Distributor:
Universal Home Entertainment Certificate: R | Region 1 | NTSC
Available to buy Release Date: 11 January 2005
Extras: No
ANYONE
IN IT WE KNOW?
Richard
Pryor, Cicely Tyson, Kiel Martin, Roscoe Orman, Diana Sands, Fred
Williamson
Universal
release a quartet of classy 70's
"blaxpoitation"
movies, full of action, comedy,
nubile nymphettes and funky
soundtracks and we take a look
at them below.
THAT
MAN BOLT (1973 | 104
minutes) Directed by Henry Levin
and Charles Johnson.
Heading firmly down the black
James Bond route That Man Bolt
is a riot of bad martial arts
action, raunchy bed hopping
moments and fist fights galore,
probably the most
"shaft" like of the
four movies featured here That
Man Bolt features Fred
Williamson as Jefferson Bolt, he
takes on a job for a mysterious
British client transporting a
million dollars in cash but
learns that he has been set up
to take a fall, of course he
determines to bring down those
responsible. Glossily
entertaining That Man Bolt is a
high kicking slice of fun
masquerading as a serious action
flick. Watch out for an
appearance by sexy Teresa Graves
from Get Christie Love.
TRICK
BABY (1972 | 95 minutes) Directed by Larry Yust
Probably the most serious of the four movies Trick Baby follows a pair
of Philly con men - the white Johnny "Folks" O'Brien and the
black "Blue" Howard, Howard has raised Folks as pretty much
his own son and taught him all the hustling skills needed to survive on
the street, however thanks to their dealings with a crooked cop they
find their lives on the line and trust goes out the window. Based on the
cult novel by Iceberg Slim Trick Baby pulls no punches in its tale of a
white man raised in the ghetto and how black and white is not always as
clearly defined as is it meant to be.
BUSTIN'
LOOSE (1981 | 93 minutes) Directed by Oz Scott
The most mainstream of the quartet Bustin' Loose, pretty much instigated
by star Richard Pryor, with its soundtrack of quality Roberta Flack
songs, is an entertaining road movie that sees Pryor playing woman and
kid hating ex-con Joe Braxton who ends up driving a bus full of eight
special needs kids and their teacher Vivian Perry (Cicely Tyson) across
country to Vivian's aunt's farm in Seattle (the trip is because budget
cuts means the school is going to have to close), along the way the gang
tangle with not just the law but also the Klu Klux Klan. You know how it
is going to end right from the start and it does sometimes veer into
towards sentimentality but its an enjoyable ride nonetheless.
WILLIE
DYNAMITE(1973 | 102 minutes) Directed by Gilbert Moses III Roscoe Orman
headlines as flashy fur coated (and hatted) Willie Dynamite, a pimp with
big plans, plans that are hampered somewhat by the cops who plan to put
him out of business, Willie plots revenge but a face from the past, old
love Cora, forces him to revaluate his life; Definitely a superfly guy
Willie Dynamite, despite being a serious movie about hard life on the
street, comes on like something of a caricature with scenes of Willie
being trailed down the street by his seven girls or just the sight of
Dynamite's outfits (the pink jumpsuit has to be seen to be believed). It
is lifted somewhat though by the spirited playing of the cast who do
seem to believe in the material, this was also main co-star Diana Sands
last film role.
Despite
none of the quartet containing any special features the Soul Showcase
movies serve as a great example of a genre that has now all but died out
(unless you count the efforts of the Wayans brothers) and are well worth
picking up.
TRICK
BABY
BUSTIN'
LOOSE
