Black Caesar (1973)

I Love Black Caesar!!!

Larry Cohen's name is well known to cult horror fans, but he's dabbled in different genres from time to time, and with his second film he went for a Blaxploitation flick. Actually it was more of a studio decision. Cohen was asked to do one of these films because they told him, "you are really good at directing those black actors". Which is a funny statement considering Cohen had made only one other film at the time which only had one black actor in it(Yaphet Kotto), and as Cohen has said himself, "directing a black actor is no different than directing a white actor".
Black Caesar stands out in the genre because it's not a full blown action film. It follows in the tradition of classic gangster films in which a boy who starts with nothing gets his big break in the crime world, makes his way to the top, becomes too big for his britches, and has nowhere to go but down. But Cohen makes this familiar premise highly entertaining and likable.
Fred Williamson gives one of the best performances of his career. Considering he usually plays tough guy action heroes, in this film he's required to flex his acting abilities more. The cast features many familiar faces in the Blaxploitation genre. Williamson's father is played by Julius Harris(he played Tee-Hee, the hook handed henchman in Live and Let Die), Gloria Hendry(also in Live and Let Die, but appears in practically every Blaxploitation film AIP produced) and D'Urville Martin(another guy who showed up in a ton of these films, as well as the director of the cult hit Dolemite). Williamson's nemesis, a racist cop, is played by Art Lund and he's a great choice coz the man just looks meaner than hell.
And to top it off, there's a fantastic soundtrack by James Brown. I never really thought one way or another when it came to James Brown, I guess I just heard the song, "I Feel Good" too many times, but I've definitely changed my attitude when I heard the soundtrack to this movie.
All in all, a very entertaining film which I feel should be a much bigger hit today than it is(the similarly themed and more over the top Scarface probably had some part in stealing Black Caesar's thunder). It was a huge hit at the time though, maybe Cohen's most successful film. Recommended very highly not only to Blaxploitation fans(who have no doubt already seen the film), but to Larry Cohen fans as well. It's interesting to see his style at work in another genre. Great commentary too. December 9, 2008

So You Try Hard or You Die Hard

This was a truly excellent movie, a gangster flick drawing heavily from the blaxploitation genre. Fred Williamson plays Tommy Gibbs, a young tough who works his way from shoeshine/mob messenger boy to crime boss. He uses the Italian mob and the corrupt cop who beat him severely as a teenager to gain a foothold and then turns the tables on all of them. None of it seems to matter, though, as he still can't satisfy the women in his life, no matter what he can give them. As his world begins to crumble around Tommy, the film builds to a stirring climax. Tommy's final revenge on the crooked cop is both poetic and brutal. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you.

The story moves at a quick pace, never dragging. There's plenty of nudity, violence, and cursing, so if that sort of thing bothers you, stay away. Fred Williamson is very convincing as Tommy and Art Lund is particularly slimy as McKinney, the corrupt, racist cop. Both come off as more than just cardboard "hero"/"villain" cutouts. The female characters aren't as strong as their male counterparts, pretty typical for the gangster genre, not just the blaxploitation films.

It should be noted as well that the movie boasts a fantastic soundtrack performed by the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. "Down and Out in New York City" is one of my favorite James Brown numbers.

I highly recommend checking out this movie if you're into gangster films or the blaxploitation films of the seventies. This movie doesn't disappoint on either of those fronts and boasts a pretty good story to boot. April 4, 2008

The Hammer at his best!

Fred Williamson definitely exemplified "cool" in this film. Taken on the meanest and baddest folks in organized crime. He definitely "paid the cost to be the boss". James Brown layed it down on the soundtrack. A true 70's classic for the ages. July 10, 2007

Tommy Gibbs Is One Bad Mobster

Taking its cues from a pair of classic mobster movies - Little Caesar (1930) and Scarface: The Shame of the Nation (1932) - Black Caesar aptly shows the blur between organized crime and crime fighting, with the impact reverberating through society.

Fred "The Hammer" Williamson magnificently portrays Tommy Gibbs, who - as a child - is facing straight down life's dead end street in a cold, uncaring city after being crippled by a racist cop; that is until he channels his ambition into the hustle for survival.

Tommy - who is equal parts gangster & Robin Hood - claws his way to the top of crime world, but the rules of the game never stay the same and betrayal by mobsters & cops is always right around the corner. The movie does a good job in depicting Tommy's complex character and who ultimately should carry the tag as "criminals."

The outstanding soundtrack is composed by James Brown & Fred Wesley, with Lyn Collins deliver a tour-de-force lead vocal in Mama Feelgood.

Black Caesar was released in February 1973 and its sequel, Hell Up in Harlem, debuting 10 months later. In 1974, Williamson - a former AFL star - was briefly part of the Monday Night Football broadcast team.

Willamson's nickname "The Hammer" came from the forearm shots he gave opposing players on the pro gridiron. Black Caesar finds Williamson tackling the lead role with a zeal that has made Tommy Gibbs eponymous with Celluloid gangsters.

April 11, 2007

It's Okay but nothing special

After about two viewings of Black Caesar I am rather disappointed with the results. The movie in hearled by many on amazon and by critics as being one of the better so-called blaxpoltation movies. Despite all the recommendations, I was not overly impressed by Black Caesar.

The movie does have many important chracters,elements,and plot but what makes the movie suffer is the bad acting of Fred Williamson. Williamson's preformance is much too wooden and flat to bring interest into a figure like Tommy Gibbs. Williamson is not alone either with most of his supporting cast providing little substance. The notable exception is the racist Irish cop played by Art Lund.

The script was written by a white[I am guessing Jewish] Larry Cohen and it definately shows. The dialogue is flat,boring,and unrealistic for the 50's Harlem setting. The script also is severly flawed by the same instances.

Black Caesar,while not being an awful film, has very little entertainment value. Many films actually are worse than Black Caesar but have a great amount of entertainment value. Black Caesar aspires to be a serious gangster film but falls from glory. Quite disappointing considering the freshness of the story. The story of a ghetto kid rising up in the mafia underworld would be compelling even in modern cinema.
For many that might not know the movie is supposed to be loosely based upon real life black gangsters named Nikki Barnes and Frank Matthews. Ironically, Frank Matthews was a gangster from the 60's-70's that ran most of the ghettoes in NYC including Harlem.
March 12, 2007

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