Ambushed (1998 film)

Ambushed is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Ernest Dickerson and starring Courtney B. Vance.[1] The film has also been classified as African American noir.[2]

Ambushed
Written byAndrew Miles
Directed byErnest Dickerson
StarringCourtney B. Vance
ComposerTerry Plumeri
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerBill Bromiley
ProducersRic Rondell, Dave Thomas, Jonathan Josell
CinematographyPhil Oetiker
Running time109 minutes
Release
Original networkHBO
Original releaseJune 26, 1998 (1998-06-26)

Premise

The leader of a Ku Klux Klan lodge is shot dead and his son is taken into police custody for protection. The police car taking him to a safe house is ambushed and three police officers are shot dead. Officer Jerry Robinson is accused of the murders.[3]

Cast
  • Courtney B. Vance as Jerry Robinson
  • Jeremy Lelliott as Eric Natter
  • Virginia Madsen as Lucy Monroe
  • William Forsythe as Mike Organski
  • David Keith as Deputy Lawrence
  • Bill Nunn as Watts Fatboy
  • Charles Hallahan as Sheriff Carter
  • Robert Patrick as Shannon Herrold
  • William Sadler as Jim Natter
  • Carl Espy as Deputy Bean
  • Scott Hinson as Deputy Dunbar
  • William Flaman as Tom
  • J. Michael Hunter as Mintz
  • Scott Simpson as Richter
  • Don Hall as Billy Dean
  • Travis Stanberry as Danny
  • Jim Grimshaw as Officer Newfield
  • Ernest Dickerson Jr. as J.J. Robinson
  • Kenya Bennett as Diner Waitress
  • April Turner as Connie Jackson
  • Richard K. Olsen as Motel Manager
  • Lou Criscuolo as Man in Bathrobe
  • Nora Cook as Nancy Richter
  • Nina Repeta as Mary Natter
  • Samantha Agnoff as Karen Natter
  • Dale Frye as Aryan #1
  • Lex Geddings as Aryan #2
  • Jackie Dickerson as Store Clerk

Production

Filming for Ambushed took place in North Carolina, with some filming occurring at the Orton Plantation.[4]

Release

Ambushed premiered on HBO on June 26, 1998.[5]

Themes

William Covey has classified this film, along with Across 110th Street, Deep Cover, Detroit 9000, The Glass Shield, and Devil in a Blue Dress as examples of films that "locate crime and criminality within white culture, while the moral center of each film is marked by black male heroism."[6]

Reception

Ambushed received reviews from The Chucks Connection and TV Guide, the latter of which called it " boisterous but none too convincing. ... Short on logic and long on polemics, this pumped-up action pic dashes to a predictable, preordained conclusion."[7][8] The Guardian was more favorable, noting that "his unfussy, effective approach augurs well for his directorial career".[9]

References
  1. "Ambushed (1998) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  2. Historical Dictionary of Film Noir. Scarecrow Press. 19 March 2010. ISBN 9780810873780.
  3. Ambushed (1998), retrieved 2016-12-28
  4. Henderson, Jenny (2017-07-21). The North Carolina Filmography: Over 2000 Film and Television Works Made in the State, 1905 through 2000. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5545-4.
  5. "TV Listings". The Journal News (Newspapers.com). June 20, 1998.
  6. COVEY, WILLIAM (2003). "The Genre Don't Know Where It Came From: African American Neo-Noir Since the 1960s". Journal of Film and Video. 55 (2/3): 59–72. JSTOR 20688414 – via JSTOR.
  7. "Ambushed". TVGuide.com.
  8. "Ambushed (review)". The Chucks Connection.
  9. "Ambushed (review)". The Guardian (Newspapers.com). November 13, 1998.
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