Boyz n the Hood

Boyz n the Hood (1991) is a crime drama from Columbia Pictures — watch it online on iFILM. John Singleton wrote the script at 23 as his senior thesis at USC, then turned it into his feature debut the following year.

Tré Styles, played by Cuba Gooding Jr., is sent to live with his disciplined father Furious (Laurence Fishburne) in South Central Los Angeles. His childhood friends are the Baker brothers — Ricky, who wants out through a football scholarship, and Doughboy, played by Ice Cube, who stopped believing in exits a long time ago. Police helicopters circle the neighbourhood at night. Furious has a theory about what keeps Black communities trapped, and he talks to Tré about it — but the street has its own curriculum.

Singleton earned two Oscar nominations at age 24: Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. He was the youngest director nominee in Academy history at the time. The cast also includes Angela Bassett, Nia Long and Regina King in early roles. Made for $6.5 million, the film grossed over $57 million and remains a landmark of 1990s American cinema. Stream Boyz n the Hood (1991) online on iFILM.