Director: Boaz Yakin
Screenplay by: Boaz Yakin
Starring: Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, N’Bushe Wright, Ron Brice, Luis Lantigua, Jean-Claude La Marre, JosĂ© ZĂșñiga
Country: USA, France
Running Time: 114 min
Year: 1994
Boaz Yakin started out as a screenwriter in Hollywood but soon grew disillusioned and moved to France, where he began working on a novel. However, his old friend Lawrence Bender, who had become a big name after the release of Reservoir Dogs, approached Yakin and encouraged him to develop a new project to both write and direct.
Yakin had worked on a couple of big action movies previously but wanted to scale things down and make a more intimate film for his directorial debut. He took inspiration from a strange combination of films, The 400 Blows and Yojimbo, to come up with Fresh, an urban drama with a twist.
Surprisingly, given the New York City âprojectsâ setting, the film was financed by a French company. This was partly as Hollywood studios were overrun with âhoodâ movies following the successes of films like Do the Right Thing, Boyz in the Hood and New Jack City. Plus, having the film star a young boy as its lead actor threw up warning bells for the execs.
With the French backing and distribution by Miramax, Fresh was completed and released in 1994. Whilst it received largely positive reviews from critics, it didnât make much impact at the box office. It didnât stop Yakin from continuing to write and direct in Hollywood though, and heâs enjoyed a relatively successful career, though Fresh remains probably his most respected work, alongside Remember the Titans.
Imprint are releasing Fresh on Blu-ray and I picked up a copy to see how it held up.
Fresh sees Sean Nelson play the titular character, who is a 12-year-old boy living in Brooklyn. Despite his young age, heâs already working for a drug dealer, Esteban (Giancarlo Esposito), making collections around the neighbourhood.
However, Fresh is fed up with his lot in life. Though many of his superiors have high hopes for him to be a big-time dealer in the future, he just wants to get out and get his drug-addicted sister Nichole (âN’Bushe Wright) cleaned up too.
A shocking tragedy proves to be the last straw for Fresh and he decides to take action. Inspired by chess strategies taught to him by his estranged father (Samuel L. Jackson), Fresh conspires to play two local gangs against each other to help clean up the streets.
Many of the âhoodâ dramas that came out during the â90s can feel quite similar with a blunt âdrugs and violence are badâ message and gangbanger shootouts playing out against a hip-hop soundtrack. Fresh, however, lives up to its name and feels different.
Yes, it treads a similar ground to its contemporaries in terms of its message but its focus on a younger protagonist helps this hit harder without any clumsy preaching. Fresh, the character, is jaded from the offset, fed up with this world in which he’s trapped. Most of the characters here are trapped in some way, in fact. Trapped into using or dealing drugs, trapped in poverty, trapped in the neighbourhood which creates an endless cycle of suffering.
Itâs the presentation of Fresh that helps it stand out from the crowd though. Most notably, it has a surprisingly traditional, melancholic score, with a Ry Cooder flavour, rather than the hip-hop soundtrack you might expect from an urban drama like this. The Miramax executives reportedly werenât happy with this but Yakin and Bender stood their ground. I’m glad they did as it adds a welcome timeless flavour.
Yakin also avoids glamorising the violence in the story. When it happens it’s generally short, frightening and shown from a distance, avoiding ‘cool’ face-offs and explosive set pieces.
There are some expressionistic touches here and there too that put you in the mind of our protagonist without using a clunky voiceover. Yakin isnât afraid of taking some quiet moments with Fresh either, seeing him sit watching the trains pass by or the lights from the street scan over his bedroom ceiling at night.
Thatâs not to say the film avoids the harsh realities of life in those neighbourhoods. There are some genuinely brutal moments, particularly a handful including children and animals. Our protagonist also instigates and commits some disturbing acts himself, one that he likely didn’t mean to happen and another troubling one that seems symbolic rather than necessary to his plan.
Fresh seems to take some pleasure in his revenge too, which might rub some up the wrong way. You must remember, however, that he’s grown up in this harsh world and faces death and suffering all the time so it means less to him, particularly as his plot might get him out of it all. A poignant, subtle but powerful final scene helps us realise he’s just a boy though.
