Dazzling musical numbers featured in new Coppola re-edit
The new Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack edition of “The Cotton Club  Encore,” directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is essentially a director’s cut, though it’s not advertised as one. The term “Encore” suggests a second look, and, according to the liner notes, “represents Coppola’s fully realized vision.” This version keeps the basic story lines but expands musical numbers to make this more a movie musical with a gangster/love story sub-plot than vice versa.<br /><br />Coppola uses Harlem’s Cotton Club in the 1920s to develop the relationships among some of its performers and the colorful gangsters who frequent the club. Cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere) saves the life of mobster Dutch Schultz (James Remar) during an attack at the club. In appreciation, he hires the young musician to escort his girlfriend, Vera (Diane Lane), particularly when his wife is present. Simultaneously, the club hires Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines) and his brother Clay (Maurice Hines) as a dance act, and Sandman meets attractive blues singer Lila Rose Oliver (Lonette McKee). Subplots include Dixie’s hotheaded brother Vincent (Nicolas Cage) kidnapping gangster Frenchy Demarge (Fred Gwynne), Dixie becoming an actor in movies, and underworld machinations involving Lucky Luciano (Joe Dallesandro).<br /><br />The strength of this new version, however, is the musical sequences, many now included in their entirety. These range from McKee’s solos (“Ill Wind,” “Stormy Weather”), terrific dance duets by the Hines brothers, chorus numbers, specialty acts, and blues belters. Beautifully staged by Coppola and choreographer Henry LeTang, they so dominate the restored version that what was the main story line (Dixie and Vera) now seems filler between the knockout musical numbers. Music is constant, either front and center or as background. Featured songs include “Creole Love Call,” “Copper Colored Gal,” ”Smoke Rings,” “Doin’ the New Lowdown,” and “Minnie the Moocher.”<br /><br />There are still problems with the film. In using the Cotton Club as a metaphor for prohibition-era New York, director Coppola and co-writer William Kennedy have created an intriguing group of characters but placed them in a convoluted series of situations. The energy is infectious, and it’s hard not to respond to the performances. Ms. McKee is a good actor but she really comes alive with a great song. Real-life personalities Duke Ellington (Zane Mark), Charlie Chaplin (Gregory Rozakis), Cab Calloway (an excellent Larry Marshall) and others mingle with fictional ones in this crazy-quilt portrait that both celebrates an era and illustrates its simmering tensions that often erupt into violence. Underlying it all is the overt racism of the era. White characters casually use insulting language toward black characters and the black doorman turns away any nonwhite clientele. All the staff and performers are black and must use a back entrance.<br /><br />Richard Sylbert’s production design effectively suggests the period, with Milena Canonero’s costumes reflecting the jazz era. Performers wear elegant costumes, with sequins, glitter and feathers adorning chorus girls. Vera’s elegant dresses reflect her taste for the finer things money can buy. Men wear tuxedos or suits. Dixie’s hair is slicked down in the style of the period. The Cotton Club interior is the primary location, with its stage and back rooms, meticulously set tables, the kitchen, stairways, and  basement. The main entrance with its distinctive awning is shown often, as characters enter or leave.<br /><br />Coppola gave in to distributors who wanted a shorter film than his two-hour-plus cut. The movie went way over budget and took five years to complete, but critical reaction was generally positive. Coppola subsequently spent $500,000 of his own money between 2015 and 2017 to restore the film to its original length of 139 minutes. It debuted at the Telluride Film Festival in September, 2017 — 33 years after the original — as “The Cotton Club Encore.”<br /><br />Special materials on the 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack include an introduction to “The Cotton Club Encore” by Francis Ford Coppola and a “Cotton Club Encore” Q & A.  A Digital copy on a paper insert is contained.
The movie title "Cotton Club Encore, The," available on Movies & TV, has received an average rating of 4.6 from 710 reviewers. 
It features elements such as [], and it is priced at $18.75.

This title falls under the categories of Movies & TV, Featured Categories, Blu-ray and Drama. 
The additional details include the following in key-value format :
 {"Genre": "Drama", "Format": "NTSC, Subtitled", "Contributor": "Tom Waits, Joe Dallesandro, Gregory Hines, Maurice Hines, Diane Lane, James Remar, Julian Beck, Jennifer Grey, Lonette McKee, Giancarlo Esposito, Richard Gere, Bob Hoskins, Robert Evans, Fred Gwynne, Diane Venora, Francis Coppola, Gwen Verdon, Larry Fishburne, Nicolas Cage, Charles \"Honi\" Coles, James Russo, Lisa Persky, Allen Garfield, Woody StrodeTom Waits, Joe Dallesandro, Gregory Hines, Maurice Hines, Diane Lane, James Remar, Julian Beck, Jennifer Grey, Lonette McKee, Giancarlo Esposito, Richard Gere, Bob Hoskins, Robert Evans, Fred Gwynne, Diane Venora, Francis Coppola, Gwen Verdon, Larry Fishburne, Nicolas\u2026   See more", "Language": "English", "Runtime": "2 hours and 19 minutes"}

Here is a brief synopsis of the title : .