Blaxploitation Movies

Rudy Ray Moore's Dolemite movies are a hoot—basically blaxploitation meets John Waters.

Not legit Blaxploitation but based on them type of movies. Jackie Brown! My favorite scene of that super movie. Feelings in film or tv is where it's at.

Who's the black private DICK who's a sex machine for all the chicks?

Ahhhhh SUPERFLY (starring Curtis Mayfield's badassed soundtrack).

It's a more obscure title, but "The Muthers" from 1976 is about a band of female-led pirates battling then-modern day slavers in order to liberate a prison camp. The titular ladies include Jeannie Bell, Rosanne Katon, Trina Parks, and Jayne Kennedy.

I loved it when mainstream white actors showed up in them like Ed McMahon in Slaughter's Big Rip-Off

All of Fred Williamson movies.

The Jim Kelly movies.

Jim Kelly's movies were awesome

Shaft has a friend who's a gay bartender.

Friday night colored talk

Everything on paper deems "Blacula" as grade Z blaxplotation but it's actually a really terrific movie. Funny, some really creepy scenes, a great actor as Blacula and the gorgeous Denise Nicholas. A hit that earned a sequel.

Rudy Ray Moore's "Petey Wheatstraw, The Devil's Son-In-Law". Here is the first four minutes....you're welcome.

The two Cleopatra Jones movies are great. Not so great but worth a laugh - Black Shampoo.

And anyone who loves these movies should check out Black Dynamite.

Cleopatra Jones, for sure!

Love em.

We all love her as Lt. Uhura on "Star Trek," but she truly earned my respect as Dorinda in "Truck Turner."

[quote]We all love her as Lt. Uhura on "Star Trek," but she truly earned my respect as Dorinda in "Truck Turner."

I concur!

Supposedly gorgeous Richard Roundtree did a fleeting full frontal in "Shaft In Africa" but I've never seen it.

In Shaft in Africa, Richard Rountree has an extended nude scene and he was sexy as hell.

All the leads in the most popular movies Roundtree, Ron O'Neal, Jim Kelly, Fred Williamson were all incredibly sexy and didn't mind displaying it.

Can't leave out "Foxy Brown."

MANDINGO, featuring the smoking hot Ken Norton.

The granddaddy of them all - Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song by Melvin van Peebles. Hung out with him some. Total genius, that guy.

So let's exploit! Fred Williamson and Jim Brown were very generous with their asses, and Jim went on to give Playgirl its greatest moment. Jim's bert ass shot was in I Escaped from Devi's Island.

I had no idea what Blaxploitation films were until i came across a documentary about Roger Corman on tv (it was really weird to see Jack Nicholson crying). They then showed Blacula, Coffy and Sugar Hill. Coffy was a real eye opener lol

My mother dated a black guy in the early 70's, so I got to live with his 2 similarly aged sons. Their blue haired grandmother took us to see, "Blacula" , "Die! Blacula, Die!, and "Raw Meat' (white exploitation) without knowing what it was about. I was 9 years old, and had a blast.

Saw this as an adult, and the costumes are so fun (but they're not really shown in this trailer):

Did anyone see the Superfly remake? Was it shit?

Curtis Mayfield was superb.

Mandingo? Come on, now.

The woman in R30 is Mother Jefferson! (Actress Zara Cully)

Coffy... she'll cream you.

R34 I have am original "Coffy" lobby card framed and hanging in my office.

What is a lobby card?

My all time fave is Black Belt Jones. Everything about it is perfect.

R36 Lobby cards are like posters but smaller, usually 11x14 inch. Typically issued in sets, each featuring a different scene from the film.

Eddie Murphy is working on a Rudy Ray Moore movie for Netflix. I like Eddie Murphy but I don't believe he can capture the genius of Rudy Ray Moore.

I'm not sure these films exploited everyday blacks. I was never drawn to any of them and therefore didn't see any...that being said my criticism I suppose is somewhat illegitimate. The producers of these films only gave everyday blacks what they wanted to see. A Raisin in the Sun, Daughters of the Dust, Eve's Bayou and Nothing But a Man and the Wedding are more to my preference.

