This film is great. Immortalised by Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube on "Burn Hollywood, Burn" from the Fear Of A Black Planet LP, as soon as I heard Driving Miss Daisy being rejected for Black Caesar (listen to the track, you'll understand) I knew that I had to see this film. After all, if it's good for three of my favourite rap artists then it's good enough for me, right?
So I saw a copy in Bedford while I was doing my teacher training course, and me and my mate Jai went back to the place we were staying at and watched it. I was spellbound - it is one of the best Black aimed films that I own! (I don't like the term 'Blaxploitation'. Have you noticed that there doesn't seem to be an official 'Whitesploitation' genre?)
OOH ARR BOOOYEEEE, SPOILERS BEEEEELOW.
Anyway, for those that are interested in a review of the film rather than my personal beliefs, the film concerns Tommy Gibbs, a Black gangster who gets a job for the local Mob after a nifty killing in a barber shop. (This comes after an excellent beginning that sees him assist in the murder of a gangster in the middle of a crowded street.) It charts his rise and fall... much in the manner of Scarface (either version). As Larry Cohen says in his DVD commentary, it's more of a Black version of the old 1940s gangster films than it is a straight up exploitation piece like Slaughter or Black Gunn. I won't go into much detail as I urge you all to watch it, but I might add a couple of trivial points: you should watch it back to back with the sequel - Hell Up In Harlem. If you do, though, bear in mind that the print that survives has a substantially different ending. I say no more.
Watch this film - it is truly a classic.
So I saw a copy in Bedford while I was doing my teacher training course, and me and my mate Jai went back to the place we were staying at and watched it. I was spellbound - it is one of the best Black aimed films that I own! (I don't like the term 'Blaxploitation'. Have you noticed that there doesn't seem to be an official 'Whitesploitation' genre?)
OOH ARR BOOOYEEEE, SPOILERS BEEEEELOW.
Anyway, for those that are interested in a review of the film rather than my personal beliefs, the film concerns Tommy Gibbs, a Black gangster who gets a job for the local Mob after a nifty killing in a barber shop. (This comes after an excellent beginning that sees him assist in the murder of a gangster in the middle of a crowded street.) It charts his rise and fall... much in the manner of Scarface (either version). As Larry Cohen says in his DVD commentary, it's more of a Black version of the old 1940s gangster films than it is a straight up exploitation piece like Slaughter or Black Gunn. I won't go into much detail as I urge you all to watch it, but I might add a couple of trivial points: you should watch it back to back with the sequel - Hell Up In Harlem. If you do, though, bear in mind that the print that survives has a substantially different ending. I say no more.
Watch this film - it is truly a classic.