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Cocaine Cowboys
Topics: Colombian criminals Colombian drug traffickers Colombian murderers
Cocaine Cowboys is a documentary film directed by Billy Corben and produced by Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben through their Miami-based media studio rakontur. Jan Hammer composed and performed the film's original score. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2006, and distribution rights to the film in English speaking territories were licensed to Magnolia Pictures. The film opened in U.S. theaters with a limited release on October 27, 2006.
The film chronicles the development of the illegal drug trade in Miami during the 1970s and 1980s with interviews of both law enforcement and organized crime leaders, in addition to news footage from the era. The film reveals that in the 1960s and early 1970s, marijuana was the primary import drug into the region. During the 1970s, marijuana imports were replaced by the much more lucrative cocaine imports. Drug importers reveal several of the different methods used to import the drugs into Florida. The primary methods used to import the narcotics were by boat or by air. The drug importers also reveal the complexity of their methods of importation which include the purchase and financing of legitimate businesses to provide cover for illegal operations. Importers reveal that condominiums were purchased near particular ocean waterways to provide a monitoring post for Coast Guard and local police patrol boats. Importers reveal the use of high-tech radio monitoring equipment used to monitor the radio frequencies of Federal, State, and local authorities in order to warn incoming boats and airplanes.
The film reveals that much of the economic growth which took place in Miami during this time period was a benefit of the drug trade. As members of the drug trade made immense amounts of money, they would invest that money into legitimate businesses. As a result, drug money financed the construction of many of the modern high-rise buildings in southern Florida.
A sequel [[Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin' With The Godmother]] chronicling the life of Griselda Blanco is due to be released in June 2008.
Cocaine Cowboys was also the name of a 1979 movie starring Jack Palance and featuring Andy Warhol.
Showtime
The film began appearing on Showtime on December 7, 2007.
References
Korten, Tristam, "Big Story, Big Screen: Two Miami Documentary Flimmakers Capture a Time and Place in Cocaine Cowboys", Miami New Times, October 10, 2005. Retrieved on November 13, 2006.
Hill, Logan, "Critic's Pick: Cocaine Cowboys", New York Magazine, May 4, 2006. Retrieved on November 13, 2006.
Goldstein, Gregg, "Magnolia Lines Up 'Cocaine' Rights", The Hollywood Reporter, July 10, 2006. Retrieved on September 13, 2006.
Catsoulis, Jeannette, "Film in Review; Cocaine Cowboys", The New York Times, October 27, 2006. Retrieved on November 13, 2006.
External links
rakontur site
Cocaine Cowboys MySpace page
Cocaine Cowboys official website
Cocaine Cowboys Producers Embrace Movie Bootlegging
Miami Herald profiles the bootlegging of Cocaine Cowboys
Film on Miami drug trade is a bootleg hit even before release
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Cocaine Cowboys