Tagarchief: Fred Williamson

Black Caesar (1973)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

‘Hail Caesar, Godfather of Harlem…The Cat with the .45-Caliber Claws!’

Directed by:
Larry Cohen

Written by:
Larry Cohen

Cast:
Fred Williamson (Tommy Gibbs), Gloria Hendry (Helen), Art Lund (McKinney), D’Urville Martin (Rev. Rufus), Julius W. Harris (Mr. Gibbs), Minnie Gentry (Momma Gibbs), Philip Roye (Joe Washington), William Wellman Jr. (Alfred Coleman), James Dixon (‘Irish’ Bryant), Val Avery (Cardoza)

The James Brown–scored gangster film Black Caesar opens with Brown’s soulful ‘Down and Out in New York City’ playing over a gritty scene where a young Black boy helps carry out an underworld killing. That boy, Tommy Gibbs, grows up to become a fearless gangster who initially works for the Italian mafia before turning the tables and taking control of Harlem’s criminal rackets himself.

Throughout his ruthless rise to power, Tommy is driven by a deep desire for revenge against the racist cop who abused him as a child. Black Caesar follows the familiar gangster rise-and-fall trajectory, but with a crucial difference: its antihero is a Black man from the ghetto, a product of systemic oppression and limited opportunity. Used to enduring insults and abuse, Tommy learns to turn his rage into ambition—and his rivals fatally underestimate him. Once he reaches the top, his sociopathic streak surfaces, and he exacts brutal retribution on his enemies. The Italians begin dropping like flies across the city.

While the film clearly bears the hallmarks of a low-budget exploitation picture, it’s impressively crafted. Fred Williamson is outstanding as the fierce, charismatic lead, giving Tommy Gibbs both menace and magnetism. The gritty atmosphere, authentic New York settings, and James Brown’s powerful soundtrack combine to create a vivid, memorable experience. A standout sequence is a tense, extended chase through the streets of Harlem, with a wounded Tommy pursued by two gunmen—a masterfully shot moment of raw energy and desperation.

Black Caesar was followed later the same year by the sequel Hell Up in Harlem, also directed by Larry Cohen and starring Fred Williamson as Tommy Gibbs, continuing the saga of one of blaxploitation’s most iconic antiheroes.

Rating:

Quote:
TOMMY GIBBS: “Sauce looked like it needed a little more meat.” (after dropping an ear in a plate of spaghetti).

Trivia:
While filming in Harlem, Larry Cohen was accosted by local gangsters who threatened to disrupt the shoot unless they were paid off. Instead, Cohen offered them small roles in the film. They helped so enthusiastically that they attended the premiere to sign autographs.

Dungeon Classics #20: From Dusk Till Dawn

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996, USA | Mexico)

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Harvey Keitel
Running Time: 108 mins.

The early nineties saw the rise of filmmakers and friends Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez (they both debuted in 1992). They collaborated a number of times, but From Dusk Till Dawn is probably the greatest success in terms of cult appeal. Tarantino wrote the script and plays one of the lead roles and Rodriquez directed and edited the movie. The result is a cult classic. The first half is like watching a Tarantino neo-western crime movie. The dialogue is pure Tarantino and thus essential stuff for the cinema obsessive. The cast is excellent with Clooney in a formidable lead role as ruthless criminal Seth Gecko. The dynamic with his crazy, rapist brother Richard (played by Tarantino) ensures many extremely funny moments. During the second half, From Dusk Till Dawn surprisingly turns into a horror movie. A vampire flick to be more precise. It surely is thrilling, though not as good as the terrific first half. But some great supporting parts (by a.o. Fred Williamson and Tom Savini) add to the bloody fun.

Cult Radar: Part 5

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon.com is glad to explore the video trenches to find that oddball treasure between the piles of crap out there. Off course a treasure in this context can also be a film that’s so shockingly bad it’s worth a look, or something so bizarre that cult fans just have to see it. Join us on our quest and learn what we learn. Hopefully we’ll uncover some well-hidden cult gems.

Researched by: Jeppe Kleijngeld

The Inglorious Bastards (Italy, 1978)
OT: Quel maledetto treno blindato

Directed by: Enzo G. Castellari
Written by: Sandro Continenza, Sergio Grieco, Franco Marotta,
Romano Migliorini, Laura Toscano
Cast: Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Michael Pergolani

Before Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, there was this WWII exploitation flick. A group of Dirty Dozen-like US soldiers get transported through France in order to be court-martialed. After they get ambushed by Germans, they manage to escape. They take one German hostage, who is to lead them to safe Switzerland. Underway they have to battle their way through hoards of Nazi’s and the US military. This film is characterized by loads of shoot-outs, explosions and humor. And of course some naked girls; every exploitation film needs a couple of those! The ‘Bastards’ (five in total) are well cast. Williamson is excellent as a badass motherfucker. While the movie never becomes truly great, it does manage to involve the viewer in the characters’ mission, and every time the glorious WWII music plays, you can’t help but cheer for these bastards.

