![]() It’s insane how beautifully assembled a compilation it was, but it harkens back to a time when soundtracks were more than simple playlists (even the LAST ACTION HERO soundtrack kicks major ass). Instead, they know the soundtrack, which ranks as one of the seminal albums of the nineties. WHY IT’S GREAT: JUDGMENT NIGHT is probably better known than a lot of other movies I’ve featured in this column, but not because people have actually seen it. All these elements aside, the movie laid an egg at the box office, only grossing just over $12 million in theaters. To that end, they recruited then red-hot standup comedian Denis Leary to play the villain, while Cuba Gooding Jr., made this his follow-up to BOYZ N THE HOOD, and a lot of time was spent working on the soundtrack, which audaciously teamed hip-hop artists and rockers in a series of collaborations. Indeed, JUDGMENT NIGHT would up having a lot more in common with that film than anything by Jarre, but Universal was hoping for a hip urban thriller with youth appeal. Eventually, his script would end up entirely re-written, to the point that sole screen credit goes to writer Lewis Colick, whose earlier thriller, UNLAWFUL ENTRY, had been a surprise hit. The author of RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II, GLORY and TOMBSTONE, he was also the guy who wrote the script for what eventually became JUDGMENT NIGHT, although, as happened to many of his screenplays, the journey from the page to the big screen was not a smooth one. THE HISTORY: In the late eighties, very few scriptwriters were as hot as Kevin Jarre. – Stephen Hopkins – Consequence of Sound Interview Those days, it wasn’t like you had digital film – if a film doesn’t work, it gets put in a vault somewhere, and that’s the end of that. The film came up as one of the things to blame for it, the film was pulled from cinemas, and it disappeared very quickly. The movie suffered on its opening weekend – in the Bronx, these guys who stood up at the theater on the Friday night when it was opening had a shootout in the theater. THE PLAYERS: Starring: Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Stephen Dorff, Jeremy Piven, and Denis Leary. Now, the men are on the run for their lives as a psychotic gang leader, Fallon (Denis Leary) and his crew start hunting them down. Jr, Stephen Dorff & Jeremy Piven) take a tricked-out RV into Chicago to watch a boxing match, only to witness a gangland slaying. THE STORY: Four friends from the suburbs ( Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding. This week we’ll be looking at JUDGMENT NIGHT! Welcome to The Best Movie You NEVER Saw, a column dedicated to examining films that have flown under the radar or gained traction throughout the years, earning them a place as a cult classic or underrated gem that was either before it’s time and/or has aged like a fine wine.
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