There are twoimages and sequences that made “Dead Presidents” memorable. I will probably remember those even, when/if I forget the rest of it. How the picture of a teenager who is running around and jumping fences in the backyards of a neighborhood dissolves into him running in full army gear in Vietnam’s jungle. Even the background noises are similar, suggesting that war is war no matter where you are.
This scene closed the first half an hour, while the Vietnam era took 20 minutes. The next of hour we were treated to the decline of almost all characters, which lead to the last half hour covering the planning and execution of the great robbery. These four (pre-war, war, post-war, crime) segments are clearly separated and linked. It is a history lesson about the process and causes of desperation, which is both personal and high level at the same time.
The other indestructible image is the whitefacing of the black actors. We know about the social analysis of blackfacing, that is the using white actors to portray black people, usually in a negative way reinforcing prejudice and stereotype. Does whitefacing, covering black faces with white paint, mean that they show the acts of white people, do only they rob banks? Is this the “white man’s war” as opposed to the Vietnam war? Or is it just a disguise to do the job without chance of recognition?
This is a drama that has enough drama, layers and stories in it for 3-5 movies. It covers a decade, where people not just come of age but go through life changing experiences. It has much to think about it.
IMDB’s summary: This action film, directed by the Hughes brothers, depicts a heist of old bills, retired from circulation and destined by the government to be “money to burn.” However, more broadly, it addresses the issues of Black Americans’ involvement in the Vietnam War and their subsequent disillusionment with progress in social issues and civil rights back home in the United States, during the 1960′s.
Dead Presidents Movie Part 1