One of my all time favorites.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The idea of "Carter's Army" is a good one, though awfully reminiscent of the contemporary film "The Dirty Dozen". However, the execution of the plot is, at best, sub-par. Too many of the characters seem like caricatures and often they seem more like 1970 actors than WWII soldiers by the way they talk and look. I call this sloppy. It's a shame, as a group of black soldiers proving themselves in combat is a great concept.An oddly cast Stephen Boyd (the Irishman) plays a redneck captain during WWII who is told they only soldiers available for a special assignment are some ragtag black infantrymen with zero combat experience and very little discipline. Considering how important the assignment is, giving the Captain these men really seemed very contrived.Among the black soldiers is a very nice group of actors--with Rosy Grier, Richard Pryor, Robert Hooks, Moses Gunn, Billy Dee Williams and Robert Turman among the soldiers. The problem, however, is that the dialog and situations they are given really don't given them much chance to show their acting talents. With too many clichés and some illogical characters (one is deaf....how many DEAF soldiers served in WWII?!?!?!).In many ways, this film might have worked better had it been a Vietnam War drama--because often the characters acted like folks from the civil rights generation of the 60s and 70s. As it is, it's mildly entertaining but also a bit stupid.

I got this as part of a 50 Movie Pack Combat Classics on amazon.com and for the price of the whole set this movie and Commando's which is on it also, are worth it alone, it's a good deal. Is this a low budget cheesy made for TV war movie with an over the top racism message? Absolutely! And why not make another over the top war movie with a racism message? Seems good to me, by the way white males must be the most educated when it comes to race relations since there are so many war movies made with the racism card played out and I don't think many other groups watch war movies. Anyway this is the first blaxploitation made for TV movie I ever saw, and man has it got a cast of black stars in it! I stayed with it all the way, despite how stupid it was sending a few men to take over a large dam, and men from a sanitation unit at that! If I was black I would probably rate it even higher although I think I'm being pretty generous giving it a 6 of 10 rating. I would have liked this a lot better if it was made for the movie theater because then we would have had a real street sense movie with all the colorful language and lord knows what else thrown in, being made for TV did make it a little PC in that I think that southern white officer would have been fragged and here he is not, lol. On a white guy geek note, there are prominent actor's from both the Star Wars and Star Trek universe's in here! I bet you can guess Billy D Williams as the first one (from Star Wars), but the lady in the farm house is none other then Vina from the Star Trek pilot, Susan Oliver (getting close to 40 and not so hot with her lack of green body paint on). I thought that was as Johnny Carson might say, "Some weird wacky stuff!". Black Brigade is definitely cult material and worth a viewing!

This is a film you can view and enjoy because it is a story about a Red Neck Capt. Beau Carter, (Stephen Boyd) who is ordered by a General to lead an all Black Brigade to protect a Dam that will be blown up by the Nazi forces. Capt. Beau was not so upset with having an all Black Brigade, but he learned that this Brigade was given for three, (3) years menial duties and had no experience in combat. One man was deaf and there was a soldier Pvt. Jonathan Crunk, (Richard Pryor) who did not want to die and he would run away from the enemy. This film tells a great story about the past and I am so glad we have progressed beyond racial barriers. This is a Gem of a film and very worth your time viewing this story. Enjoy.

I thought I knew it all when it came to Blaxploitation films and for that matter tv shows such as White Shadow and What's Happening. I came across this film in a chain video store and had to make a command decision. It was necessary to determine whether to buy and risk losing the few dollars or more arguably having an eyesore of an item that second hand stores would not even give money for. That would mean throwing it away if it were truly dreadful. I decided to pass at first b-lining home to read online reviews to see the scoop. Fortunately, the critics were kind enough, prompting me to return to the store with renewed vigor and confidence that I was not buying a total turkey. I played the first half of the tape on several occasions only halfway paying attention to ensure that it worked at least functionally. Well finally I had an audience and played it from beginning to end, and was not just impressed but very impressed. I grade on a curve considering the time period and budget put into the project. I really liked the character development in which the subtle differences of personalities remains consistent. The best friend twosome of Pryor and Grier is formable and yet handled in a subtle manner. The other allstars of Moses Gunn, Glynn Thurman, and Billy Dee Williams make this a film that a film expert of black cinema should not miss.