Good concept, poorly executed.

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Excellent but underrated film

For having a relatively low budget, the film's style and overall art direction are immensely impressive.

This review's title obviously refers to a famous Julius Caesar quote, and personally I think the greatest thing about "Black Caesar" is the subtle title reference towards the great historical leader. I deliberately state "subtle" reference, because the name itself isn't mentioned anywhere throughout the entire film, but the similarities between protagonist Tommy Gibbs and the Roman emperor are clever and relevant. Tommy also builds his own way to the top; in this case the conquering of a mafia empire that quickly becomes as over sized, cluttered and unmanageable as the Roman Empire. His methods are also merciless and strategic, but he also gradually transforms into a dictator feared by his loved ones as well as the target of conspiracies and assassination attempts. I don't know about you, but I think it's quite an ambitious and intelligent concept for a supposedly simple and low-budgeted piece of 70's exploitation trash! That being said, I have to admit that I nevertheless expected even more from this blaxploitation classic. I'm certainly not an expert in this domain, but I've seen the most important ones ("Across 110th Street", "Ganja & Hess"), the most outrageously entertaining ones ("Foxy Brown", "Truck Turner") and the passable ones ("JD's Revenge", "Blackenstein"). "Black Caesar" somewhat balances between the first two categories, as the script isn't solid enough to be important and not cool enough to be outrageously entertaining. Basically it's just Fred Williamson looking mean and shooting white mobsters in the chest so that he can take their place in the New York gangster hierarchy. During this process he abuses and scares off the people he initially wanted to protect, like his mother and childhood friend. The film features too many dull parts and repetitive sequences. Every conflict is solved with a bullet and end with a close up of a dead body covered in thick and bright red blood syrup. The most memorable sequences include the intro, with a teenage Tommy enrolling the criminal life, a virulent taxi/on foot chase in busy NY streets and a sadist final confrontation between Tommy and his nemesis. Other terrific elements for exploitation fanatics to enjoy are the swinging soundtrack (with James Brown's unique voice) and authentically raw and gritty set pieces. Williamson is excellent, of course, but Art Lund gives an even more impressive performance as the disgustingly corrupt cop McKinney. Larry Cohen's direction is uneven, but it was one of the first ventures of this multi-talented and versatile cult genius. There's a sequel entitled "Hell Up in Harlem".

Writer & director Larry Cohen chronicles the rise of an urban, African-American youth to the position of a New York City crime boss. This is a prime example of a Blaxploitation crime thriller with our hero Fred Williamson comes up the ranks from being a lowly shoeshine boy to a top metropolitan mobster. This 1973 actioneer contains nudity, profanity, blood, and violence. Several individuals die in this R-rated epic. Williamson is good as the protagonist who pulls himself up by his own boot straps and becomes the number one crime boss in New York City. Cohen doesn't let our hero off the hooks. Gloria Hendry, John Larch, D'Urville Martin and Julius Harris co-star. Cohen's mobster movie clocks in at 94 minutes without a shred of too much or too little. John Larch makes a convincing corrupt NYPD cop.

After years of being curious about this film, especially when I first heard James Brown's "Down and Out in New York City" as a kid, I finally just watched Black Caesar on Hulu. Fred Williamson plays a gangster who really seems to resent white people especially a cop (Art Lund) who brutally beat him as a child when that cop found his mob payment was a little short and blamed the kid for taking the rest. That cop would continue to deal with Williamson's character as an adult and...well, I really don't feel like telling the rest of the story but if you're familiar with many of these mob stories then you'll probably be able to predict what happens like I did most of the time. Despite that, I was pretty entertained most of the time and was riveted to see supporting turns by Gloria Hendry, Philip Roye, D'Urville Martin, Minnie Gentry, Julius Harris, and William Wellman Jr. whose father, director William Wellman Sr., had made one of the most famous classic gangster pictures of all: The Public Enemy with James Cagney. Subtle, writer/director Larry Cohen is not but he sure knows how make a low budget movie entertaining. Oh, and I liked how he had one scene play under the marquee of ultimate mob movie: The Godfather.

When Edward G. Robinson filed "Little Caesar" in 1933, he could never have imagined that fifty-two years later it would be reconfigured as Blaxploitation and become a cult classic in its own right. Williamson stars as a former shoeshine boy who strives to get ahead by shoehorning his way into the formerly all-white organized crime ring. He bullies one of the figureheads into giving him a chance and then uses that chance to springboard into a leadership position of his own, always stomping out anyone in his way and always with an eye on paying back the dirty cop (Lund) who mistreated him as a youth and gave him a limp with which to remember him by. He reaches unheard of heights financially, but, like so many before him, loses the most important things like the respect of his friends and the love of his woman (Hendry.) Williamson has quite a presence as the title character, his tall, athletic build cutting an imposing figure while his sly and slick personality covers the business end of things nicely. Hendry runs hot and cold. Her quieter moments are solid, but anytime she's called upon for heated emotion it all goes way over the top and is histrionic in the extreme. Lund is an exceedingly effective villain. His ruddy face is just begging to be pummeled as he expels nasty remarks and racial epithets. Martin and Roye play Williamson's childhood buddies who aid him as an adult and Harris and Gentry appear as his estranged parents. Wellman, a long way from "Lafayette Escadrille", plays Williamson's shady attorney while former Miss USA Hansen plays his curvy wife. It's a rough and tumble, at times heavily violent, film with lots of politically incorrect language and a dollop or two of brief nudity, which is all to be expected in this genre. What makes it fascinating, despite its obviously low budget, is the filming technique of director Cohen who shot the film in mostly authentic locations with no permits or intensive planning. Thus, when chases occur in the streets or a character wanders bloodily past onlookers, the reactions of the crowd are real! The film is set in various times from the 50's to the 60's, but there isn't a shred of period detail to be found anywhere. There's also some mighty choppy editing at times with scenes lasting mere moments or seemingly coming out of nowhere. It winds up mattering little, however, with all the audacious goings-on. Fans of the genre ought to really enjoy this one, which takes little time to breathe in between shootings, maimings, fisticuffs, chases and any other form of action. There's a great score as well with songs provided by no less than James Brown. Despite the downbeat ending, a sequel was in theaters within a year's time called "Hell Up in Harlem".