Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

tru1221 This is one of the finest documentaries ever made!

PartialMovieViewer This is probably one of the best documentaries I have seen. No one is pulling at your heartstrings; political agendas are absent; PC is non-existent - it is just a story about a very important and distressing period of history. I remember witnessing the drug culture during that time frame. I remember my moment of enlightenment was when some kid was popped in my high school for selling drugs his brother had brought back from Vietnam. It was amazing to watch this movie and marry the story to what I saw in my youth. I remember about when the drug of choice switched from a relatively harmless weed (debatable I agree) to such a destructive choice as cocaine, but I did not know the all the reasons. I know there were other drugs out there, but during this time-frame - these were the two recreational drugs. Anyways, after seeing this flick I was pretty much feeling speechless. To think that this kind of activity could have gone unchallenged, if so much violence was involved is a scary notion. Awesome depiction, I will watch it again...I am addicted.....ahhhhhh

filip-svacek 2006 Version: What I liked most about this "documentary", is that there is no voice-over that says us what to thing and it is just testimony of people who were in "the game" at the time. But when you add great editing, fantastic 80's soundtrack and footage you get story, that puts lot of movies like Scarface to shame. I have problem calling this a documentary, because lot of testimonies, especially from the people involved in drug trafficking are pretty unreliable. But who cares? After it ends you wanna see more. You will understand what made Miami so special and you gonna see the bigger picture behind the city. 9/102013 Version: For start, this version is not just 30 minutes extended, it has about 5-10% original footage. It is not near as enjoyable or interesting as first version, because all aspects what made first version great are not there. Soundtrack is mediocre remake from the original, it doesn't have that movie atmosphere and it is too long. There are few interesting facts, for instance you gonna learn that John Roberts was deeper involved than you would have think from the first version. This version has more reliable testimonies and it is less "glorifying", but the charm is gone. 6/10

Mr-Fusion The Miami that we know of today was built with drug money. Just reading that sentence can be downright depressing, but the story behind it is one that is oddly (maybe perversely) fascinating.Directed by Billy Corben, "Cocaine Cowboys" examines Miami's turbulent transition from a sleepy vacation town to a beachside Metropolis, financed by cocaine revenues and victims of a truly nasty drug war. At the forefront of the war was Griselda Blanco (whose death made recent headlines), crime family godmother who ordered the deaths of countless rivals. Using testimonials from several key figures in the importing of drugs, we get a detailed depiction of the violence that spilled onto Miami streets. What's staggering about the late 1970s (when the go-go party scene was in full swing in South Florida) is that while the rest of the United States was slogging through hard economic times, Miami was flourishing, due to the incredible infusion of cash into the city's economy. Key importers had so much money, they had no idea where to stash it, and actually buried it in piles in their backyards. Luxury cars were flying off the lots, and the scads of loose cash were eventually funneled into real estate, leading to the construction of Miami's brand-new glittering skyline. The insane materialistic excess of the time is part of what makes "Cocaine Cowboys" so seductive. But the party couldn't last forever, and the movie now moves into its downer of a second half. The nonstop nightlife gives way to violent shootouts, bloody mob hits, and a staggering pileup of bodies. Dade County had reportedly the highest murder rate in the United States. The situation would prove dire enough to demand presidential attention, and a new ramped-up brand of law enforcement was born, taking the fight back to Blanco and the Colombians."Cocaine Cowboys" is one big thrill, aided (in no small part) by flashy imagery and editing, and even a score by Jan Hammer that keeps us reminded of the coastal paradise patrolled by Crockett and Tubbs. To see the insane wealth of some of these guys is both intoxicating and worrisome, and Corben never lets that sinister sense of foreboding ebb, keeping just far enough away from glamorizing these lifestyles. A compulsively watchable documentary. 8/10