The everyday blacks were presented as normal, and puzzled by the behavior of the main cast.

Mandingo was not a blaxploitation flick.

Blackenstein

When I was growing up, on Saturdays, my Dad would take my brother and me to a grindhouse theater that played movies 24/7 for a single price of admission. (The Empire Theater in Over-the-Rhine/Cincinnati is no more). The floors were sticky, and the place full of derelict people just trying to get off the street. So I saw pretty much every Blaxploitation movie, as well as Kung-fu, European horror, motorcycle gang/Billy Jack and any other kind exploitation kind of movie that was in circulation at the time). I remember Richard Rountree, Fred Williamson and yes, Rudy Ray Moore, all happily showing their asses. I don't remember Jim Kelly showing anything other than his chest. My Dad loved Pam Grier (I still do). The other guys at my all-male Catholic school were shocked that bespectacled, nerdy little me had seen things like 'Shaft' and 'Superfly'. But I was raised on that stuff. Now my friends are amazed at how little interest I have in going to movies. I always end up explaining that they can't imagine the countless hours I've spent in my life watching bad movies. At the same time, I can really enjoy the hell out of a bad movie.

That is some slumming glamour! Bravo

Well, to help give this fine thread some support, here's Jim Brown, in his regal majesty.

And Fred Williamson, too!

I agree r15, Blacula is fantastic. I got interested in the genre last year. Here's an interview with the star, William Marshall. He was an interesting guy and had a beautiful speaking voice.

A lot of blaxploitation movies were terrible, but the soundtracks (Shaft, Superfly, Trouble Man) were excellent.

I told this story here before. I went to the CHILLER autograph show in Jersey a few years ago. Pam Grier was a headliner. I told her that I had read thirty celebrity autobiographies that summer (true) and that hers was the best (true). She jumped up and gave me a big hug. Then she grabbed her bag and pulled out some 45 rpm records. She told me she had just digitized her collection and she grabbed one, Sly & The Family Stone "Everybody Is A Star", personalized to me and signed it as a thank you. She was very cool and honestly if you want a great read, get her book "Foxy", even if it's from the library.

Isaac Hayes' Truck Turner soundtrack is a good album. I listen to it about 1x a year.

"Blackula" - 1972

R50, I love that story! And this isn't Blaxploitation, but Pam Grier deserved an Academy Award nomination for 'Ft Apache - The Bronx'. She was a truly terrifying, force of nature. The best part of that movie.

Foxy Brown - hilarious lesbian bar fight scene.

The entirety of Coffy is fabulous.

Yes, r49, Trouble Man is one of my favorite albums. So under appreciated.

The Mack is one of the best movies out there from that time period. I wish it got the same attention and remembrance as Shaft and Superfly. It actually told a great story about the pimping game.

The Mack also had a great soundtrack by Willie Hutch. This one is my favorite.

The Shaft In Africa soundtrack is great too

R58 I also love "I Choose You" from that soundtrack

DOLOMITE!

My favorite Blaxploitation song: James Brown "The Boss" from Black Caesar

[quote]I love that story! And this isn't Blaxploitation, but Pam Grier deserved an Academy Award nomination for 'Ft Apache - The Bronx'. She was a truly terrifying, force of nature. The best part of that movie.

Not going to spoil it but she tells a really funny story about her audition for that movie in the book and she shows great respect for the Philippines portion of her career. Like I said, a great read. Tarantino should adapt it.

[quote]What is a lobby card?

In the good old days of grand movie theatres, they would have poster frames. A movie poster in the industry is a called a one sheet. A film could have many different size posters. In theater they would have a poster case with the one sheet in the middle and then smaller frames surrounding it with scenes from the film. Lobby cards usually came in sets of eight. These were still being produced in the eighties

Could these films be successful today, do you think? Which group would object most?