American Me 4362641 224261616 2008-07-08T01:29:21Z DA19 6982357 {{for|the album|American Me (album)}} {{Infobox_Film | name = American Me | image = Americanme101.jpg | caption = Theatrical poster | writer = '''Screenplay:'''<br>Floyd Mutrux<br>[[Desmond Nakano]]<br>'''Story:'''<br>Floyd Mutrux | starring = [[Edward James Olmos]]<br>[[William Forsythe (actor)|William Forsythe]]<br>[[Pepe Serna]] | director = [[Edward James Olmos]] | producer = '''Executive Producers:'''<br/>[[Lou Adler]]<br/>Floyd Mutrux<br/>Irwin Young<br/>'''Producers:'''<br/>Edward James Olmos<br/>[[Robert M. Young]]<br/>[[Sean Daniel]] | cinematography = Reynaldo Villalobos | music = Claude Gaudette<br/>Dennis Lambert | editing = Richard Candib<br/>Arthur Coburn | distributor = [[Universal Pictures]] | released = [[March 13]], [[1992]]<br/><small>(U.S.A.)</small> | runtime = 125 minutes | country = [[United States]] | language = [[English language|English]] | budget = | amg_id = 1:2010 | imdb_id = 0103671 }} '''''American Me''''' ([[1992 in film|1992]]) is a film directed by [[Edward James Olmos]], his first film as director, and written by Floyd Mutrux and [[Desmond Nakano]]. Olmos also stars as the movie's main character. The executive producer was [[Lou Adler]], a record producer.<ref>{{imdb title| id=0103671|title=American Me}}.</ref> It depicts a fictionalized account of the founding and rise to power of the [[Mexican Mafia]] in the [[California]] [[California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation|prison system]] from the 1950s into the 1980s. The film covers the life of Santana ([[Edward James Olmos]]), a [[Chicano]] youth who breaks the law and becomes part of the "legalistic machine" that includes the horrors of serving [[prison]] time at [[Folsom Prison]] for many years. The film tells of most of Santana's life and how the "system," ''in toto,'' works against him, in and out of jail. When Santana is released from prison the question becomes: is there an escape? As important, the film introduces audiences to California [[gang]] life, both on the street and in jail. ==Plot== The film depicts thirty years of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles focused on a teen named Santana who, with his friends Mundo and, the White guy, J. D., form their own gang and are soon arrested for a break-in. Santana gets into trouble again and goes straight from reform school to prison, spending eighteen years there, and becoming leader of a powerful gang, both inside and outside the prison, while there. When he is finally released, he tries to make sense of the violence in his life, in a world much changed from when last he was in it. ==Background== ===Factual basis=== The character of Montoya Santana is modeled after [[Rodolfo Cadena]], a ranking ''Carnal'' in the [[prison gang]] ''La Eme'', known popularly as the [[Mexican Mafia]]. Cadena unsuccessfully attempted to steer ''La Eme'' into left-wing activism before being stabbed to death by members of the rival [[Nuestra Familia]]. J.D. is based on [[Joe "Pegleg" Morgan]], the [[Croatian-American]] godfather of the [[Mexican Mafia]]. ===Mexican Mafia reaction=== The real Mexican Mafia continues to revere Cadena and was enraged by the film, as the Cadena character is portrayed as having been raped as a juvenile ward of the court at the beginning of his foray into the criminal justice system and ultimately stabbed to death by his own followers at the end of his criminal career. ''Eme'' godfather [[Joe "Pegleg" Morgan]] allegedly attempted to extort money from Olmos, the director and lead actor of the film. An ''Eme'' ''"Carnal"''-turned-informant raised the possibility of putting out a contract on him. [[Court]] documents show that Olmos was a victim in one extortion count contained in a 33-count federal [[indictment]]. Furthermore, a federal indictment accused ''La Eme'' of ordering the 1992 murder of Ana Lizarraga, an [[East Los Angeles]] gang counselor who worked as a technical advisor on ''American Me.''<ref>''[[Associated Press]],'' [[October 24]], [[1996]].</ref> According to news reports of the time, Lizarraga and another consultant on the film may have been targeted for murder by the [[Mexican Mafia]] due to the depiction of the fictional [[homosexual]] rape of one of the gang's founders, which allegedly violated the Mexican Mafia's sense of machismo.<ref>Lombardi, John. ''[[New York Magazine]],'' [http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/1983/ "Scenes from a Bad Movie Marriage."] [[January 12]], [[1998]].</ref> ===Casting=== Edward James Olmos, in [[neorealism (art)|neo-realist]] fashion, used actual prisoners as extras and bit players when he filmed at [[Folsom Prison]]. ===Filming locations=== Filming locations include: Folsom Prison, Represa, California; and [[East Los Angeles, California]]. ==Cast== [[Image:Americanmeimage.