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THE BLACK GODFATHER
* * (1974, 80 minutes, Rated R)
An offering you can refuse.
Blaxploitation, you know I love it. The '70s was a heady era for film, what with its gritty classics and
uncanny ability to simply add the word "black" any given film title.
* * (1974, 80 minutes, Rated R)
An offering you can refuse.
Blaxploitation, you know I love it. The '70s was a heady era for film, what with its gritty classics and
uncanny ability to simply add the word "black" any given film title.
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So when I stumbled upon The Black Godfather on bmovies.com, it was quickly added to my short
list. Write-ups like this one I found on IMBD.com certainly helped:
list. Write-ups like this one I found on IMBD.com certainly helped:
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| Like this. |
| The Black Godfather is one of those underestimated movies that nobody seems to understand. I just cant understand these ratings and why nobody appreciates great actors like Rod Perry,who's performance as J.J. knocks Pacino's Michael Corleone character out of the field. This is the tale of urban mobsters at its best. Unlike Pacino,who inherits pretty much everything from his father, Nate (Jimmy Witherspoon) makes J.J. work for it. Along with great characters like Sonny (Tony Burton) and Tony, who's the perfect white villain,The Black Godfather is one of those unforgettable films you will not forget. You will be entranced by the excellent film-making. Also, look for Tangela Dixon's debut,who now works as a bus driver in Alachua County. She will be the one kicking butt on screen. Whoever does not own this film will be sorry. Not only did I buy myself a copy,but I went back and bought four more for my relatives. After this experience,the original Godfather will seem petty and worthless. Get this movie! |
Wow! I'll be "entranced by the excellent film-making"! "[T]he original Godfather will seem petty
and worthless"! If that all seems impossible to you, that's because it is.
We open with a botched burglary attempt where both burglars get shot for their troubles (it's the
'70s, back when city dwellers waited by the door with shotguns, just in case). They have a
Reservoir Dogs moment wh-- no, not the one with the Mexican stand-off or someone getting an
ear cut off, the moment when Mr. White is trying to rally a gut-shot Mr. Orange. Only this Mr.
Orange can't go on because he needs his fix! Always with the heroin, these blaxploitation films.
Our Mr. White is J.J., an up-and-comer in the black crime syndicate, whose testicular fortitude in
the botched burglary wins him the favor of crime boss Nate Williams, the Vito Corleone of our
story. J.J., the Micheal Corleone of our story, is awfully thankful. Funk to da credits!
and worthless"! If that all seems impossible to you, that's because it is.
We open with a botched burglary attempt where both burglars get shot for their troubles (it's the
'70s, back when city dwellers waited by the door with shotguns, just in case). They have a
Reservoir Dogs moment wh-- no, not the one with the Mexican stand-off or someone getting an
ear cut off, the moment when Mr. White is trying to rally a gut-shot Mr. Orange. Only this Mr.
Orange can't go on because he needs his fix! Always with the heroin, these blaxploitation films.
Our Mr. White is J.J., an up-and-comer in the black crime syndicate, whose testicular fortitude in
the botched burglary wins him the favor of crime boss Nate Williams, the Vito Corleone of our
story. J.J., the Micheal Corleone of our story, is awfully thankful. Funk to da credits!
| I like to imagine that this is a candid shot of Vito Corleone busting out with some air bass to the opening theme of The Black Godfather. |
Post-credits, time has passed and J.J. has amassed
himself quite a tidy power base. For as successful as he
has been offering protection, pimping, etc. (all done
off-screen, more on that in a bit) and getting involved with
Nate's daughter (gratuitous nudity alert!), J.J.'s biggest
success is in uniting various factions and gangs within the
black community. Soon, J.J. is ready to begin his primary
goal: To drive all of the heroin out of the black community by
taking on white drug lord Tony, the Clemenza of our story.
Unfortunately for J.J., Tony finds this plan rather
objectionable. And so does Nate, actually. Turns out Tony
and Nate have a bit of a gentlemen's agreement. I thought
it might turn into a very interesting three-way crime war, but
instead, between Tony's arrogance and J.J.'s moralizing,
Nate begins to fall in line with his apprentice.
