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Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott, Allan Arbus ... see more see more... , Sid Haig , Morris Buchanan , Barry Cahill , Lee de Broux , Linda Haynes , Ruben Moreno , Bob Minor , Lisa Farringer , Carol Lawson , John Perak

Writer-director Jack Hill (Spider Baby, Switchblade Sisters) managed to beat Death Wish to the screens by a year with this violent tale of a citizen touched by crime and deciding to fight back. Her li... read more read more...ttle 11-year old sister is a hopeless addict, the police can't help, and poor Nurse "Coffy" Coffin (Pam Grier) has no choice but to take the law into her own hands. Posing as a Jamaican prostitute, Coffy infiltrates the lairs of pimp King George (Robert DoQui) and kingpin pusher Vitroni (Allan Arbus). Eventually, after her childhood sweetheart is beaten into a coma and she finds out her politician-lover (Booker Bradshaw) is involved, Coffy kills everyone with a shotgun. However, by having a black woman named Coffy get injected with a sugar mixture (the crooks think it's heroin), one can only imagine the filmmakers cackling about Coffy with cream and sugar. In fact, the original ad line promised "Coffy...she'll cream you!" ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Flixster Users

73% liked it

8,249 ratings

Critics

79% liked it

19 critics

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Jack Hill

Release Date: June 13, 1973

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DVD Release Date: December 26, 2001

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Stats: 508 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (508)

  • cosmo313
    August 7, 2010
    cosmo313
    While this film isn't 100% great as far as technical stuff, or acting, it definitely promises what it delivers. This is one of the most famous, influential, and noteworthy blaxploitation films on the 1970s. Although she had film roles before this, this is the film that made Pam G... read morerier's career. Without this character (and a few other lead female roles from otehr blaxploitation films), there wouldn't be any badass female action heroes like Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor, or Lara Croft. It's that simple. Yeah, this movie is a little cheesy, and features some questionable morals and actions, but it's hard not to like a sassy tough chick who fights dirty by hiding razor blades in her afro.
    The music kicks ass too. I'm surprised the soundtrack for this isn't as well known as the ones for Shaft and Super Fly.

    If you like urban action movies, blaxploitation films, revenge flicks, and have a thing for 70s cinema in general, you really need to see this if you haven't done so already.
  • matertenebraum
    October 17, 2009
    matertenebraum
    If you only watch one blaxploitation movie make it this one. There is much fun to be had in many films of the genre, but here the central performance by Pam Grier is monumental. She may not be the greatest actress in the world, but what presence, and when the big boys fall for he... read morer at the wink of an eye, it is believable. Perhaps at the end it is a little over the top, that on such a serious mission a guy would pause for a quickie, but then?. This measured, involving and exciting. There is much violence, including the most wonderful massed cat fight, and much gratuitous violence. In fact during the aforementioned cat fight, all the girls involved have their breasts spill out one after the other. The dialogue is fine and scenes are not overlong as they can be in this genre. Also, the costumes have to get a mention and impressive as Grier's are it's the top bad boys that really come up trumps, as for the top pimp's jump suit, in yellow, what can I say?
  • SirPant
    September 30, 2009
    SirPant
    Another great Grier/Hill blaxploitation collaboration, you just know somebody?s gonna lose a dick!
  • FilmFanatik
    April 14, 2009
    FilmFanatik
    Outside of Car Wash, this was my first foray into blacksploitation, much to my shame. So with that, I revel in just how fantastically awesome Coffy is. This movie won't be for everyone, but for outrageous cinema or grindhouse fans, it's a feast for the senses. Pam Grier stars ... read moreas the sexy bad-ass mutha Coffy, out for revenge against the scum of society. The acting here is about what you'd expect from these sorts of movies: mostly campy and WAY out there, but fun and enjoyable. Don't expect any Oscar-worthy performances. Just enjoy the ride. On a sidenote, keep an eye out for Allan Arbus, who fans may recognize as the infamous Sidney Freeman from M*A*S*H. He popped up in the main cast and I was thinking "Sidney, my man!" :D The score is the typical 70's blacksploitational fare; lots of wah wah guitar and smooth black voices. I love it and can't get it enough of it, particularly the pimp's theme which repeats 'George' over and over again. Hilarious and groovy. I can't really find any faults with this flick because it's not meant to be anymore than what it is, and that's ok because I enjoy the hell out of it. Pam Grier kicking the underworld's ass, all the while being sexy AND bad, but most people won't get it. It's blacksploitation, action, sexiness (there are tits popped out in a LOT of scenes), cheesy dialogue, explosions, guns and car chases. You'd be hard-pressed not to have a good time with this one.
  • adammahler1
    February 25, 2008
    adammahler1
    weird: celebrates vengeance against the whites and black pimps sexually objectifying Coffy but the camera ogles Pam Grier's body whether she's lost a fistfight or is kicking ass
  • kenstachnik
    October 1, 2007
    kenstachnik
    Pam Grier maybe the biggest badass...ever
  • dhetteix
    June 19, 2007
    dhetteix
    A not-so-classy revenge flick that launched Pam Grier to superstardom.

