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Cecil Alonzo, Margaret Avery, Val Avery, Allen Balley, Don Pedro Colley ... see more see more... , Minnie Gentry , Myrna Hansen , Julius Harris , Gloria Hendry , Art Lund , Patrick McAllister , Philip Roye , William Wellman Jr. , James Dixon , Larry Lurin , D'Urville Martin , Fred Williamson , Omer Jeffrey , Jeffrey Michael

Cult director Larry Cohen (It's Alive) directed this violent blaxploitation film. Nasty racist John McKinney cripples a black shoeshine boy, who grows up to be Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson), the Godfa... read more read more...ther of Harlem. The crimelord now has his tormentor McKinney (Art Lund) in his pocket, based on the cop's mob ties. Tommy's traitorous girlfriend Helen (Gloria Hendry) hands over the evidence, and McKinney moves in for the kill. But he may have underestimated the violent Tommy, who makes him shine his shoes in blackface while singing "Mammy." Rick Baker provided makeup effects, and James Brown did the music for this bloody oddity, followed the same year by Hell Up in Harlem. Cohen and Williamson got together 23 years later for an interesting (if unsuccessful) attempt at reviving the genre, Original Gangstas. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

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61% liked it

2,914 ratings

Critics

50% liked it

10 critics

R, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Larry Cohen

Release Date: February 7, 1973

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DVD Release Date: January 9, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (135)

  • cosmo313
    May 31, 2011
    cosmo313
    This is inextricably linked to the blaxploitation era that it came out during, and it does fit into that area, but I feel like calling this a a blaxploitation film devalues it, or gives people the wrong ideas about it.

    This actually owes a lot more to the gangster pictures of th... read moree 1930s and 1940s which makes a lot of sense since this is apparently a black remake of Little Caesar. Even if it wasn't a remake, the influence is still quite valid thanks to the story structure and content.

    This isn't the typical cheesy black action movie like its contemporaries, but it is still a blak crime film, so that's why it is still slightly appropriate to lump it in as blaxploitation. It's on the higher end of that scale, but it's not a heavy intellectual piece either.

    But it is lots of fun, very entertaining, and quite well made. The camera work is good, the chase through midtown is fun and nicely executed, and it's just a hard film to dislike. Fred Williamson gives a strong lead performance in a variation of the rags to riches story. The story beats are familiar, but not completely conventional (a few flourishes prevent this). The rest of the cast is good too, but none of them are quite as good as Fred.

    James Brown's score is lots of fun and fits the film well, even though it's not one of his best, or one of the best soundtracks from the era. It's still pretty decent though.

    Give this one a chance. It's pretty good. My only real complaint is that it could have had a bit more substance or subtext. Then I could justify giving it the extra half star it feels like it was shooting for. There is one great scene towards the end that has some strong substance, and there are some other places throughout, but mostly it's a case of the film having a lot of great ideas and stuff, but not much of it is fully fleshed out or expanded upon.
  • matertenebraum
    October 16, 2009
    matertenebraum
    This film is great. Immortalised by Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube on "Burn Hollywood, Burn" from the Fear Of A Black Planet LP, as soon as I heard Driving Miss Daisy being rejected for Black Caesar (listen to the track, you'll understand) I knew that I had to see this... read more film. After all, if it's good for three of my favourite rap artists then it's good enough for me, right?

    So I saw a copy in Bedford while I was doing my teacher training course, and me and my mate Jai went back to the place we were staying at and watched it. I was spellbound - it is one of the best Black aimed films that I own! (I don't like the term 'Blaxploitation'. Have you noticed that there doesn't seem to be an official 'Whitesploitation' genre?)

    OOH ARR BOOOYEEEE, SPOILERS BEEEEELOW.

    Anyway, for those that are interested in a review of the film rather than my personal beliefs, the film concerns Tommy Gibbs, a Black gangster who gets a job for the local Mob after a nifty killing in a barber shop. (This comes after an excellent beginning that sees him assist in the murder of a gangster in the middle of a crowded street.) It charts his rise and fall... much in the manner of Scarface (either version). As Larry Cohen says in his DVD commentary, it's more of a Black version of the old 1940s gangster films than it is a straight up exploitation piece like Slaughter or Black Gunn. I won't go into much detail as I urge you all to watch it, but I might add a couple of trivial points: you should watch it back to back with the sequel - Hell Up In Harlem. If you do, though, bear in mind that the print that survives has a substantially different ending. I say no more.

    Watch this film - it is truly a classic.
  • dhetteix
    January 4, 2008
    dhetteix
    Fred Williamson is one of the best actors of the Blaxploitation era, and his performance here is on par with his other work.

    As a spin-off film, taking previously made plots and story hooks, and incorporating all-black casts for marketability, the film is a success, drawing nice... read morely on mob and crime films of the era. As anything but Blaxploitation, the film adds nothing new to the easily-executed crime genre. Standard and forgettable when taken out of its niche.
  • hypathio7
    July 13, 2011
    hypathio7
    I have yet to see Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar, but after reading about that movie and other gangster films in the book We're in the Money: Depression American and Its Films, I can see where this pic gets its rise and fall storyline, its style, and its title.The acting is ... read morefairly solid. The low budget is evident occasionally, but not too often. I liked the family drama involved. The fact that this gangster Tommy Gibbs (Williamson) has a mother and father who seem like real people and who appear in more than one throw-away scene was a pleasant surprise. The fact that Tommy stumbles around after being shot for as long as he does was too ridiculous.
  • mpghoul1973
    February 9, 2011
    mpghoul1973
    A really well made film that owes its debts to 30 gangster films. Black Caesar never feels like a cheap knock off, but a film really paying homage to the great gangster films of those times. Fred Williamson is perfect in the role of shoe shine boy who rises to power to take over ... read morethe streets Harlem.
    The real touch of class to the film is how his rise to power affects those around him, namely his mother, his preist brother and his absent father. The action is great and it never bores. Definatly a must for those who like blaxploitation era films.
  • kingmob6
    February 12, 2009
    kingmob6
    A really well-conceived tale of the rise of Tommy from shoe-shine boy to crime lord and how it effects those around himi.

    It's been done with bigger budgets and bigger name actors, but Larry Cohen's low budget down and dirty New York really has a charm all its own.

    Recommended.
  • beyonderburns
    December 7, 2008
    beyonderburns
    Very Good Movie. A Ghetto Classic ! Perhaps Fred Williamson's best. Unlike most films of the blackploitation era, this one has a great storyline and real ending.

View All Black Caesar Reviews

Critic Reviews

May 9, 2005
New York Times

Mr. Williamson, in short, can't be blamed for the plot contrivances that hinge mostly on action and bloodshed. Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Cohen's technique is almost laughably crude, but a core of frightening conviction remains. Full Review

Cole Smithey
May 16, 2009
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

a distinctive pastiche of the tough cynical attitudes held by oppressed minorities the world over. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
October 15, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It plays to urban black audiences' fears and fantasies. Full Review

March 13, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Writer-director Larry Cohen's clever and entertaining paean to traditional gangster films (a la Little Caesar) updates the genre to contemporary Harlem and was a major hit with urban audiences. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Unfortunately it all remains too crude to convince one of its better intentions. Full Review

Nick Schager
January 19, 2006
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Suffused with socio-political resentment and enlivened by James Brown's classic soul-funk soundtrack. Full Review

May 24, 2003
Film4

A funky 70s soundtrack by the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, is by far the best element in this tough blaxploitation gangster saga which was written and directed by erratic talent Larry Cohen. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 21, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Philip Martin
December 30, 2002
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

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