All Movie Guide

Loosely based on the life and times of several R&B artists (The Dells, The Temptations, Frankie Lymon, Sam Cooke and others) The Five Heartbeats traces the rise and fall of a popular African-American 1950s singing aggregation. The story is told from the point of view of one of the "Heartbeats," played by Robert Townsend (who also co-produced, directed and co-wrote the script with Keenan Ivory Waynans). The film is an amalgam of anecdotes drawn from real-life experiences: the long struggle upward, the first rush of success, the dishonest record-company executives, the hard-nosed but nurturing managers, the sex, the drugs, the isolation and the precipitous downward slide. The film begins and ends in the 1990s, as the middle-aged "Duck" (Townsend) ruminates on the past and makes the best of the present. Hal Erickson

Chicago Sun-Times

Townsend shows a real talent, and, not surprisingly, an ability to avoid most cliches, to go for the human truth in his characters. Roger Ebert

Product Details

• UPC: 024543219118
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Presentation: Pan & Scan
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Language: English, Français, Español
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 2:01:00
• Sales Rank: 26,912

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