    The film is more gutsy than many other Blaxploitation movies, both in the seriousness, and in gore content... we literally get a half-second of head exploding within the first 5 minutes, and fights seem to st... read moreart at the drop of a hat. The obligatory anti-drug protagonism and eponymous title song identify it strongly as a blaxploitation film.

    But, not entirely. Layer the excessive nudity and catfights on top of the violence, and it almost begins to seem like a film Russ Meier would have idolized... low-cut blouses get ripped open at any and all times, and of course, a man doesn't flash so much as a nipple: the film is almost a pure blend of sexploitation and blaxploitation.

    By the end, a scene which must have influenced Tarentino in Kill Bill: Vol 2, where the revenge-driven femme-fatale is forced to confront the object of her vengeance: her former lover.
  • mjgildea
    April 16, 2007
    mjgildea
    Not a good movie at all. Just nostalgic.
  • lesleyanorton
    September 13, 2009
    lesleyanorton
    Pam Grier gets her revenge on the baddies that turned her sister into a drug addict. Plenty of violence, toplessness and girl-power for people who like that kind of thing, and why not. Nice soundtrack by Roy Ayres.
  • KLFilmmaker
    October 22, 2007
    KLFilmmaker
    Pam Grier is a knockout and in this movie we see her in her prime. I never saw many of this genre, but I'm glad I took a chance on this one.

View All Coffy Reviews

Critic Reviews

Don Druker
March 28, 2007
Don Druker, Chicago Reader

Jack Hill directs for maximal suspense, violence, and voyeuristic appeal (which Grier certainly embodies). Full Review

March 28, 2007
Variety

Grier, a statuesque actress with a body she doesn't hesitate to show, is strongly cast. Booker Bradshaw as a city politician and William Elliott as an honest cop score well. Full Review

A.H. Weiler
May 9, 2005
A.H. Weiler, New York Times

Leaves a viewer with the happy thought that she now can get back to nursing and away from films like Coffy. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Coffy is slightly more serious and a little more inventive than it needs to be. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
November 16, 2009
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

Grier is the movie's bristling force Full Review

March 28, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

If you're looking for nonstop, no-holds-barred exploitation, look no further. Pam Grier's first solo starring role is an enormously entertaining black action classic. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 6, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The film totally revolves around Pam and she carries the film with a lethal and sexy punch. Full Review

February 9, 2006
Time Out

The world Coffy inhabits is revealed as one where social, sexual and political exploitation are simply the norms. Full Review

Bill Chambers
January 17, 2004
Bill Chambers, Film Freak Central

There's no denying the film's savage power Full Review

Kevin N. Laforest
September 10, 2002
Kevin N. Laforest, Montreal Film Journal

If only for Grier's performance, Coffy is a must see. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Coffy Trivia

  • Is this a real movie title? Coffy (1973)  Answer »
  • Quentin Tarantino was inspired to make ?Jackie Brown? by the 1974 ?Foxy Brown?. Both starred Pam Grier. What was the first movie to star Pam Grier?  Answer »
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