Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin' with the Godmother (DVD)
APPROX. 100 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 2008 - MPA RATING: NR
" ...comes out of the gate firing on all cylinders and keeps at it until the very end.
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Charles Cosby is likable, laid-back, and lucky-- the three characteristics that contributed to his survival in a deadly game with Blanco. Just to give you an idea of the fine line he was walking, "The Godmother" is connected to over two hundred murders including the deaths of her three husbands, which gave her yet another nickname: "The Black Widow." Even when she was facing the death penalty for her involvement with three more murders in 1996, she hatched a scheme to kidnap John F. Kennedy Jr. as a bargaining chip in exchange for her freedom. Seeing how close she came to successfully pulling off this unbelievable crime is mind-boggling, and shows just what kind of lengths she'd go through to get what she wants. There's no doubt in my mind that if she hadn't lucked out with a botched prosecution, she would have succeeded in carrying out her masterful plan. This all proves Blanco wouldn't hesitate to harm or even kill Cosby if she ever saw fit. And that's a scary thing.
Video:
"Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin' with the Godmother" is presented in widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The production includes a fair amount of older clips featuring news footage and Cosby's personal home video diaries dating back to the 1980s where the quality is poor, but it still doesn't detract anything away from the film overall. In a way, I'd say that it actually adds character to this type of documentary.
Audio:
This release offers two audio options: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. The dialogue is crisp and adjusted to appropriate volume levels, and the powerful hip-hop soundtrack digs its heels deep into the bass. Also available are optional Spanish subtitles.
Extras:
The disc contains a fair amount of extras. First we have The Making of Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin' with Charles Cosby (15:18) which is a fantastic behind-the-scenes look at the production. It touches on how the catchy hip-hop theme song was virtually created in a matter of hours by one of Cosby's friends--NCredable, how the guns shown in the documentary were the real deal, and many other interesting facts about the film.
Next, we have a Filmmaker's Commentary with Director Billy Corben and Co-Producer David Cypkin crammed with just as much information as the film itself. It's definitely worthy of checking out.
Also included are three galleries: Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (2:07), Archival Photo Gallery: Charles Cosby and Griselda Blanco (3:04) Art Gallery: Animation Sketches (1:41), plus a clip containing Deleted Scenes (9:10).
Finishing up is a "Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin' with the Godmother" trailer, plus a few more on startup for: "Bigger, Stronger, Faster," "I Want Candy," "Finding Amanda," "Quid Pro Quo," and "HDNet."
The Final Cut:
"Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin' with the Godmother" comes out of the gate firing on all cylinders and keeps at it until the very end. While I wouldn't condone the sale or use of illegal narcotics, one can't help but admire a man like Charles Cosby who started out peddling crack on street corners and moved on to become the kingpin of Griselda "The Godmother" Blanco's cocaine dynasty.
Read My Interview with Charles Cosby
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