Cocaine Cowboys

[cStyle]

More of a real-life exploitation film than a bonafide documentary, Cocaine Cowboys is tailor-made for anyone who worships Brian De Palma's Scarface. It's no surprise that this slick, energetic film found a niche audience among crime-obsessed hip-hoppers; from a journalistic perspective it's an irresponsible mess, but director Billy Corben is obviously more interested in capturing the thrills and danger of the drug trade that transformed Miami, Florida during the Miami Vice era of the late 1970s and '80s. Corben has no particular interest in seriously examining the sociopolitical implications of Miami's drug-fueled rise and fall, so Cocaine Cowboys lives up to its title by focusing on some of the most colorful, daring, and outrageously successful survivors of that era, when tons of cocaine were distributed through Miami by the kingpins of Colombia's notorious Medellin cartel. Chief among the many interviewees are Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday (who personally transported over $2 billion worth of cocaine into Miami) and Jorge "Rivi" Ayala, a convicted drug-trade assassin now serving consecutive life terms in prison. They're lively storytellers who are egotistically eager to share their coke-tales, and Corben's only too happy to capture their exploits on film, up to and including the dubious use of violent reenactments that could easily serve as a recruitment film for Tony Montana wannabes.
It's simultaneously disgusting and compelling, especially since Corben has a knack for matching swift editing to the pulsing score by TV's original Miami Vice composer Jan Hammer. In the final analysis, it must be said that Cocaine Cowboys succeeds as a brash and breathtaking record of a bygone era, when murder rates were at an all-time high, coke was everywhere, and Miami was financially transformed into a nightlife mecca where criminals were kings. Or queens, as in the case of Griselda Blanco, the ruthless and self-appointed "Godmother" of the cocaine trade, who was responsible for countless murders and as of 2007 remained at large, her whereabouts unknown. All of this deadly life in the fast lane makes for a fascinating movie, but Corben and coproducer David Cypkin's breathless commentary makes it clear that they're young, immature thrill-seekers, and their film makes no apologies for glorifying the drug trade while exploring its bloody and frequently fatal consequences. Their commentary also accompanies an abundance of deleted scenes, and there's also a bonus featurette, "Hustlin' with the Godmother," in which Griselda Blanco's former lover and big-time coke dealer Charles Cosby tells his story, which clearly has all the makings of a Hollywood movie along the lines of Blow. You can bet that film will eventually be made, and don't be surprised if it's Corben who makes it.

this movie looks awesome ima get me that dvd asap 

[Bay Area Jat]

i bought this move last thursday. still haven't watched it yet looks fuckin dope though

[Primo]

thank god for the entertainment section of the board.

[Ryan4321]

best documentry ever..... if you havent seen this your trippin

[Joey Bananas]

fuck this has been so played out on hip hop message boards for the last year

[MontrealCity's Most]

^^^ yeah seriously. HIp hops fasination with SCarface and DRug movies in general is ridicuous i find. YOu ask a hip hop fan what there favorite movie is they say scarface even girls. IIt was a great movie dont get me wrng but still.

With that said


Cocaine cowboys is the shit lol

[Sofa_King_Awesome]

Scarface the movie was wack imo. It got bad reviews when it was released also.I'll go down as the first black hip hop dude to not like Scarface. Cocaine Cowboys is old news, but it was a dope documentary. < Pun intended!

[Nat Turner-reincarnated]

scarface was soo overrated to me......niggas swore they were on some scarface shit........... good action that about it