Rooftops is a 1989 American crime and dancedrama film directed by Robert Wise, which follows the misadventures of two homeless teenagers in Manhattan. Rooftops was the last theatrical motion picture directed by Wise and the second of his films about poor young New Yorkers, the first being the famous West Side Story.
Plot summary
Squeak, the main character's best friend has tagged the wrong place and a local crew of misfits seeks to teach him a lesson. A chase ensues through the streets of New York City, through abandoned buildings and on rooftops. Squeak is finally cornered before his best friend and the film's main hero, T, comes to his rescue. The rest of the film focuses on T and his group of friends, among them a reformed prostitute, a young woman, and a deaf basketball player. T is famous among the neighbourhood for taking place in a dance called "combat" in which "combatants" attempt to force each other off of a square fighting surface through only intimidation, no contact is allowed. T falls in love with Elana and she reciprocates his feelings. T is also exposed to Capoeira, which he naturally compares to his own fighting style. The main antagonists are a group of drug dealers who are slowly taking over the city's abandoned buildings, stringing out the local youth and establishing themselves as the law of the streets. Squeak crosses the drug dealers and pays for it with his life. The rest of the movie follows T and his friends quest for redemption at the hands of the drug dealers, and ends in a climactic rooftop battle.
Cast
Jason Gedrick as T
Troy Beyer as Elena
Eddie Velez as Lobo
Tisha Campbell-Martin as Amber
Alexis Cruz as Squeak
Allen Payne as Kadim
Steve Love as Jackie-Sky
Rafael Baez as Raphael
Jaime Tirelli as Officer Rivera
Luis Guzmán as Martinez
Millie Tirelli Squeak's mother
Robert LaSardo as Blade
Jay Boryea as Willie
Rockets Redglare as Carlos
Edouard DeSoto as Angelo
Bruce Smolanoff as Bones
Edythe Jason as Lois
Paul Herman as Jimmy
Lauren Tom as Audry
Stuart Rudin as Wino
Coley Wallace as Lester
Herb Kerr III as Jorge
Kurt D. Lott as Zit
Peter Lopez as Burn
Jed James as X
Critical reception
The film was not well-received by critics. The film has a composite score of 0 on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert opined that the film was unrealistic and sugarcoated the grim realities facing homeless teenagers.
Rooftops was first released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1989 by International Video Entertainment. Platinum Disc released the film onto DVD in 2002, but the DVD was in full screen and did not contain any bonus material. That DVD has since been discontinued. The current DVD is a double feature release with A Midsummer Night's Rave.