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Olmos as Montoya and Forsythe as J.D.]] * [[Edward James Olmos]] as Montoya Santana * [[William Forsythe (actor)|William Forsythe]] as J.D. * [[Pepe Serna]] as Mundo * Daniel A. Haro as Huero * Sal Lopez as Pedro Santana * Vira Montes as Esperanza Santana * Roberto Martín Márquez as Acha * Dyana Ortelli as Yolanda * Evelina Fernández as Julie * Joe Aubel as Tattoo Artist * Rob Garrett as Zoot Riot Bystander * Lance August as Young Sailor * [[Jacob Vargas]] as Paulito * [[Eric Close]] as Juvie Hall Attacker * Christian Klemash as Blond Kid in Yard * Brian Holechek as Juvie Officer * Rigoberto Jimenez as Big Happy * [[Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa]] as El Japo * [[Robby Robinson]] as Drug Thief * Paul Bollen as Doc ==Critical reception== [[Roger Ebert]], film critic for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]],'' liked the reality that came through in the film and that it rang true, and he wrote in a review, "What I felt watching ''American Me,'' however, is that it is based on a true situation - on the reality that street gangs and prison, mixed with the drug sales that finance the process, work together to create a professional criminal class."<ref>[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19920313/REVIEWS/203130301/1023 Ebert, Roger]. ''Chicago Sun-Times,'' film review, [[March 13]], [[1992]].</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] writes in ''[[The New York Times]],'' "But Mr. Olmos's direction...is dark, slow and solemn, so much so that it diverts energy from the film's fundamental frankness. Violent as it is, ''American Me'' is seldom dramatic enough to bring its material to life."<ref>[http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=1&title1=&title2=AMERICAN+ME+%28MOVIE%29&reviewer=Janet+Maslin&v_id=2010&pdate=19920313&oref=slogin Maslin, Janet]. ''The New York Times,'' film review, March 13, 1992.</ref> Marjorie Baumgarten, a film critic for ''[[The Austin Chronicle]],'' thinks the movie at times has a choppy feel that it keeps coming at her without centering on the important aspect of the film, and she wrote, "''American Me'' is crafted with heart and conviction and intelligence. It demands no less of its audience. It insists that there are no quick fixes, but that solutions are of the utmost urgency."<ref>[http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Calendar/Film?Film=oid%3A139162 Baumgarten, Marjorie]. ''The Austin Chronicle,'' film review, [[March 20]], [[1992]].</ref> ==Distribution== The producers used the following tagline to market the film: :In prison they are the law. On the streets they are the power. The film opened in wide release on [[March 13]], [[1992]] (830 screens). The opening weekend's gross was $3,378,100 and the total receipts for the first three weeks were $9,108,435. The film was in wide release for three weeks (seventeen days). In its widest release the film was featured in 830 theaters across the country. The final [[box office]] gross amounted to $11,318,100.<ref>[http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1992/0AMME.php ''American Me''] box office data at [[The Numbers]]. Last accessed: [[April 14]], [[2008]].</ref> ==Soundtrack== [[Image:Americanmesounds.jpg|right|thumb|120px|Soundtrack Cover]] Being that the film deals with a [[Latino]] sub-culture, the music included in the soundtrack was Latino oriented; late 1970s urban sounds and [[oldies (music)|oldies]] from the 1950s. The original music soundtrack was released on [[April 28]], [[1992]] by [[Virgin Records]]. The [[CD]] has ten tracks and includes songs performed by various artists including: [[Los Lobos]], [[Santana (band)|Santana]], [[Ike & Tina Turner]], [[Bobby Day]], [[Frost (rapper)|Kid Frost]], [[War (band)|War]], and other performers. ==Notable quotes== * Montoya Santana: You know, a long time ago, two best homeboys were thrown into [[juvie]]. They were scared, so they thought they had to do something to prove themselves. And they did what they had to do. They thought they were doing it to gain [[respect]] for their people, to show the world that no one could take their class from them. No one had to take it from us, ''ese''. Whatever we had...we gave it away...Take care of yourself, ''Carnal''. * J. D.: Belonging felt good, but having respect, well that feels even better. ==References== ===Notes=== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== * {{imdb title| id=0103671|title=American Me}} * {{amg movie| id=1:2010|title=American Me}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|id=american_me|title=American Me}} <!--Spacing intentional.--> {{Americanfilms1990s}} [[Category:1992 films]] [[Category:American films]] [[Category:Biographical films]] [[Category:Drama films]] [[Category:English-language films]] [[Category:Gangster films]] [[Category:Mexican American films]] [[Category:Mexican Mafia]] [[Category:Prison films]] [[Category:Social realism]] [[Category:Universal Pictures films]] [[he:American Me]] [[pt:American Me]] [[ru:Я — американец (фильм)]]