A boy named George Jung grows up in a struggling family in the 1950's. His mother nags at her husband as he is trying to make a living for the family. It is finally revealed that George's father cannot make a living and the family goes bankrupt. George does not want the same thing to happen to him, and his friend Tuna, in the 1960's, suggests that he deal marijuana. He is a big hit in California in the 1960's, yet he goes to jail, where he finds out about the wonders of cocaine. As a result, when released, he gets rich by bringing cocaine to America. However, he soon pays the price.
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Reviews
I love this movie so much
Captivating movie !
A story that's too fascinating to pass by...
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
There is too much storytelling crammed into the running time that it skims over what would have been poignant moments in George Jung's life. A lot happens, but without much depth and insight, and to the point where the story feels disjointed in places. Delving deeper into some of the sub-stories with further character development could have lifted this film into something great. Instead, you are taken on a moderately entertaining ride but left without any real insight into who Jung was and with more interest in the sub-stories that this film only lightly touches upon. The direction and cinematography are not strong enough to hold up the film on entertainment value alone; it needed some soul.
This is an inspiring film that tells the story of an entrepreneur who started in the "illegal" profession at a young age, and because of that he just couldn't release it from his life.George Jung always knew how to connect the dots from A to B.There was a demand, and he knew how to supply; therefore he did it.This is one of those movies which teaches you that incarceration is absolutely brutal and inhuman... it not only abstains us from living our lives, but it sharpens our criminal skills too.The whole smuggling tutorial thing in the movie is one way to sharpen, but by meeting fellow criminals in the same building can gather oneself a great amount of connections for the next life to come upon release.The movie was lovely.. however the end where the father listens to the son's voice on recording, was very heart breaking and a crucial point in the movie where the viewer realizes this is the end of the road for Mr. Jung, and so it was.
George Jung grew up in a poor struggling family in Massachusetts. He vows to never live that way. As a young man, he and his friend Tuna (Ethan Suplee) want to sell marijuana. Stewardess Barbara (Franka Potente) introduces them to a real dealer Derek Foreal (Paul Reubens). They grow their business with Barbara transporting for them. They even go down to Mexico to buy from the source. He gets arrested and Barbara dies from cancer. The group scatters. While serving time in Danbury, his cellmate Diego Delgado (Jordi Molla) connects him to the Medellín cocaine cartel. He starts smuggling cocaine and reconnects with Derek. He becomes the middle man between Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis) and cocaine dealing of Derek. At Diego's wedding, he meets his future wife Mirtha (Penélope Cruz). Eventually Diego discovers Derek's identity and double-crosses George.The movie is covering a lot of a big life. At times, it feels like the movie only scratches the surface. It's a lot of highlights or lowlights of a person. It would probably be more effective to narrow the focus to start from meeting Diego. The movie needs a partner or a foil for Johnny Depp to play against. Diego seems to be the natural choice and needs to be in the movie from beginning to end. Johnny Depp gives a compelling performance. It would be great if another character would loom just as large.
Blow Review The Movie Blow (Ted Demme 2001), is a movie that follows the rise and also the fall of the primary U.S. distributor of 1970s cocaine, George Jung. Debuting on April 6, 2001 in theaters, it was sure to be a fan favorite, with aspiring dreams of reaching the heights of movies alike like the Godfather. With a star studded cast headlined by Johnny Deep (George Jung) and Penelope Cruz (Mirtha Jung) and backed by solid actors such as; Franka Potente, Jordi Molla and Cliff Curtis, anticipation was high for the release. Out of the $30 million starting budget, $12.5 million was made back just in opening weekend. Speaking to the strenghth of the movie as a whole, the film went on to gross $53 million as of July 2001. ("Blow") Surprisingly, to me at least, the movie did not go on to win any prestigious awards, which could be in part do to the smaller budget of the film. The director, Ted Demme did go on to get nominated for a Crystal Globe by the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, along with another personal nomination of Penelope Cruz for Breakthrough Female Performance by the MTV Movie Awards. The only win the movie was able to capture was a Prism award presented by the Prism Awards for Theatrical Feature Film. Graeme Revell was nominated for Best Original Score of the Year Not Released on an Album for his role in Blow. ("Blow") Just a little background on George Jung, he was born in 1942 in a small suburb outside Boston, Massachusetts. One he got to high school/college age, he began to experiment with marijuana, both smoking and selling also to make small profits. This is where the movie starts, George and his childhood friend Tuna decide to leave their small town in the East and see what California has to offer them. California has all they can ask for; drugs, women, beautiful beaches, and most importantly a market for them to sell their weed that they obtain from flamboyant hairdresser Derek, who they met through George's lady Barbara, who also is a stewardess. George naturally, always looking for something better soon realizes after a visit with a friend from back East that the market for weed back in his childhood state is exponentially higher than in California and with that could come exponential profits. Gears get moving and before you know it, Barbara's suitcases are packed tight with pounds upon pounds of marijuana headed back East almost daily. More, More, More is all that George hears in his mind and Derek is simply not able to deliver. George is no longer playing a game of small risk, small reward, he has elevated himself to a new level with new risks. 1972, games it is no longer, the police bust him with 620 pounds of marijuana crossing through Chicago. Followed by 2 years in prison, George Jung exclaims "I went in with a bachelor's of marijuana and came out with a doctorate in cocaine." (Roger, Ebert) Mid 1970s, can be looked at and world wide power Pablo Escobar can be seen. Who was this man? Pablo Escobar was one of the most powerful men of this decade because of a thin white powder called cocaine. Here, in Medellin, Colombia, George Jung is introduced to the Colombian cartel led by Pablo Escobar. A budding mutually profitable relationship forms between Escobar, who needs a runner and seller in America and Jung, who needs a source and a supply of this new drug running rampant through the country. Jung is now blinded by the light of success and power and money, with the cartel at his back he says that he now feels invincible. At this point in his life he meets beautiful but wild Mirtha (Penelope Cruz), who he soon marries. This part in the movie would be considered the climax, because from here on out it goes downhill, whether it is because he is not thinking as clearly or if it is simply just a matter of business. George tells his partner Diego who his middle man is that is helping him deliver and distribute the cocaine. With this newfound information, Diego goes right to Derek, the middle man, and undercuts George right out of the business that he started from the ground up. At this point, George leaves the cocaine business, but not without harsh consequences. In a spiraling turmoil he loses all his money, his freedom through one last DEA bust, and even his family whilst he is in jail, all in quick succession. Ending with a beaten and demoralized and completely broken picture of the real George Jung. This is a story of the damaging effects that such rapid success can have on a human being. George Jung started his life on top of the world but quickly fell to his knees losing everything he had by getting blinded by the light of success he was having.