Opening day premiere of 1991 "New Jack City"...
Item # 726974
March 08, 1991
LOS ANGELES TIMES, March 8, 1991
* Best "New Jack City" advertisement
* Grand Opening Day movie premiere
* American crime action film - Wesley Snipes
A terrific issue on the premiere of the motion picture hit "New Jack City" and perhaps no better issue could be found than this, the leading newspaper from the home of the entertainment industry - the Hollywood area's prime publication (Calendar section only).
Note: Where else might one find authentic ads for Opening Day showings, in the most desirable Hollywood-area newspaper - as we were lucky enough to obtain this (and others) indirectly from the Los Angeles Times' own collection? It simply doesn't get any better! In over 40 years of collecting, we have yet to see such unique & dramatic coverage with truly top-shelf, eye-catching displayability (see images).
Page 14 of the 'Calendar section' has a review for the film with heading: "'Plot Twists Litter Harlem Thriller 'New Jack City'" with related photo.
And page 7 of the same section has a nice advertisement for the film on it's opening day.
A quite rare issue as it would not have been saved since it contains no historically significant content. Present is the 1st and Calendar sections only with a total of 64 pages, nice condition.
Background: Though packaged as a slick Hollywood crime thriller, New Jack City holds profound historical significance as a cultural mirror and political critique of the devastating crack cocaine epidemic that ravaged American inner cities during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Released in March 1991, the film boldly dismantled the cinematic trope of the traditional, Italian-American mafia by showcasing the rise of the Cash Money Brothers (CMB), a ruthlessly corporate, heavily armed African American syndicate that mirrored real-life street organizations like Detroit’s Young Boys Inc. By transforming a Harlem apartment building into "The Carter"—a fortified, assembly-line drug fortress—director Mario Van Peebles explicitly illustrated how structural poverty, institutional neglect, and the cheap proliferation of crack decimated urban communities, a reality further grounded by Chris Rock’s heartbreaking, raw portrayal of the addicted informant, Pookie. Beyond its sociological commentary, the film marked a watershed moment for the "New Black Cinema" wave of the early 90s, proving that urban stories helmed by Black creators could achieve massive box-office success. It simultaneously revolutionized the cross-pollination of Hollywood and hip-hop, launching the acting careers of icons like Ice-T and Wesley Snipes, pioneering the multi-platinum "New Jack Swing" soundtrack format, and permanently embedding its imagery, style, and terminology into the global lexicon of hip-hop culture.
* Best "New Jack City" advertisement
* Grand Opening Day movie premiere
* American crime action film - Wesley Snipes
A terrific issue on the premiere of the motion picture hit "New Jack City" and perhaps no better issue could be found than this, the leading newspaper from the home of the entertainment industry - the Hollywood area's prime publication (Calendar section only).
Note: Where else might one find authentic ads for Opening Day showings, in the most desirable Hollywood-area newspaper - as we were lucky enough to obtain this (and others) indirectly from the Los Angeles Times' own collection? It simply doesn't get any better! In over 40 years of collecting, we have yet to see such unique & dramatic coverage with truly top-shelf, eye-catching displayability (see images).
Page 14 of the 'Calendar section' has a review for the film with heading: "'Plot Twists Litter Harlem Thriller 'New Jack City'" with related photo.
And page 7 of the same section has a nice advertisement for the film on it's opening day.
A quite rare issue as it would not have been saved since it contains no historically significant content. Present is the 1st and Calendar sections only with a total of 64 pages, nice condition.
Background: Though packaged as a slick Hollywood crime thriller, New Jack City holds profound historical significance as a cultural mirror and political critique of the devastating crack cocaine epidemic that ravaged American inner cities during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Released in March 1991, the film boldly dismantled the cinematic trope of the traditional, Italian-American mafia by showcasing the rise of the Cash Money Brothers (CMB), a ruthlessly corporate, heavily armed African American syndicate that mirrored real-life street organizations like Detroit’s Young Boys Inc. By transforming a Harlem apartment building into "The Carter"—a fortified, assembly-line drug fortress—director Mario Van Peebles explicitly illustrated how structural poverty, institutional neglect, and the cheap proliferation of crack decimated urban communities, a reality further grounded by Chris Rock’s heartbreaking, raw portrayal of the addicted informant, Pookie. Beyond its sociological commentary, the film marked a watershed moment for the "New Black Cinema" wave of the early 90s, proving that urban stories helmed by Black creators could achieve massive box-office success. It simultaneously revolutionized the cross-pollination of Hollywood and hip-hop, launching the acting careers of icons like Ice-T and Wesley Snipes, pioneering the multi-platinum "New Jack Swing" soundtrack format, and permanently embedding its imagery, style, and terminology into the global lexicon of hip-hop culture.
Category: The 20th Century
