Favorite 1970s Blaxsploitation Movies and Sexploitation Movies (cinema, films, Hollywood)
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Favorite 1970s Blaxsploitation Movies and Sexploitation Movies
Let's face it all Hollywood has lost their minds. Movies now have to be made out of television shows for heaven's sake. The Drive In's have been closed or demolished to make strip malls and McMansions. The culture today is so bland so tasteless a whole gallon of Tabasco Sauce just wouldn't improve the taste.
Let us go back to a simpler time a time when movies were controversial and the Drive In was the place to go. I am talking the 1970s. The 1970s decade was the last bout of originality our American culture would ever have. Teen movies where the kids got naked and smoked pot and badassss Black women with Afros karate kicking bad guys. No time in Cinema has been like it before or will ever be again. The acting was raw and fluid unlike
So who lives for Black and Sex Ploitation movies? I am going to make a list of some of my favorite flicks lets see if ours match.
1. Coffy (choosing between 1 and 2 was painful).
2. The Mack
3. Superfly
4. Sweet Sweetbacks Badasss Song
5. Black Mama White Mama
6. Foxy Brown
7. The Shaft Collection all the movies.
8. Dolemite
9. Black Caesar
10. Hell Up In Harlem
11. Across 110th Street
12. Slaughter/Slaughters Big Ripoff
13. That Man Bolt
14. Cleopatra Jones
15. Petey Wheatstraw
16. Mean Johnny Barrows
17. Black Gunn
18. Sheba Baby
19. Cotton Comes to Harlem
20. Human Tornado
21. Detroit 9000
There are a buncha other movies besides sequels I am not naming. There is another disc set out with ultra rare ones from the 1970s unheard of in 30 plus years.
Honorable Mention-Pam Griers caged women movies
Big Bird Cage
Women in Cages
The Arena
The Big Doll House
[quote=skywatcher75;11431384]Those 70's blaxploitation movies were sooo cheesy, I'd have a party and play them while everyone is drunk lol! And just laugh at the cheesiness.
Blackula should be added to the list.[/quote]
I liked Blacula. If you look at it Blacula was risque as the two main characters in the early part of the movie were gay fashion designers. I would disagree on saying those movies were cheesey. The early ones as the 60s shifted into the 70s such as Cotton Comes to Harlem, Sweetback, Superfly, Across 110th Street, Detroit 9000, and The Mack were all pretty gritty street crime movies mixed with the political message of that era.
When the movies started to sour badly was after 1973. Each movie after that became a self fufilling prophecy i e Black Karate films and just spoof. Dolemite was basically a spoof of the genre and today is still funny as hell.
By 1977 all that could be done with the genre was done and that was that played out.
There were some good movies though made after 1973 with probably my favorite being Foxy Brown and a couple others.
Why I like these movies is they were real. When a movie is made today with shiny actors and a perfect set it is just not the same. On the other hand when a movie is made on a cheap set in a nasty neighborhood it gives the movie grit and reality. Compare Samuel L Jacksons Shaft to Richard Roundtree.
The original Shaft was gritty. The sex crime and drug use flowed effortlessly. Unlike today when it seems these scenes in a movie are somewhat forced in movies like the original Shaft everything from the dirty streets to nasty cabbies is real.
Samuel L's movie on the other hand had rappers in it good lighting and was just too Hollywood. Gordon Parks original had that dirty feel to it.
The Mack was so gritty it was shot in Downtown Oakland partially in a black barbershop that was the hangout for the biggest Pimp and hustler in Oakland and he actually is a character in the movie. Nothing like real criminals in a criminal movie.
Of all the guys in Hollywood today I think Tarrantino is the only one who understands the old school grit factor.
They lack psychological 'depth'...(obviously?)...but, still, they're better than most of the action films coming out of Hollywood, you're certainly right about that.
Also, the music is good.
I must admit I haven't seen many of them and probably haven't given them as much
thought as you apparently have but have you ever seen Willie D?
Those 70's blaxploitation movies were sooo cheesy, I'd have a party and play them while everyone is drunk lol! And just laugh at the cheesiness.
Quote:
Originally Posted by skywatcher75
Blackula should be added to the list.[/quote]
I liked Blacula. If you look at it Blacula was risque as the two main characters in the early part of the movie were gay fashion designers. I would disagree on saying those movies were cheesey. The early ones as the 60s shifted into the 70s such as Cotton Comes to Harlem, Sweetback, Superfly, Across 110th Street, Detroit 9000, and The Mack were all pretty gritty street crime movies mixed with the political message of that era.
When the movies started to sour badly was after 1973. Each movie after that became a self fufilling prophecy i e Black Karate films and just spoof. Dolemite was basically a spoof of the genre and today is still funny as hell.
By 1977 all that could be done with the genre was done and that was that played out.
There were some good movies though made after 1973 with probably my favorite being Foxy Brown and a couple others.
Why I like these movies is they were real. When a movie is made today with shiny actors and a perfect set it is just not the same. On the other hand when a movie is made on a cheap set in a nasty neighborhood it gives the movie grit and reality. Compare Samuel L Jacksons Shaft to Richard Roundtree.
The original Shaft was gritty. The sex crime and drug use flowed effortlessly. Unlike today when it seems these scenes in a movie are somewhat forced in movies like the original Shaft everything from the dirty streets to nasty cabbies is real.
Samuel L's movie on the other hand had rappers in it good lighting and was just too Hollywood. Gordon Parks original had that dirty feel to it.
