Bullet (1996 film)

Bullet
Directed by Julien Temple
Produced by Greg Coote
Graham Burke
John Flock
Roger Paradiso
Written by 'Sir' Eddie Cook
Bruce Rubenstein
Starring Mickey Rourke
Tupac Shakur
Donnie Wahlberg
Cinematography Crescenzo Notarile
Edited by Niven Howie
Production
company
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Release dates
  • October 1, 1996
Running time
 96 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Bullet is a 1996 American crime drama film directed by Julien Temple and starring Mickey Rourke, Tupac Shakur, Donnie Wahlberg, Adrien Brody, Ted Levine, and John Enos III. The screenplay was written by Bruce Rubenstein and Rourke, under a pseudonym. The film was released a month after Shakur's murder.

Mickey Rourke was also the music supervisor of the film. It had limited distribution in theaters in the US. It was shot in New York City with a significant portion done in Brooklyn.

Plot

Butch "Bullet" Stein (Mickey Rourke) is a 35 year old Jewish ex-con who is released from prison after serving an 8-year sentence for being an accomplice to a robbery. After his release he returns to Brooklyn to live with his dysfunctional family, including his alcoholic father, depressed mother, unstable older brother Louis, and his younger brother Ruby, an aspiring artist.

Tank (Tupac Shakur) is a local drug kingpin with a score to settle after Bullet stabbed him in the eye while they were serving time together. Bullet seems to welcome the challenge. In the meantime, he keeps himself occupied by shooting heroin and robbing his neighbor's house for jewelry, which he sells to a gangster named "Frankie Eyelashes".

One night Tank arranges a fight between his henchman and Bullet. The fight ends in a draw and Bullet returns home where he tells his mother he loves her and he's sorry for everything he put her through over the years. Bullet then has a final showdown with Tank, who shoots him dead. Soon after, Louis gets revenge by cutting Tank's throat and leaving Bullet's pet rat (named Tony Curtis) on the dead body.

Cast

Alternate versions

The DVD contains an Unrated cut that features apparently material that was cut for an R-rating. Included was blood gushing out when Butch drives a knife into a drug dealer's eye. One of Tank's gang getting shot in the head with blood splattering on the wall during the gunfight between Tank and Paddy's gangs. More shots of Lester having sex with the two girls, including some extra dialogue.

External links