Black Caesar Review on DVD from MGM on Severed Cinema
BUY BLACK CAESAR
AKA: The
Godfather of Harlem, Street Kill, Black Max, O chefao de
New York
Directed by: Larry Cohen
Written by: Larry Cohen
Produced by: Larry Cohen, James Dixon, Peter Sabaston,
Janelle Cohen
Cinematography by: Fenton Hamilton
Editing by: George Folsey Jr
Music by: James Brown
Special Effects by: Rick Baker
Cast: Fred Williamson, Gloria Hendry, Art Lund, Val
Avery, Minnie Gentry, Philip Roye
Year: 1973
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color
Runtime: 1hr 30mins
On Severed Cinema we try to cover a wide
variety of genres. However, aside from oddities such as Dr.
Black & Mr. Hyde (see
review),
and in a way The Thing with Two Heads (see
review),
so called Blaxploitation Cinema is neglected. Shamefully because
the category has so many topics such as horror, action, comedy,
westerns and thrillers. So much falls under the heading in such
a short period of time when a huge splash of movies made stars
the likes of Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Max Julien
and shared time with names such as Rudy Ray Moore, Richard Prior
and Isaac Hayes.
Blaxploitation made money yet are simply films wherein the
central cast are black, and casual or strong racism is thrown
into the mix. Racist cops, politicians, sheriffs, lawyers,
whores, a majority of whites are like a dinner party between the
UKIP and the KKK.
I'm a huge collector of 70s 'black' films (well, a lot of 70s
films truth be told), and I feel it's time to address the
balance here on Severed Cinema. Behold, Black Caesar, one of the originators
of Blaxploitation which is written and directed by Larry (The
Stuff, Q: The Winged Serpent) Cohen, a man whom put
his hand to many things and made them golden. Starring
Exploitation workhorse, Fred (From Dusk Till Dawn, Hammer, 1990: The Bronx Warriors) Williamson at a time his star
was truly beginning to rise and captures the obvious public
wanting for rough and tumble gangster flicks.
We begin in the 50s and the teenagehood of Tommy Gibbs, our
main guy. He's seen as a shoe shine boy, but it's all just a
ploy to have a man hit in the street. Tommy is a runner. He
spends his time helping and doing deliveries for the gangs. As
the marvellous James Brown soundtrack throws us Down and Out
in New York City, Tommy is running and meeting suited men.
One day he delivers a payoff to McKinney who is an on-beat cop
in the precinct. Remember, nigger, you've never seen me!
I'll cut your black balls off! McKinney snarls on the
stairs in his tenement building. He then decides the money is
short by fifty dollars so he begins to frisk Tommy. Next thing
we know he's brutally beating the lad down to the floor.
The years pass. Tommy has grown up to be a tall smoothly dressed
dude with huge lamb chop sideburns. He's stayed with the street
life, rising through the ranks and has decided to plunge head
first into a make or break deal with the local Italian hoods. To
do this, he kills a man with a contract on his head in the
barbers. Cutting the dead man's ear off, he heads to a
restaurant and plops it onto the plate of mob boss, Cardoza. Thought
your sauce needed more meat. he grins. Cardoza slowly calms
down after hearing what Tommy has done. He's invited to sit at
the table, and the boss cracks a few racist jokes just for the
hell of it. Tommy explains how, since the Cardoza are known not
to like or employ blacks, Tommy and his men could carry out
untraceable hits. All he wants is control of blocks in Harlem. Whaddaya
want with dat? It's a shithole! Cardoza blurts. Tommy nods,
I'll make it work.
Thus, Tommy and his friends run the streets. The hookers, the
numbers, all of it. They do the hits as instructed and look
slick for the James Brown music. They discuss with a lawyer,
Coleman, about running the money through to invest the
properties and, as Tommy's childhood pal, Joe 'The Brain'
states, it must be used to put something back into their
community. This causes Tommy to slyly grin. He leans over the
lawyer; Have you heard of a bag man called Grossfield?
It transpires that there's a ledger filled with the names of
people on the take since the days of Tommy running as a kid. In
fact, he saw these ledgers and recalls how powerful they would
be in the right hands. Every now and then, Grossfield has to
take them from his safety deposit box and have them checked
over. The time is soon. Coleman agrees to 'represent' them and
their 'interests' once the ledgers are in Tommy's hands.