Tony, per blaxploitation rules, has the velvety voice of an old
school radio announcer and lives like a Bond villain. He
spends so much time hanging out at poolside with a bevy
of bikini-clad women, playing chess and chuckling over his
own cleverness, that it's hard to imagine he makes time to
himself quite a tidy power base. For as successful as he
has been offering protection, pimping, etc. (all done
off-screen, more on that in a bit) and getting involved with
Nate's daughter (gratuitous nudity alert!), J.J.'s biggest
success is in uniting various factions and gangs within the
black community. Soon, J.J. is ready to begin his primary
goal: To drive all of the heroin out of the black community by
taking on white drug lord Tony, the Clemenza of our story.
Unfortunately for J.J., Tony finds this plan rather
objectionable. And so does Nate, actually. Turns out Tony
and Nate have a bit of a gentlemen's agreement. I thought
it might turn into a very interesting three-way crime war, but
instead, between Tony's arrogance and J.J.'s moralizing,
Nate begins to fall in line with his apprentice.
Tony, per blaxploitation rules, has the velvety voice of an old
school radio announcer and lives like a Bond villain. He
spends so much time hanging out at poolside with a bevy
of bikini-clad women, playing chess and chuckling over his
own cleverness, that it's hard to imagine he makes time to
run a drug empire. Sure enough, he does, and it comes as quite a shock to J.J. when Tony
retaliates against the whole "squeeze out Tony" campaign. And the war is on.
The "war" largely consists of J.J. raiding a drug shipment at a private airport in the middle of the
night. The whole shootout is presented in Classic Confusovision[TM]. Whereas today's
Confusiovision[TM] relies heavily on shaky camera work, Classic Confusovision features an
aggressive lack of lighting. I spent the entire shootout trying to figure out who's who and where
they are in relation to the action. I failed. The scene ends with a car kamakazing into the drug
plane and a lengthy shot of the burning wreckage.
J.J. and Tony's mental chess game builds to a final showdown in a hospital, the kind of
showdown where the smoke settles and dead bodies are left laying about, our heroes feel
relieved and happily walk away from the mountain of incriminating forensic evidence.
Of course, this movie has a much bigger problem than it's silly ending. While Black Godfather
hits all the usual blaxploitation themes -- social corruption, equating money and power,
struggling to "make it" -- the film falls into a trap of its own making: J.J. is so damned, painfully
earnest.
When J.J. decides that he wants to run Tony out of the black community, he's not doing it to take
over that drug turf like every other crime boss in the history of forever. Oh, no, Saint J.J. is doing it
to make his world A Better Place (though the heroin addicts in his community might disagree).
Tony may be the only character in the film who remembers that J.J. is a crime lord, not a
community organizer. Everyone else is very quick to overlook the fact that J.J. can conduct his
personal war on drugs because he's a crook and a thief and a pimp. J.J. is presented as so
above the board, he's like the Pollyanna of crime.
retaliates against the whole "squeeze out Tony" campaign. And the war is on.
The "war" largely consists of J.J. raiding a drug shipment at a private airport in the middle of the
night. The whole shootout is presented in Classic Confusovision[TM]. Whereas today's
Confusiovision[TM] relies heavily on shaky camera work, Classic Confusovision features an
aggressive lack of lighting. I spent the entire shootout trying to figure out who's who and where
they are in relation to the action. I failed. The scene ends with a car kamakazing into the drug
plane and a lengthy shot of the burning wreckage.
J.J. and Tony's mental chess game builds to a final showdown in a hospital, the kind of
showdown where the smoke settles and dead bodies are left laying about, our heroes feel
relieved and happily walk away from the mountain of incriminating forensic evidence.
Of course, this movie has a much bigger problem than it's silly ending. While Black Godfather
hits all the usual blaxploitation themes -- social corruption, equating money and power,
struggling to "make it" -- the film falls into a trap of its own making: J.J. is so damned, painfully
earnest.
When J.J. decides that he wants to run Tony out of the black community, he's not doing it to take
over that drug turf like every other crime boss in the history of forever. Oh, no, Saint J.J. is doing it
to make his world A Better Place (though the heroin addicts in his community might disagree).
Tony may be the only character in the film who remembers that J.J. is a crime lord, not a
community organizer. Everyone else is very quick to overlook the fact that J.J. can conduct his
personal war on drugs because he's a crook and a thief and a pimp. J.J. is presented as so
above the board, he's like the Pollyanna of crime.
| Gangsta. |
It's annoying. Who wants to see a mob movie like that?
Nolahn watched this movie on bmovies.com,
which has hundreds of titles ready to stream
right to your computer for free. Check it out.
which has hundreds of titles ready to stream
right to your computer for free. Check it out.
| '10 Binnie Winner! |