Nelson was only 14 at the time of making the film and he does a fantastic job. Fresh doesn’t have a huge amount of dialogue for a lead character, so Nelson has to do the heavy lifting through subtle expression and body language and does so effortlessly. Yakin almost passed Nelson over for the job but his brother asked to look over the audition tapes and told him to reconsider the teenager. That second time around Yakin was sold on Nelson.
A couple of the other young actors can be clunky in places but largely the cast is excellent. Jackson and Esposito would go on to be big names and their talents shine here, in particular. It helps that both are given interesting characters that donât fit the typical mould of movie drug dealers and alcoholic absentee fathers.
So, overall, Fresh is a refreshing spin on the âhoodâ film that doesnât shy from the harsh realities faced by those living in poor inner-city neighbourhoods but offers a glimmer of hope through a cleverly plotted narrative.
Film: 
Fresh is out now on Blu-Ray in Australia, released by Via Vision as part of their Imprint Collection. It looks good, with rich colours and crisp details. There are a few flecks here and there on the print but it generally looks nice. Iâve used screengrabs throughout my review to give you an idea of how it looks.
The audio is rich and pleasing too, though I found the dialogue to be a little low in the mix. My surround sound system isnât the best in the world though.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
– 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
– Audio Commentary by writer/director Boaz Yakin
– NEW The Rookie: Director Boaz Yakin on Creating a Timeless First Film â featurette (2023)
– NEW Fresh on âFreshâ: Actor Sean Nelson on the Prodigy He Played âfeaturette (2023)
– NEW Framing âFreshâ with Cinematographer Adam Holender â featurette (2023)
– NEW Fresh Sounds: Composer Stewart Copeland on the Unconventional Score of âFreshâ â featurette (2023)
– NEW One Foot in the Practical, One Foot in the Poetic: Lawrence Bender on the Producerâs Role â featurette (2023)
– Archival Interview with Samuel L. Jackson (1994)
– Archival Interview with Giancarlo Esposito (1994)
– Archival Interview with Sean Nelson & NâBushe Wright (1994)
– âBehind-the-Scenesâ â featurette
– Storyboard to film comparisons
– Cast audition tapes
– Gag Reel
– Theatrical Trailer
– Audio English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
– Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
– Optional English HOH Subtitles
– Limited Edition Slipcase
Boaz Yakin provides a commentary over the film. It’s a strong track, with the director talking in detail about his inspirations and approach.
Yakin also provides a 23-minute interview about his career and experiences making Fresh. He talks about how watching Clint Eastwood at work taught him a lot about directing. There’s some crossover between this and his commentary but the interview is, as you might imagine, more concise and focused.
In another new interview, Sean Nelson talks about how he got into the business and his experiences making Fresh. He talks with humour and warmth, so it’s an enjoyable piece.
Cinematographer Adam Holender talks about his love of New York and how he found the change moving from Poland to the US. He then moves on to talk about working on Fresh.
Stewart Copeland talks about his background and work on Fresh. He’s a lot of fun, telling some enjoyable stories about his time in the industry. He also explains his surprising approach to the score for Fresh.
Lawrence Bender tells the fascinating story of how he got into the industry and ended up producing some groundbreaking titles. He then goes on to discuss the challenges and pleasures of making Fresh. It’s an excellent piece.
There are a handful of archival interviews. Although these are a little blander than the new ones and the buttoned-up interviewer seems an odd fit to interview the cast and crew, her questions occasionally lead to some interesting conversations. Samuel L. Jackson gets to talk about his thoughts on the problems facing kids in the projects, as well as listing his upcoming films, two of which would make him a big star. Giancarlo Esposito talks about what he found interesting about his character. Sean Nelson and N’Bushe Wright are interviewed together. The latter talks about how she approached her role and Nelson discusses how he got the role as well as the importance of the film’s message.
The ‘Gag Reel’ is actually more of a collection of tops and tails from the raw footage, with no amusing flubs or such to speak of.
The behind-the-scenes piece is very short and clearly an EPK throwaway, but you get to see a little on-set footage and some brief on-set interviews.
Overall, aided by some very strong new supplemental material, Imprint have put together an excellent package for a film that deserves greater recognition. Highly recommended.
Disc/Package: 
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