Hustle and Flow [Includes Digital Copy[ [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray]

Director: Craig Brewer Craig Brewer

Overview

One man's struggle to rise above his circumstances prompts him to try a career in music in this acclaimed drama from writer and director Craig Brewer. Djay (Terrence Howard) is a low-level pimp and drug dealer who scraped together a living in the ghettos of Memphis, TN. Djay isn't happy with his life, and the realization that he's reached the same age when his father unexpectedly died has made him start thinking about changing his ways. Djay has always had a gift for spinning stories, and after picking up a cheap keyboard, he begins picking out beats to go along with his rhymes. After bumping into an old high-school buddy who works in gospel music, Key (Anthony Anderson), Djay decided to take the plunge and remake himself as a rapper. With the technical know-how of Key and the musical input of a local beat maker named Shelby (DJ Qualls), Djay begins turning his way with words and his first-hand knowledge of the street life into music, as his two live-in girlfriends, Lexus (Paula Jai Parker) and Shug (Taraji P. Henson), add their musical input and emotional support and Nola (Taryn Manning) continues to turn tricks to pay the bills. When local boy-turned-nationwide hip-hop star Skinny Black (Ludacris) comes to town to pay a visit to Arnel (Isaac Hayes), a club owner friendly with Djay, he sees an opportunity to put his demo in the hands of someone who can bring his music to the masses, though it turns out to be far more difficult than he expected. Hustle & Flow had its world premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, where it received a number of rave reviews and took home the Audience Award.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/29/2023
UPC:	0191329251614
Original Release:	2005
Rating:	R
Source:	Paramount
Language:	English
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	9,434

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Terrence Howard	DJay
Anthony Anderson	Key
Taryn Manning	Nola
Taraji P. Henson	Shug
Paula Jai Parker	Lexus
Elise Neal	Yevette
Isaac Hayes	Arnel
Ludacris	Skinny Black
Juicy J	Tigga
William Engram	Slobs
Bobby Sandimanie	Yellow Jacket
Haystak	Mickey
Claude Phillips	Harold
Josey Scott	Elroy
John Still	Shop Owner
Jay Munn	Prison Guard
Michael Hooks Jr.	Block Manager
Jerome Toles	Police Officer
DJ Paul	R.L
Al Kapone	Kateezy
Jennifer Bynum Green	Choir Lead Singer
Terrence Brown	Piano Player
T.C. Sharpe	Arnel's Drunk
Lindsey Roberts	Harper
Free Sol	Bathroom Kid
Clarence Mabon	Police Officer 2
Mark Goodfellow	Pawn Shop Owner
Latasha Texas	Stripper 1
Tracy Davis	Stripper 2
Erica Miller	God Bless America
DJ Qualls	Shelby
Helen Bowman	Defendant
Scott Bomar	Composer
Terrence	Actor

Technical Credits

Craig Brewer

Craig Brewer	Director,Screenwriter
Stephanie Allain	Producer
John Singleton	Producer
Andy Black	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

No actor had a busier, better 2005 than Terrence Howard, who wowed audiences with standout roles in Crash, Get Rich or Die Trying, and HBO's Lackawanna Blues. His most magnetic and memorable role of the year, though, came in this highly entertaining drama. Howard plays DJay, a very small-time Memphis pimp/drug dealer who can barely make the rent -- his ride doesn't even have air conditioning. And while his way with words and philosopher's bent serve him well in all his less-than-legal activities, he wonders whether he's wasting his skills. A chance encounter with an old friend (Anthony Anderson) who is now a recording engineer reignites his long-forgotten dreams of being a rapper. Recruiting a gangly white kid with a drum machine (DJ Qualls), they transform his ramshackle house into a recording studio while DJay puts pen to paper and unleashes his flow. And when it's learned that hip-hop star Skinny Black (real-life rapper Ludacris) is coming back to his Memphis 'hood for a visit, DJay sees this as his one shot to make something of himself. Writer-director Craig Brewer, a Memphis native, imbues Hustle & Flow with the city's rich musical heritage, and the scenes where the three construct their crunk tracks (which are quite good) bristle with creative energy. The uglier (some would say only) side of pimping is all but glossed over, however. DJay's women (Taryn Manning and Taraji P. Henson in breakout performances) don't like the job but they like him, and he's never shown laying a hand on them. If it seems like Brewer is dealing in mixed messages, he is. Still, Hustle & Flow is a dream-it-and-do-it self-actualization fantasy, not unlike the "let's put on a show!" pictures Mickey Rooney made in the 1930s. Andy Hardy may have never sold pot or sang a song like "Whoop That Trick," but DJay is trying to better himself, and his creative spark transforms all those around him. None of this would have worked at all without Howard, who absolutely burns up the screen and has you rooting for him all the way. A feel-good pimp movie? Damn right.

Barnes & Noble - Bill Pearis

Even more than its thematic cousin, Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile, Hustle & Flow harnesses the grungy essence of grass-roots hip-hop -- the kind produced in basements and garages -- and filters it through one of 2005's most intense performances. From his throwback 1970s title card onward, writer/director Craig Brewer has produced a blisteringly hip breakthrough, one that's as capable with iconic images as it is with penetrating a deeply complex antihero. Playing that central figure is Terrence Howard as Djay, a revelation of simmering menace, whose desire to escape his daily pimp-and-ho grind is a physical force. As coldly efficient as his methods are, this is clearly a man with a conscience, a stern yet secretly caring father figure to the stable of prostitutes who live in his Memphis bungalow. The poetics of his street philosophies -- unobtrusive soliloquies in Brewer's dialogue -- naturally dovetail into the necessary rhythms and life experiences for rap. As he gathers a motley group of collaborators, the music takes shape with a booming and vibrating gristle that is absolutely invigorating. Inspired by the overnight fame of another local street figure, Djay channels his gifts of persuasion into everything from acquiring sound equipment to quieting the neighbors during recording. The supporting performances add whatever Brewer and Howard cannot. DJ Qualls excels as a talented white mixing geek whose street posturing actually ends up seeming cool. Anthony Anderson clearly relishes a well-deserved respite from contemporary blaxploitation comedies, yet still joins with Qualls to contribute the film's significant doses of humor. Even rapper Ludacris is good as Skinny Black. But sharing the soul of this film with Howard are women: Taryn Manning's Nola, whose braided-blond tough girl just wants a little validation, and Taraji Henson's Shug, who finds her own fragile relevance through the music. The rare MTV Films release that actually uses songs as enthralling and indispensable ingredients, Hustle & Flow is an unqualified shot of cinematic adrenaline, that studio's best film since Election.

All Movie Guide

Every good actor has a season when he comes into his own, and this is Terrence Howard's time.

Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert