Juice

Summary

“If I go down, you go down.”

I think it is safe to say that as film collectors we are living in one of the greatest times to be alive. When Netflix and other companies made many of the major studios seemingly more interested in digital releases of films over physical releases, it was worrisome. Even more worrisome was whether or not many releases would see the light of day on UHD, or if that format would be abandoned completely like a modern day Betamax. Luckily, the majors – inspired by the success of smaller upstart distributors – have all begun putting more weight behind releasing films from their catalogs on the UHD format. The key to success in that arena was releasing films that fit into certain niches that would appeal to collectors. The last couple years have been particularly incredible for film lovers that enjoy the urban cinema explosion of the late Eighties and the early Nineties. Criterion has recently released Menace 2 Society and Deep Cover. Sony has provided a UHD release of Boyz ‘N The Hood and now Paramount has given Juice a 4K UHD upgrade.

Juice was written and directed by Ernest R. Dickerson, the acclaimed cinematographer on Spike Lee’s films Do The Right Thing, Jungle Fever, and Malcolm X. Juice is the only film that Dickerson directed from his own screenplay (co-written with Gerard Brown,) and it was his debut directorial effort. He had a solid run of films in the Nineties (including the cult classic Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight) before moving into television show direction (in which he has been extremely successful.) The film starred a great cast of up-and-coming actors that included Omar Epps and a charismatic rapper and former Digital Underground backup dancer named Tupac Shakur. The film was a low-key critical and commercial success with many reviewers noting its clever plot and enjoyable performances. 

The film’s plot revolves around four inner-city high schoolers that are best friends who have grown up together. Q (Omar Epps) dreams of making it as a DJ. He makes hip hop mixtapes that he sells to other kids in his neighborhood. Raheem (Khalil Kain) has an infant child with a girl who wants nothing to do with him, and she puts it in his face whenever possible. Bishop (Tupac Shakur) has a broken home life. His dad has had numerous mental issues since he was released from prison. Bishop sees the violence around him and wants to be harder than any of the people around him in the neighborhood. Steel (Jermaine Hopkins) is a sweet natured kid that is a little heavier than his friends. They all hang out together and try to navigate the numerous pressures that they face in their neighborhood. When not with his friends, Q has a relationship older girlfriend that has recently been divorced. Q is the most mature member of the group. Bishop seems to attract trouble wherever the friends go together. Bishop barely avoids a violent conflict with a Puerto Rican named Radames (Vincent Laresca) when his friends pull him away from him. When Q stumbles upon an armed robbery while buying cigarettes, Bishop tries to get his friends involved. That would have been disastrous, as evidenced by the news they watch later that the armed robbery had led to the death of the perpetrator. One day, when Q gets back from a successful audition for a DJ battle that MTV is broadcasting, Raheem has just purchased a gun from a local guy named Sweets. Bishop and Raheem are planning to rob a convenience store on Saturday night, and they plan for all four friends to be involved. The four friends decide that they will all four participate in the robbery together, despite Q’s apprehensions. Bishop suggests that they use the DJ competition as their alibi for the crime by being in the public eye in a prominent way. That Saturday night, Q does well in the first part of the DJ competition, and he moves on to the next round of the competition. The friends all sneak off to perform the robbery. They plan to return for the rest of the competition directly afterward. The robbery does not go as planned and soon the friends are placed in a situation where friendships are destroyed and there are very real life or death consequences for what they have done.

I really enjoyed Juice. The film captures the early Nineties hip-hop scene well, but the ideas that the film explores would fit right in with the crime films of the Forties. Dickerson is essentially updating the classic morality tale formula of the film noir genre for the hip hop generation. There are aspects of the film that interject parts of the reality that kids on the street may face (such as young pregnancy or gang violence,) but the film is not interested in being a realistic portrayal of the harsh realities of the streets like Boyz N’ The Hood. This film is purely built to entertain, not to preach at the audience. It succeeds in its goal. 

The film features a cast that obviously enjoyed working with one another. The special features on the disc showed the four young actors interacting with one another and they seemed to have had a great relationship with one another while working on the picture. The film does not need to spend a lot of time building up the relationships of the central cast as friends, because the actors all seem so comfortable together. Considering that most of the actors in the film were young and inexperienced, the performances can be a little bit rough around the edges at times. That said, the performers make up for any of those issues through charisma and charm. Tupac is a great example of this. He is extremely animated in the film and at times maybe he is not wholly convincing, but it is impossible to take your eyes off his performance in the film. His screen presence is absolutely there. I really liked his final film performance in the movie Gridlock’d, and he had developed a lot as an actor in the years since Juice. It would have been interesting to see what types of roles he would have pursued if he had not been gunned down. Omar Epps is great in the movie as Q. This was a great launching pad for the actor. He has stayed consistently busy for the last three decades since the film was released. Jermaine Hopkins and Khalil Kain are well cast in their roles, and I enjoyed seeing Samuel L. Jackson in a small role. Queen Latifah also appears in the film in one of her earliest roles.

As you would expect given his background, Ernest Dickerson had a good eye for where to place the camera. The film is well-shot and sufficiently gritty. The music in the film is great with songs by Eric B and Rakim, Cypress Hill, Naughty by Nature, Big Daddy Kane, and many more. I really enjoyed the soundtrack. It absolutely captures that time. As Dickerson mentions in the special features, there are some small compromises made on the film (including a line delivery by Bishop that may stick out to viewers,) but for the most part the film is successful. I enjoyed watching the film and would recommend checking it out.

Video

Presented in Native 4K in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, Juice looks pretty good in its UHD presentation. There are parts of the film where grain seems a little bit unresolved or the picture just does not quite pop the way that one might hope on the UHD format, but this is an improvement over prior releases of the film. The HDR comes through in some of the more vibrant colors that are shown in the film. Overall, fans will be pleased with how the film looks.

Audio

Paramount has presented the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that was featured on the prior 25th Anniversary Blu-ray. While dialogue comes across clearly, this track sadly fails to take advantage of the surrounds to maximize the effect of the amazing hip hop soundtrack at its disposal. This track should have much more oomph than it carries. While by no means a terrible track, I really wish this had been updated for this UHD release. 

Supplements: These supplements are carried over from the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray.

• Audio Commentary with director Ernest R. Dickerson.
• You’ve Got the Juice Now
• The Wrecking Crew
• Sip the Juice: The Music
• Stay in the Scene: The Interview

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5 

Audio – 3.5/5

Supplements – 3.5/5

Overall – 4/5

Juice is an enjoyable crime film from the urban cinema boom of the Early Nineties. Director and cowriter Ernest R. Dickerson directs the film with a good grasp of how to tell the story both visually and musically through the film’s excellent hip hop soundtrack. The film features some good (if somewhat rough around the edges at times) performances by a cast of young actors that included both Omar Epps and the charismatic Tupac Shakur. Paramount’s UHD release has pretty good video, but the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is sadly underwhelming. The audio is certainly a missed opportunity because I believe that this film would absolutely benefit from a reworked mix to highlight the great songs in the film. I enjoyed the film and I am happy to see that the major studios are continuing to dive into niche genres for releases in the UHD format. If you already own the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray, this might not be a huge leap forward, but for those considering a purchase this is the best version of the film out there.