Black Caesar

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Darrell S A Fred Williamson film is usually a great thing to watch. This was not one of his better movies. He plays the role well, but the film doesn't flow well. He made much better movies not too long after. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/28/25 Full Review Audience Member One of the earliest blaxploitation flicks starring Fred Williamson by director Larry Cohen In the roughest part of Harlem, Tommy Gibbs has his life made even harder by John McKinney (Art Lund), a crooked cop who breaks the boy's leg, crippling him for life Drawing on his anger at the racism he faces on a daily basis, Tommy grows up to become the crime kingpin of Harlem Now that he has the power, he aims to take down New York's Mafia bosses -- and also get bloody revenge on his nemesis, McKinney, no matter what the cost It's got a cool lead, tons of gun fights, and a clear cut throat attitude The clock ticks as his power is starting to have serious consequences An amazing soundtrack by James Brown adds to its coolness Tommy had a chiseled upbringing with his father being enlisted in the army at 20 and his mother scrubbing floors to make ends meet so it wasn't just the prejudices he was facing Even his girlfriend isn't supportive Good acting from Williamson as a man feeling alone and betrayed and this is a slick blaxploitation film tapping into the raging sense of racial injustice Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Cut with a manic energy that propels each moment into the next with a sense of disregard and inevitability, much like its titular antecedent, the film is as suffused with a tragic spirit as it is with street violence. It is a despair beyond individual peripeteia, one born of resentment and rage felt by an entire community, which lifts up a strongman to save it only to be stepped on in turn, giving a social depth to the story beyond its gangster film source material. On the contrary, for these souls, when the die is cast, it's never more than a game of craps; at least they have a classic soundtrack from none other than James Brown---a different sort of godfather---to carry them through. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Larry Cohen, a white writer/director, made what's considered the seminal blaxploitation film "Black Ceasar", staring the great Fred Williamson in his breakout role. Williamson plays Tommy Gibbs, a tough kid from the mean streets of harlem. The film opens with Gibbs as a kid being mistreated by racist cops, but most of the film takes place years later with Gibbs, now an adult, slowly building his criminal empire, fighting racist cos and bigoted Italian mafiosos. What Cohen has die with "Black Caesar" is taking an old wine and put it into an new bottle. Cohen crafted a story that is essentially an old 1930s Warner Bros crime picture (i.e. ""Public Enemy," "Little Caesar,j" "Angels With Dirty Faces" etc.) and transplanted it to 1970s New York with a black cast and peppered with social commentary. It's Cohen's social commentary that set his films apart from bring simple genre pictures, whether he was doing blaxploitation, mainstream action or horror films, he consistently presented his films with a point go view and had something (usually liberal) to say. But back to "Black Caesar" credit also needs to be given to Williamson as a huge on screen presence and who's charisma makes Tommy Gibbs utterly compelling. You also get the colorful D'Urville Martin as a childhood fried of Gibbs who's now a priest and also a sneering Art Lund as a racist cop who crippled one of Gibbs' legs as a teen and who's now worked his way up the chain of command. Big props also go to the James Brown songs sprinkled throughout the film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member After Pam Grier, Fred Williamson is my favourite actor from the Blaxploitation era. Art Lund is a right nasty **** as the bent copper McKinney. Throughout the flick there is great evidence of 'Larry Cohen's maverick film making as Joe Public look confused as he shoots without a permit. An enjoyable flick and the James Brown soundtrack is unbelievable. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member (73%) Without a doubt one of the best blaxploitation movies ever to be spawned from the era. Fred Williamson is perfect in the lead role playing a character that is far from the good guy, or hero of the movie, as he ruthlessly takes whatever he can get, and with force if needs be. And like a lot of these movies they tried to please the audience with a mix of drama and action that works well, so too James Brown's super cool soundtrack. Of course the movie isn't perfect (the pace goes AWOL at times, and the small budget is pushed to the limit), but overall this is a fine example of the breed, with a good morality tale at its heart. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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