The Mack was so gritty it was shot in Downtown Oakland partially in a black barbershop that was the hangout for the biggest Pimp and hustler in Oakland and he actually is a character in the movie. Nothing like real criminals in a criminal movie.
Of all the guys in Hollywood today I think Tarrantino is the only one who understands the old school grit factor.
Wow, I need to look at Blackula again. I don't remember the two gay fashion designers. Then again, last time I saw these films I was a kid so a lot was going over my head
John, you have a good analysis of what was going on. The early 70s was an interesting time in movies because there were a lot of new things happening.
Blaxploitatation got a start with the low budget B-features that were being made to fill out the double and triple features for the drive-in fare, as did the R-rated sexploitation films and the semi-mainstream porno. The floodgates were opened when "I am Curious Yellow" played to packed crowds in New York back in 1968, and censorship was struck down. All of a sudden, the possibilities of making millions on ultra-low budget films, without having to worry about language or sex, freed up money to make some very creative and some absolutely horrendous films, often with major unfettered input from subcultures and counter-culture movers. At the same time, the concept of the private roadshow engagement started to emerge, and the variety of film fare at the time was about as diverse as you could ever hope to see.
The era was bound to be short, in part because a lot of middle America sensibilities were being trod upon and backlash was inevitable. Also, the novelty of the new flock of films didn't translate into higher budget mainstream productions very well. We see somewhat of a repeat with "Blair Witch," where the first films hit big and the later ones just trail off.
To give an inkling of just how deeply barriers were being broken by people new to the industry who didn't know the industry idioms, some of the titles of the films never could fit on a marquee or changeable letter board. Sweet Sweetbacks was one, Heronimous Merkin was another. Those long titles also didn't work well in print, and the key artwork became more important than ever in the ads, forcing shifts that eventually brought in the "logo" type of art, like skywalker's upraised light saber.
What a lot of people of the time, and even now, don't realize is that some of the posters from these films will skyrocket in value as the art and significance becomes more appreciated. These were also the types of posters that were not made in great quantity, and were often ripped off to adorn the wall of a kid's bedroom and then trashed. I even have some posters that were made using the blueprinting process and other unusual processes, or printed on odd paper that was cheaper than the clay-coat normally used for posters. As more blacks get into the upper-middle class, there will be a realization of the cultural importance of this stage of film-making as well. If you can amass a collection of such posters now (ESPECIALLY the rarer ones), you could be sitting on a future gold mine.
I must admit I haven't seen many of them and probably haven't given them as much
thought as you apparently have but have you ever seen Willie D?
Brubaker
Thanks. I can't believe I left Willie Dynamite off there. I kept a Willie Dynamite wallpaper on my computer screen forever. One of my favortie movies and I forgot it. Nothing like Gordon from Seasame Street as a New York Pimp. Great flick.
John, you have a good analysis of what was going on. The early 70s was an interesting time in movies because there were a lot of new things happening.
Blaxploitatation got a start with the low budget B-features that were being made to fill out the double and triple features for the drive-in fare, as did the R-rated sexploitation films and the semi-mainstream porno. The floodgates were opened when "I am Curious Yellow" played to packed crowds in New York back in 1968, and censorship was struck down. All of a sudden, the possibilities of making millions on ultra-low budget films, without having to worry about language or sex, freed up money to make some very creative and some absolutely horrendous films, often with major unfettered input from subcultures and counter-culture movers. At the same time, the concept of the private roadshow engagement started to emerge, and the variety of film fare at the time was about as diverse as you could ever hope to see. What a lot of people of the time, and even now, don't realize is that some of the posters from these films will skyrocket in value as the art and significance becomes more appreciated. These were also the types of posters that were not made in great quantity, and were often ripped off to adorn the wall of a kid's bedroom and then trashed. I even have some posters that were made using the blueprinting process and other unusual processes, or printed on odd paper that was cheaper than the clay-coat normally used for posters. As more blacks get into the upper-middle class, there will be a realization of the cultural importance of this stage of film-making as well. If you can amass a collection of such posters now (ESPECIALLY the rarer ones), you could be sitting on a future gold mine.
Chickpea
Heck Im white and I love those movies. The main reason I like them was the vibe and the music. Today when someone tries to redo one of those movies it is campy because the vibe is just not there. Someone even threatened to remake FOXY BROWN. I was like that person needs to have their head examined. Pam is Foxy and if they remade it it would be a big budget Hollywood flick with Rappers all having cameos and the street vibe and anger would be gone. Thats what made the original flick good.
The other thing that made Foxy good was the lack of big name stars besides Pam and Antonio Fargas. When a movie becomes a Hollywood extravaganza as Shaft was with Samuel L or Oceans 11 12 and 13 the movies has no soul.
Heck I even like the underground ones. Lola Falana was in one and she got naked in that. Now you can see why she gave Fred Sanford heart trouble every time her name was mentioned
Lately IFC has shown BROTHERHOOD OF DEATH about every couple weeks. That movie was about three black Vietnam Vets come home to Alabama to find out the white kkk guy who hated them growing up was out for vengance against them.
The good old boy white sherriff was actually a good guy trying to keep the peace and when the sheriff realized that the KKK was murdering people he tried to arrest the leader and the KKK killed him. The vets ended up having a showdown with the local bubbas using on them every Viet Cong trick that was used in Nam. Good flick though campy for some.
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