Gang Related – The Soundtrack</i> 1997 soundtrack album by Death Row Records

Gang Related – The Soundtrack is a soundtrack for the Jim Kouf's 1997 crime film Gang Related. It was released on October 7, 1997, through Death Row Records, making it their first album to be distributed by Priority Records after Interscope Records dropped Death Row from their label. Production was handled by several record producers, including Daz Dillinger, Quincy Jones III, Binky Mack and Bud'da among others. The album features contributions by the likes of CJ Mac, J-Flexx, Tha Realest, members of Dogg Pound, Outlawz, Westside Connection, four songs by the supporting actor Tupac Shakur, and also marked the first national rap debut of Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne. The soundtrack peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the US behind The Velvet Rope by Janet Jackson, and was eventually certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Tupac Assassination: Conspiracy or Revenge is a documentary film about the unsolved murder of rapper Tupac Shakur produced by Frank Alexander, a Shakur bodyguard who was with the rapper at the time of the shooting, produced and directed by Richard Bond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Philips</span> American writer and investigative journalist

Charles Alan Philips is an American writer and journalist. He is best known for his investigative reporting in the Los Angeles Times on the culture, corruption, and crime in the music industry during the 1990s and 2000s, which garnered both awards and controversy. In 1999, Philips won a Pulitzer Prize, with Michael A. Hiltzik, for their co-authored series exposing corruption in the entertainment industry.

<i>Sabotage</i> (2014 film) 2014 film by David Ayer

Sabotage is a 2014 American action thriller film directed by David Ayer and written by Ayer and Skip Woods. A loose adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None, it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Worthington, Olivia Williams, Terrence Howard, Joe Manganiello, Josh Holloway, and Mireille Enos. Schwarzenegger portrays the leader of a DEA team whose members find themselves being hunted down after they steal money seized during a cartel raid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Tupac Shakur</span> Murder of an American rapper in 1996

On September 7, 1996, at 11:15 p.m. (PDT), Tupac Shakur, a 25-year old American rapper, was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The shooting occurred when the car carrying Shakur was stopped at a red light at East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.</span> 1997 unsolved murder of American rapper

Christopher Wallace, an American rapper known professionally as the Notorious B.I.G., was murdered in a drive-by shooting in the early hours of March 9, 1997 in Los Angeles, California. He was 24 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy M. Brennan and Robert Ladd</span> American gang unit duo

Timothy M. Brennan and Robert Ladd joined the Compton Police Department as officers in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In 1988, they were promoted to become Compton's two-man gang unit. The police department could only afford to have two people at the time, even though many smaller cities typically had up to four times as many. As the gang unit, Brennan and Ladd were responsible for dealing with and investigating over fifty-five gangs in the 10.1 square mile area that make up the City of Compton. They have served as the primary or assisting investigating officers on hundreds of gang-related murders and thousands of gang-related shootings, and witnessed instances of gang-related rapes, robberies, drive-by shootings, and shootings at police officers.

<i>All Eyez on Me</i> (film) 2017 film by Benny Boom

All Eyez on Me is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Benny Boom and written by Jeremy Haft, Eddie Gonzalez, and Steven Bagatourian. Titled after the 1996 studio album, as well as the song of the same name, it is based on the life and death of the titular American rapper Tupac Shakur. The film stars Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Shakur, with Kat Graham, Lauren Cohan, Hill Harper, and Danai Gurira. Jamal Woolard reprises his role as Christopher "Biggie Smalls" Wallace / The Notorious B.I.G. from Notorious (2009).

<i>City of Lies</i> 2018 crime film directed by Brad Furman

City of Lies is a 2018 crime thriller film about the investigations by the Los Angeles Police Department of the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. It is directed by Brad Furman, with a screenplay by Christian Contreras based on the non-fiction book LAbyrinth by Randall Sullivan. The film stars Johnny Depp as retired LAPD detective Russell Poole and Forest Whitaker as journalist Jack Jackson, with Rockmond Dunbar and Neil Brown Jr. also starring.

Unsolved is an American true crime drama anthology television miniseries. The miniseries is based on the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur and the 1997 murder of The Notorious B.I.G.. It premiered February 27, 2018 on USA Network. The 10-episode miniseries chronicles the dual police investigations of Detective Greg Kading and Detective Russell Poole into the controversial murders of two of the rap industry's most legendary players, Tupac and Biggie.

Duane Keith "Keefe D" Davis is an American gang member who was recently charged with his involvement the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur.

References

  1. 1 2 "Gang Related (1997) - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "Gang Related (1997)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "Jim Kouf [Interview]". trainwreckdsociety.com. 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  4. ↑ "Jim Kouf [Interview]". www.lukeford.net. 2001-11-02. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  5. ↑ "'Gang Related' Co-Stars Remember Tupac Shakur | the Seattle Times".
  6. ↑ Gang Related (1997) , retrieved 2023-01-10
  7. ↑ "Gang Related Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  9. ↑ "Historical U.K. Weekend Box Office 14th August 1998 - 16th August 1998". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Seven Years in Tibet, RocketMan, Boogie Nights, Gang Related, Washington Square, 1997". siskelebert.org. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Jim Belushi Talks Tupac, Cannabis, and Sports Medicine". 28 October 2019.
  12. ↑ https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2018/06/18/jim-kouf-interview/
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.