The Five Heartbeats

Play trailer

The Five Heartbeats

R,

1991,

2h 2m,

Drama/

Music

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

41%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

95%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

41%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

95%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Coming in on the tail end of a rhythm and blues singing group explosion, The Five Heartbeats (Robert Townsend, Michael Wright, Leon, Harry J. Lennix, Tico Wells) rise and fall within the space of seven years. Along the way, the group deals with all manner of fame and fortune distractions -- jealousy, greed, too much womanizing and drugs all take a toll. Their troubles culminate when executive Big Red (Hawthorne James) is arrested for the murder of manager Jimmy Potter (Chuck Patterson).

Dolores Barclay

Associated Press

Feb 19, 2020

Townsend does more than merely track the travails of five song stylists; he quivers and rages with their injustices, vulnerabilities, uncertainties and desires.

Go to Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

3/4

This is not only a biography with music, but also a thoughtful look at the way five young men from a poor but nurturing black neighborhood find success, and deal with it.

Go to Full Review

Lou Cedrone

Baltimore Sun

Aug 16, 2017

Robert Townsend co-wrote, directed and stars in the film, one whose sincerity does a lot to cover the amateurishness with which the film was made.

Go to Full Review

Renee Schonfeld

Common Sense Media

Feb 22, 2011

2/5

The rise and fall of a flashy, fictional 1960s rock group.

Go to Full Review

Lori Hoffman

Atlantic City Weekly

Jan 11, 2007

3/5

Scott Weinberg

DVDTalk.com

Feb 5, 2006

2/5

The charitable might be tempted to describe The Five Heartbeats as wholesome and well-intentioned -- but so is a 6-year-old who just crayon-scrawled "I love cookies" on the living room wall.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Ron S

Feb 13, 2018

Awesome movie! The best movie of its kind in my opinion. Great singing and plenty of quotable lines.

Hagrid G

Apr 23, 2017

One of my top 5 favorite movies of alltime

Read all reviews

Robert Townsend

Director

Robert Townsend

Duck

Michael Wright

Eddie

Leon

J.T.

Harry Lennix

Dresser

Tico Wells

Choirboy

The Revolutionary

83%

The Revolutionary

Watchlist

Boulevard Nights

91%

Boulevard Nights

Watchlist

Ennui

54%

46%

Ennui

Watchlist

Boom!

23%

48%

Boom!

Watchlist

Leaving Normal

44%

68%

Leaving Normal

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Coming in on the tail end of a rhythm and blues singing group explosion, The Five Heartbeats (Robert Townsend, Michael Wright, Leon, Harry J. Lennix, Tico Wells) rise and fall within the space of seven years. Along the way, the group deals with all manner of fame and fortune distractions -- jealousy, greed, too much womanizing and drugs all take a toll. Their troubles culminate when executive Big Red (Hawthorne James) is arrested for the murder of manager Jimmy Potter (Chuck Patterson).

Director: Robert Townsend
Producer: Loretha Ampah, Robert Townsend
Screenwriter: Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 8, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.3M
Runtime: 2h 2m
Sound Mix: Surround

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings