Directed by:
Larry CohenScreenplay:
Larry CohenCinematography:
Fenton HamiltonComposer:
James BrownCast:
Fred Williamson, Gloria Hendry, Art Lund, D'Urville Martin, Julius Harris, Minnie Gentry, William Wellman Jr., James Dixon, Val Avery, Myrna Hansen (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Tommy Gibbs (Williamson) has always had it tough. Growing up on the streets without a father and trying to make his mother proud, Tommy resorts to running "errands" for The Man. But when a crooked cop beats him up, Tommy realizes there's a better way to live: by making The Man deliver for him! Infiltrating -- and then destroying -- the infamous Cardoza family, Tommy takes over Manhattan as the first black Godfather and puts the squeeze on anyone who dares to get in his way -- including the crooked cop! But as he tightens his grip on others, he loses his hold on the most important things in his own life, making him the vulnerable target of every cutthroat gangster who ever dreamt of ruling an empire! (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (2)
Good movie, which has a tragic bloody aspect, especially evident in the finale, but has quite a good story, actually about how a black man turns to the wrong side and is willing to go against his own. There must be consequences, that's clear. Good characters, it’s nice and gritty, and I'm satisfied with this blaxploitation.
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This film was part of a midnight blaxploitation screening. The audience, lulled by previous nights of somewhat sleazy stunts, looked forward to laughing at the film's silliness and having some fun at the filmmakers' expense. But those initial smiles soon faded. There's nothing funny about this movie and nothing to laugh at. Thematically and in focus, it resembles Scott's American Gangster, though of course it lacks his filmmaking skill, but even so, this saga of the rise and fall of a black mob boss is not without some excellent scenes and builds up fantastically in the last act. The surprise is all the greater because the director's chair was occupied by a guy who became famous for movies like "Deadly Ice Cream Attacks the United States".
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