Highest-Rated Movies about 'Harlem, N.y.', Sort by Popularity

Chapter & Verse (2015), Vote for Me (2003), Been Rich All My Life (2006), Small Wonders (1995), Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995), A Great Day in Harlem (1994), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), The Buddy Holly Story (1978) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Harlem, N.y. movies.

#16. Motherless Brooklyn (2019)

Storyline: Set against the backdrop of 1950s New York, "Motherless Brooklyn" follows Lionel Essrog (Norton), a lonely private detective afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome, as he ventures to solve his friend's murder. Armed only with a few clues and the powerful engine of his obsessive mind, Lionel unravels closely-guarded secrets that hold the fate of the whole city in the balance.—Warner Bros.

Plot Keywords: private detective, mentor, friend, thug, engaging, quirky, creative ...

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#17. Music of the Heart (1999)

Storyline: The true story of a young teacher who fights against the board of education in her bid to teach underprivileged kids in a Harlem school the beauty of music through the violin. In her struggle she loses everything as the system comes down on her with all their might but her determination for the kids happiness helps her to battle back with wonderfully inspirational results.

Plot Keywords: violinist, music teacher, student, principal, melodramatic, powerful, harlem, n.y. ...

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#18. The Brother From Another Planet (1984)

Storyline: The Brother is an alien who has crash-landed on Earth, in New York City. While mute, strongly empathic, and able to fix things, he resembles a Black man with strange feet. His attempt to make a place for himself in Harlem is an allegory for the immigrant experience in the United States. Meanwhile, two bounty hunters from the Brother's home planet arrive and try to capture him.—Reid Gagle

Plot Keywords: alien, mother, agent, neighbor, fascinating, suspenseful, witty ...

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#19. Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (1999)

Storyline: Two pioneering African American sisters, Bessie (Ruby Dee), 101 years old, and Sadie (Diahann Carroll), 103 years old, recount the ups and downs of their lives to New York Times journalist Amy Hill Hearth (Amy Madigan) in this true story. Spanning from their childhood in North Carolina at the end of the 19th century to the twilight of their lives in New York more than a century later, "Having Our Say" follows the sisters as they find success and happiness despite overwhelming odds.

Plot Keywords: elderly woman, journalist, mother, father, teacher, sister, uplifting ...

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#20. New Jack City (1991)

Storyline: The gangster Nino has a gang who call themselves Cash Money Brothers. They get into the crack business and not before long they make a million dollars every week. A cop, Scotty, is after them. He tries to get into the gang by letting an ex-drug addict infiltrate the gang, but the attempt fails miserably. The only thing that remains is that Scotty himself becomes a drug pusher.

Plot Keywords: undercover cop, partner, drug lord, drug addict, gang member, raw, disheartening ...

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#21. Shaft (1971)

Storyline: John Shaft is the ultimate in suave black detectives. He first finds himself up against Bumpy, the leader of the Black crime mob, then against Black nationals, and finally working with both against the White Mafia who are trying to blackmail Bumpy by kidnapping his daughter.

Plot Keywords: detective, crime boss, daughter, gangster, cop, cool, hedonistic ...

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#22. Mr. Untouchable (2007)

Storyline: The true-life story of a Harlem's notorious Nicky Barnes, a junkie turned multimillionaire drug-lord, MR. UNTOUCHABLE takes its audience deep inside the heroin industry of the 1970s. The most powerful black drug kingpin in New York City history, Barnes came from humble beginnings to make himself and his comrades rich beyond their wildest dreams, ultimately reaching national infamy in 1977 when the New York Times put him on the front cover of their magazine with the headline "Mr. Untouchable". Soon after, it all came crumbling down, and facing a life sentence without parole, Barnes started naming names. With the first hand testimony from "the black Godfather" himself, this documentary tells an epic story of business, excess, greed and revenge.—Magnolia Films

Plot Keywords: drug dealer, gangster, african-american, kingpin, fbi agent, poor person, amusing ...

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#23. The Cool World (1964)

Storyline: Filmmaker Shirley Clarke ("The Connection") directs this powerful, stark semi-documentary look at the horrors of Harlem ghetto slum life filled with drugs, violence, human misery, and a sense of despair due to the racial prejudices of American society. There is no patronizing of the black race in this cinematic cry for justice. A fifteen-year-old boy called Duke is ambitious to buy a "piece" (a gun) from an adult racketeer named Priest, to become president of the gang to which he belongs, and to return them to active "bopping" (gang fighting) which has declined in Harlem. It is a clearly patent allegory of an attempt by Duke to attain manhood and identity in the only way accessible to him - the antisocial one.—alfiehitchie

Plot Keywords: gang member, thug, son, prostitute, gritty, emotional, powerful ...

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#25. Black Caesar (1973)

Storyline: Tommy Gibbs is a tough kid, raised in the ghetto, who aspires to be a kingpin criminal. As a young boy, his leg is broken by a bad cop on the take, during a payoff gone bad. Nursing his vengeance, he rises to power in New York City's Harlem. Angry at the racist society around him, both criminal and straight, he sees the acquisition of power as the solution to his rage. He performs a free-lance hit on a Mob contract to attract the attention of the head of a Mafia family. Reluctantly accepted into 'The Family,' he grows increasingly autonomous and aggressive, eventually starting a gang war.—Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>

Plot Keywords: kingpin, police officer, racist, mafia boss, reverend, brutal, unrestrained ...

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#26. Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970)

Storyline: Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are two black cops with a reputation for breaking the odd head. Both are annoyed at the success of the Reverend Deke O'Mailey who is selling trips back to Africa to the poor on the installment plan. When his truck is hijacked and a bale of cotton stuffed with money is lost in the chase, Harlem is turned upside down by Gravedigger and Coffin Ed, the Reverend, and the hijackers. Much of the humor is urban black, which was unusual in 1970.—John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Keywords: police detective, political activist, reverend, partner, hijacker, rousing, hysterical ...

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#29. The Quiet One (1949)

Storyline: The story of a lonely young boy growing up in Harlem. Using a semi-documentary technique, the film-makers realistically capture the hostile environment which leads the boy to delinquency. The youth is sent to Wiltwyck School for rehabilitation, where a psychiatrist and counselor try to break through the wall of silence which the boy uses to hide his fear and bitterness.—alfiehitchie

Plot Keywords: young boy, psychiatrist, counselor, teacher, juvenile delinquent, mute person, moving ...

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#30. Shaft (2019)

Storyline: JJ, aka John Shaft Jr. (Usher), may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend's untimely death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. Absent throughout JJ's youth, the legendary locked-and-loaded John Shaft (Jackson) agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem's heroin-infested underbelly. And while JJ's own FBI analyst's badge may clash with his dad's trademark leather coat, there's no denying family. Besides, Shaft's got an agenda of his own, and a score to settle that's professional and personal.

Plot Keywords: security expert, fbi agent, best friend, estranged father, murder victim, secretary, amusing ...

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