EXTRA’S: As entertaining as the movie, is the excellent 38 minute discussion between Tarantino and director Enzo Castellari about their influences (Peckinpah) and the art of filmmaking.

The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle (Germany, 1963)
OT: Der würger von schloß Blackmoor

Directed by: Harald Fodor
Written by: Ladislas Fodor, Gustav Kampendonk, Bryan Edgar Wallace
Cast: Karin Dor, Harry Riebauer, Rudolt Fernau, Hans Nielsen

A hooded figure invades Blackmoor Castle, during a party held by the castle’s tenant Lucius Clark. The ‘Strangler’ threatens him and demands the diamonds back that Clark supposedly stole. He also leaves one man dead with a ‘M’ marked on his forehead. A Scotland Yard inspector comes over to the estate to investigate the murder. He discovers a plot around the diamonds and a confrontation with the killer ensues. This detective movie uses the build-up of a horror. This makes the beginning quite suspenseful, but it becomes a bit dull halfway through, when it turns out to be just another mediocre whodunit. Still, it is not totally without a sense of style and humor. The electronic soundtrack is made by Oskar ‘The Birds’ Sala.

Planet of Dinosaurs (USA, 1978)

Directed by: James K. Shea
Written by: Jim Aupperle, Ralph Lucas
Cast: James Whitworth, Pamela Bottaro, Louie Lawless, Harvey Shain

The DVD cover of Planet of Dinosaurs is a true masterpiece, but does the movie live up to it? That depends on your taste for campy stop-motion creature features. The story: a spaceship crash lands on a seemingly deserted planet. There are initially nine survivors that start to scout the area. Within two minutes, there are eight survivors left. They have landed on the planet of the apes with dinosaurs!! Some observations:
– Space effects in the beginning, ships and stuff, are very funny.
– The crew has ‘four lasers’. Hmmm…[cynical]cool.[/cynical]
– One of the last stop motion creature flicks. It’s not Harryhausen, but there is quite a lot of variety in prehistoric monsters. Only too bad they are somewhat static.
– The actors are as convincing as the dinosaurs.
– Lame dialogues and synthesizer score.

Worth watching? Yes, if you find this type of thing hilarious. Otherwise avoid.

Diabolik (Italy / France, 1968)

Directed by: Mario Bava
Written by: Mario Bava, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates, Arduino Maiuri
Cast: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Adolfo Celi

Adaptation from the Italian comic book series, produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by horror author Mario Bava, doing a wonderful job outside of his usual territory. John Phillip Law plays anti hero Diabolik, a masked super thief who steals riches from both the government and the Mafia. His partner is the beautiful and voluptuous Eva (Marisa Mell). Together they fulfill the male fantasy: driving black and white jaguars, making love between 10 million dollars in a rotating bed and getting away with the most daring robberies. Their opponents are inspector Ginco and mob boss Valmont, who team up in an attempt to lure Diabolik and Eva into a trap. Bava directs this superhero movie with great style, while showing respect for the source material. He delivers one amazing set-piece after another, accompanied by a brilliant musical score from master Ennio Morricone. Camp was never before or after this spectacular. Diabolik = must see movie.

Mister Scarface (Italy / Germany, 1976)
OT: I padroni della città

Directed by: Fernando Di Leo
Written by: Peter Berling, Fernando Di Leo
Cast: Harry Baer, Al Cliver, Jack Palance, Gisela Hahn

Tony (Harry Baer) collects accounts receivable for gangster Luigi. His crime family gets involved in a power struggle with local bigshot ‘Scarface’ Manzari (Palance). Tony teams up with fellow collector Rick (Al Cliver). Together they plan to scheme Scarface out of a fortune and retire afterwards. This leads to an inevitable bloody confrontation with Scarface and his crew. The fuzzy plot and often inaudible dialogues (due to deteriorated picture quality) make this movie hard to follow at times. The good things are Palance’s demonic performance and the well crafted Napels underworld atmosphere. Lot’s of action and violence during the second half especially, make this worth a look for gangster film enthusiasts.


John Phillip Law and Marisa Mell in Diabolik.