Boyz n the Hood Poster

Boyz n the Hood (1991)

Crime  
Rayting:   7.8/10 127.2K votes
Country: USA
Language: English
Release date: 20 September 1991

Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence and future prospects.

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User Reviews

johnnyboyz 12 June 2007

Boyz 'N the hood is a thoroughly fascinating and deeper than you think look at life in Los Angeles around the early 1980s to early 1990s; what the film actually does is look at a life in one of these Los Angeles 'ghettos' and uses it as the backdrop for a wonderful series of filmic events revolving around growing up, relations with family and friends, racism and the constant threat of violence.

The film has a certain aged charm about it; and with actors you'd easily recognise today looking very different in 1991, this adds to the feeling. These actors/celebrities are: Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr, and Ice Cube. I was surprised at how everything in this film just managed to pool together and just work. The film doesn't really adopt a neo-realistic approach but what it does do is tie together an unpredictable and often heart-warming script, great character development and some genuinely entertaining situations that don't let your eyes off the screen.

Some examples of this can be when the main group of characters are out for revenge and stalk a rival group whilst they innocently have their meals on the pavement or when the father of then ten year old Tré (Gooding Jr.) is desperately trying to bring his child up well and teach him the right things he needs to learn whilst we are desperately longing him to listen. The way in which the four main characters in the group also progress; bouncing off one another in life and scraps as they try to find their way is not only compelling viewing but the attention to detail by including unnecessary dialogue and real life conversations in real life situations is remarkable. The life in which these people lead is also put across in a very disturbing and realistic way that makes you glad you're not part of what is going on. This is done thanks to visuals and background noise and sound effects. Often a police car siren will begin to wail; signalling there's probably been another shooting or crime that has happened; there will also be, what I presume, a police helicopter fly overhead every once in a while – forced into keeping an eye on things and events even though everything's probably fine. This feeling of being trapped and constantly in danger whilst being watched most of the time plays on the character's minds and is relayed onto us in an often effective manner.

In terms of visuals, there are constant threats and reminders that danger, literally, lurks around every corner. Tré attempts to take some food from one house and walk it about a hundred yards back to his own for his father but along the way is greeted by a car containing a few 'gang bangers' possessing a sawn off shotgun that is consequently aimed at him. He also manages to save a child that had escaped from its mother from getting run down in the road – it turns out the mother has just too many to deal with and very solemnly shuts the door on Tré without much of a 'thank you'. Not only this but the approaching sound of rap and R&B music as cars get closer when there are multiple unknown characters in a scene is heard; it can feel very threatening – especially if our heroes are out on foot and you do feel like they are in danger.

Boyz 'N the Hood is a fantastic debut film for John Singleton as many have already said. It combines multiple conventions and mixes them in well with one another as we see the lives progress of these four people we would never normally give five seconds of our time to.

ComedyFan2010 27 April 2018

Fmovies: The first movie by John Singleton it is also the first movie that clearly portrays the life in a poor black neighborhood. If it seems to you now like it includes some formula like parts, remember that this is the movie that created this "formula" by which many other hood movies got filmed.

It is done in a wonderful way. While some elements of this life are already very well known to the point that they may become a cliche in a movie, in this case the director manages to portray it all very realistic and easy to connect to the people in the movie. There is great acting and a special mention should be of Ice Cube for whom this was his acting debut. He portrays Dough in a brilliant way. He may be the guy who went the wrong road but we can see him being a good person and not having made these choices just on his own but being part of the system that pushed him into it. No wonder Ice Cube continued his acting career and is pretty successful.

Definitely a nice classic from the 90's that I recommend to people who want to watch a realistic and dramatic movie that makes one both think and feel

generationofswine 21 September 2018

John Singleton really isn't my thing. I mean, the movie came out in '91 but didn't get much exposure out in the country where I grew up until it was on HBO. However "Poetic Justice" DID and when I finally came around to watching "Boyz n the Hood" I had extremely low expectations.

I honestly thought it was going to be as absolutely pointless as "Poetic Justice" was.

And, yeah, I did kind of like "Higher Learning," which I also saw before this, but I still kind of feel that he was pointing the finger at white people and telling the viewers that we are all evil and the cause of all the problems in the world.

So I went in here thinking it was going to be a talented racist mess.

However, it wasn't. The fact is the film was absolutely amazing. And, honestly, it was the first film I saw about gangs, from a non-police POV, that didn't glorify them. And it remains one of the few gangland movies I've seen that doesn't glorify the lifestyle.

And I understand that they are two completely different beasts, but the film felt like it was taking the issue of gangs and giving it a "The Godfather" treatment...and it worked.

It worked brilliantly. You can both relate to the characters--although I'm probably not supposed to say that--and see that the gang culture is a horrible thing.

Unlike "Poetic Justice" it has a point. And unlike "Higher Learning," it doesn't cast as racist of a finger.

It actually deals with issues and tells a story and, honestly, to watch it is to love it.

preppy-3 29 January 2007

Boyz n the Hood fmovies. A movie that takes place in South Central Los Angeles in 1991. I don't know about now but, at that time, that area was crime ridden with drug deals and murders happening almost daily. Father Jason Styles (Larry Fishburne) tries to bring up his son Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) correctly despite all the violence around them. It also deals with two friends of Tre--Darin (Ice Cube) an angry young black man and his brother Ricky (Morris Chestnut) who wants to go to college. It all leads up to a truly harrowing ending.

Director John Singleton's first movie is incredibly powerful and still his best movie (so far). From what I've heard he captured exactly what it was like to grow up in that area. It's a little dated though--the guy sucking on the pacifier confuses some people but that was a big fad back in 1991. It's just unbelievable that kids grew up in an area like that and survived. The story itself is a little too simplistic (the good and bad brothers) and it's basically just the story of a teenager coming of age--but it still works. Singleton wisely doesn't accuse anyone of how the situation is and offers no solutions. He just presents it in a matter of fact way which makes this all the more powerful.

The acting is just great. Fishburne and Gooding play a father and son perfectly. Fishburne is just incredible--Gooding falters a few times (and it's obvious that he's no teenager) but he's still very good. Ice Cube is a little one note in his character (always angry and sullen) but it fits. Chestnut is just great.

People should be warned--there's tons of profanity (but that is how kids talk) and the ending gets very bloody and disturbing. I still remember people crying out loud in the audience back in 1991. A powerful film and well worth seeing.

lee_eisenberg 3 August 2006

It's hard to believe that John Singleton's work degenerated so in later years, because his debut was a masterpiece. We probably all have to agree that "Boyz n the Hood" was basically the first "growing up in the ghetto" movie, showing how these African-American youths are surrounded by violence during their childhoods - some perpetrated by the cops, some is their own doing - but they all have to find a way to keep going. If the movie has any problem, it's that it opened the flood gates to a series of similar inferior movies (but also the hilarious satire "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood").

Anyway, this is the one that I recommend. Cuba Gooding Jr. made a very good debut. Also starring Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long and Angela Bassett.

Angeneer 31 May 2001

John Singleton with his debut film cleared easily any opposition in the ghetto life genre. These are real characters facing real problems. Singleton goes one step beyond Spike Lee, analyzing and not only describing, proposing and not only denouncing. The film gets even more absorbing by the terrific camera work and the top notch acting.

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