On the chosen night, at an empty club, Tommy's girl, Helen is
unknowingly roped into proceedings as he tells her to sing and
play loud. When she hears the gunshots her face reveals the
terror she feels when faced by her man.
Putting everyone on the payroll and inviting them for a
discussion, whilst the ledgers are on the desk for them to see
is the next step in the plan. One such person is McKinney, who
has risen high in the police ranks and as they both lock eyes,
the sheer hatred can be felt by all in the room. Right now
you're as high as a junkie with a hundred dollar habit,
McKinney sneers, but everyone crashes!
In a surprise move, Tommy buys his lawyer's apartment, including
all belongings for a healthy price. Coleman is stunned but
accepts. I grew up with your leftovers. Tommy waxes
lyrical to his 'friend'. The next morning, their maid, Abbey,
arrives. She's Tommy's mother! You been takin' dope?
she snaps, I ain't workin' fo' you! You an ungrateful bum!
However, he's bought it for her, but she sobs. I wouldn't
know what to do, I am a maid, Tommy!
Tommy sits down with Cardoza in the restaurant and laughs off
the bosss racist jibes, whilst his men swamp Cardoza's gunmen
from the roof. Their new agreement is that Tommy will be the
man, whilst Cardoza will be the token 'white face' for everyone
else. Cardoza threatens him with his brothers. Tommy smiles. You
know, I fancy a trip to California. Next stop is the
Cardoza villa in California and they slaughter every Sicilian on
the premises with some rather over-the-top 70s gunshot wriggle
deaths lobbed in for a chuckle. Tommy has everything now!
I guarantee it, you're one dead coon by the end of the week.
states McKinney just before Tommy meets up with the last of the
head guys in his area. Tommy promises them he'll leave the
narcotic business alone, and their pays won't change. Things
will be quiet in the ghetto. he says.
He's a street celebrity now. People chant for him. However, all
highs do crash down. In Tommy's case it begins slowly. Helen is
still distant to him. His power mad ego causes him to rape her.
So this is the way you like it?
Then his Pops appears in his life raising memories of hardships.
As they walk around the derelict projects he grew up in, Tommy
snarls. Didn't it occur to you I might have waited twenty
five years jus' to kill you??! He does let him go. I
don't ever want to see you again!
Learning there may be a retaliation coming his way, Tommy
decides to hire some extra Detroit muscle and send Helen away
with Joe, but then Momma dies, totally shattering his world. He
becomes paranoid and his rage is directed towards Helen and Joe.
Two years pass by, McKinney and Coleman get together to plan
Tommy's downfall. One by one, Tommy's men are massacred.
McKinney uses Helen to get close to his nemesis. He wants those
ledgers! As his life spirals out of control, Tommy finds himself
trying to tie up all the loose ends whilst holding his bleeding
stomach after receiving a gut shot in the busy streets. The
loose ends include car chases, double crosses and violent
deaths. It all concludes with a sorrowful and jaw dropping
scene. (When I first watched Black Caesaron VHS with a
close friend, years ago, he dropped his beer bottle in shock.
Years later, my Horror Soulmate just stared at the screen in
stunned silence).
Ironically enough, the ending was apparently released
accidentally. It was all meant to end about three minutes
earlier and did upon its original theatrical showing (leading on
smoothly into its sequel, Hell Up in Harlem... which
isn't fit to shine the shoes of Black Caesar, aside from
the fact Tommy's Pops has a marvellous role in it) but the
European tapes somehow brought with them this far better
conclusion.
In Black Caesar's world, every white face is a
backstabbing racist. There's more use of Nigger Coon
and Black bastard than a gathering in Alabama where the
second coming of Jesus himself comes out wearing a KKK hood!
What else can I say? Well, the film is a classic, however the
MGM release on DVD is confusing. Returning to the situation with
the ending, Stable Cane's big box tape included a verbal
exchange between Tommy and the gang of street kids. MGM's just
has James Brown playing as the scene plays out. Weird when you
can see their lips moving. Also on Stable Cane's, JB's theme
bangs out far more dramatically. As the last date displays on
the screen, we have a huge: Down and out...!! wherein
now it's a later segment of music instead. It is very hard to
explain in words, it just has to be heard to get what I mean.
MGM decided just to slap the trailer on as an extra but they
aren't known for daubing their DVDs with earth shattering extras
are they?
CLICK TO
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DVD SPECS:
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
16:9
Region: NTSC R1
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo