Let's be realistic.

Dreadfully Boring

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Despite finding the chapter dedicated to him in Kim Newman's Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s to be very interesting,I have somehow never got round to seeing a title from auteur film maker Larry Cohen.Talking to a fellow IMDber about the Blaxploitation genre,I found out that Cohen's second movie was in the genre,which led to me getting ready to hail Larry Cohen's Caesar.The plot-1953:After getting paid for helping out in a mob hit, Tommy Gibbs is sent to give corrupt cop McKinney his share. Claiming that he has been short changed and revealing himself to be deeply racist,McKinney beats Gibbs into a bloody pulp,and leaves him in hospital.1965:Ever since taking that beating,Gibbs has slowly built his presence on " the street." Learning that a "whites only" gang has put a wanted dead ad out for a rival gangster,Gibbs tracks down the mobster and kills him.Meeting up with the gang,Gibbs reveals that he killed their target due to their being no chance that the cops would suspect him working with a "whites only" mob. Pushing the gang to give him a reward for the killing,Gibbs is given 2 run-down streets to run.As he turns the broken streets around into money makers,Gibbs sets his sights on finally getting his revenge on McKinney.View on the film:Filmed on the streets of New York,writer/director Larry Cohen & cinematographer Fenton Hamilton give the title a grubby Film Noir appearance,as clipped whip-pans give the on-street violence a gripping,frantic mood,as Cohen's dashing camera moves catch the startled expressions of real New Yorkers finding themselves walking down Gibb's blood-ridden streets.Backed by a hip 'n funky James Brown score,Cohen blends Gibbs extravagant suits with a blunt force violent delivery,which go from leg breaking police beatings,to rival gangster being covered in burnt up gun wounds.Spanning a period of more than 20 years,the screenplay by Cohen gives the first half a light-footed quickness,thanks to Gibbs taking on his battle to control the streets with a slick mix of harsh violence and alluring charisma.Whilst the change in atmosphere is pretty jarring,Cohen shows an impressive bravely in making his "hero" look as ugly as possible,with the haunting memory of Gibbs police beating leading to him rotting away in a Film Noir wasteland.Smirking every time he sets his sights on Gibbs, Art Lund gives a great,gruff performance as McKinney,whose urge to kick Gibbs back down is always bubbling underneath.Taking on a role originally offered to Sammy Davis Jr, Fred Williamson gives a fantastic performance as Gibbs,thanks to Williamson giving Gibbs a firm swagger as he builds his empire,which starts to crumble as Williamson lights up Gibbs short-fuse,as rival gangs start setting their sights on seeing this "Little Caesar" fall.

(73%) Without a doubt one of the better blaxploitation movies ever to be spawned from the 1970's era. Fred Williamson is pretty perfect in the lead role playing a character that is far away from being the good guy, or hero of the movie, as he ruthlessly takes whatever he can get, and with force if needs be. And like a lot of these movies they tried to please the audience with a mix of drama and action which works well, so too James Brown's super cool soundtrack. Of course the movie isn't perfect (the pace goes AWOL at times, and the small budget is pushed to the limit), but overall this is a fine example of the breed, with a good(ish) morality tale at its heart.

I can't say I'm a fan of "Blaxploitation" films, and indeed this one is one of my very few forays into the genres. It didn't change my opinion much either; what we have here is basically a crime thriller along the same lines as Scarface, except most of the main players are black. The film appealed to me mainly because of the fact that it's written and directed by Larry Cohen who also wrote and directed some of my favourite low budget trash films; films such as It's Alive, The Stuff, Q and The Ambulance. This is an early Cohen film and it appears he didn't get much chance to refine his craft as despite a decent directional debut with 'Bone' a year earlier; this film mostly fits the 'trash' bill in the bad way. The lead character is Tommy Gibbs, who starts off a young kid and gets his leg broken by a copper during a robbery. He's not best pleased and upon his return several years later, he decides to rise to power himself in order to put up a fight against the powers that stand already; both the criminal and the law enforcement.Aside from the fact that the film didn't appeal to me much, it's also badly written and doesn't make up for in originality what it lacks in substance. As mentioned, I'm not well versed in this genre; but I imagine it's more about style than anything else and Larry Cohen does at least give the film a cool vibe that is well done. James Brown features heavily on the soundtrack and it works with the film, although the scenes involving "The Boss" only served in reminding me of how Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels used the song much better. The lead role is taken by Fred Williamson and it does have to be said that he's one of the best things about the film. The central role in this film does require someone 'cool' to play it, and Williamson certainly is that person. The plot is a problem because it's never exactly difficult to tell where it's going and this results in the film not having a great deal of suspense. Cohen's script doesn't really make us care for the lead character either, which means it doesn't really matter where the film goes. This might appeal to fans of this genre but it hasn't made me want to see more it...I don't recommend this one.

Say what you will about Larry Cohen, for me he is the sui generis of maverick, grindhouse directors. He is my urban guerrilla film maker of choice. Who else shoots all over NYC without permits, unleashing wounded Harlem kingpins on unsuspecting midday shoppers on 5th Avenue, or racing cabs down NYC sidewalks with thugs in hot pursuit, on foot no less? Although he has been slotted in the grindhouse and cult categories, Cohen doesn't really belong in either, mixing classic Hollywood b-unit gangster formula and 1970s blaxploitation, with a healthy measure of social comment bludgeoned in.BC is a well-known tale of the rise and fall of a crime boss that follows the conventions of it's namesake, Little Caesar. It's protagonist, played by a convincing and charismatic Fred Williamson, wants power, revenge and some social and economic justice for the people of Harlem. He gets it, by Bogarting his way into the confidence of a local Mafia boss, blackmailing corrupt city officials into submission and siphoning some of his ill-gotten gains into legitimate black owned business. But as his ambition and power grow, so does the hatred of his enemies and the alienation of his family, girlfriend and allies. Like Caesar, he is headed for a fall, but unlike Rico, it's a fall that grandstands it's way across Manhattan in broad daylight, even making a pit stop for a little well earned payback, culminating, surprisingly in a homage to Buñuel.If you like slick and polished, don't look here. As cheap as a low budget film can get, Cohen used his own basement and his mom's house as sets, and every time he comes up with an expensive car, I wonder who he borrowed it from. But his best set is great, a raw, gritty and unsuspecting NYC of the early 70s. The acting is sometimes sub-par or over-the-top (this fits though) but often good, especially by Gloria Hendry, girlfriend (who we don't see enough of), Julius Harris, estranged Dad, Minnie Gentry, Mama Gibbs and Williamson best of all. The soundtrack, by the Godfather himself, James Brown, is perfect, and probably the best of any film of this genre.