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Deep Cover (1992, Bill Duke) with Michael B. Gillespie - Criterion Collection Spine #1086
Episode Description
"There was a great moment in the 90s with noir films, and I think Deep Cover should always be a part of that consideration."
In this episode of Why This Film?, I'm joined by film scholar Michael B. Gillespie to explore Deep Cover, Bill Duke's 1992 noir thriller.
Deep Cover follows Russell Stevens, a Cincinnati police officer recruited by the DEA to go undercover at "John Hull" and infiltrate the West Coast's largest cocaine supply chain. As Stevens climbs the ladder, the line between cop and the character he's playing starts to disappear.
Michael B. Gillespie is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cinema Studies at NYU and the author of Film Blackness: American Cinema and the Idea of Black Film, which examines Deep Cover as a defining case study. His writing has appeared in Film Comment, Film Quarterly, and The Criterion Collection. He served as consulting producer on the Criterion release of Deep Cover, where he also wrote the accompanying essay. There's no one better suited to help unpack why this film is included in the collection.
Together we move through the film and discuss:
- Why "neo-noir" fails to describe Deep Cover
- The police department weaponizing trauma as recruitment
- Jeff Goldblum's and Larry Fishburne's interracial coupling
Whether you're discovering Deep Cover for the first time or returning to it, this conversation explores why a film about a man forced to play a role became one of the defining noirs of its era, and why it still matters today.
Who'll Pay Reparations on My Soul?
Film Blackness: American Cinema and the Idea of Black Film
Hollywood ManeStays - Not a pin, not a clip. Just Better.
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