Blaxploitation on DVD

[manicsounds]

There has been pretty much ZERO news on blaxploitation cult cinema. Is there really nothing on the horizon? I really hope this doesn't become a lost genre on home video now.

though Boss Nigger is available finally http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/35669/bo ... r/?___rd=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HerrSchreck]

I always wish and hope and light candles and pronounce incantations over bubbling cauldrons of Eye of Newt, Nipple of Fly and Dick of Toad that we could get a loaded two disc special CC edition of Across 110th Street. Who knows, it might even help the company get over that other witchy ingredient-- Red Pencil of Ledger.

[oldsheperd]

The Spook Who Sat By the Door is a definite must see and I believe it's still on dvd.

[Wu.Qinghua]

Well, Jack Hill's "Switchblade Sisters" is not really a blaxploitation film, but it features a marvelous ass-kicking post-Black Panther girl gang and the funniest squat I have ever seen. In my opinion it is (at least) one of best and most radical American exploitation movies of the seventies. Btw the American DVD is stacked with extras, i.e. a funny introduction by Quentin Tarantino and a really wonderful Jack Hill trailer show.

I also liked Malcolm Lees take on the genre: "Undercover Brother". It may be flawed but it's a funny film with lots of quotations and an interesting update of gender roles.

Isaac Julien's documentary on blaxploitation "Baadasssss Cinema" is also worth watching, as is Horace Ové's magnificient British Black Power movie "Pressure", which has been released on DVD by the BFI some years ago, and Anthony Simmons' "Black Joy", which is considered to be "the British Blaxploitation flick" by some critics.

By the way, I think the influence of those Blaxploitation films shouldn't be underestimated. I mean they have been seen and discussed all around the world - and at least partially remade: Think of the hilarious Indian action thriller "Don" (1978) or the infamous British anti-blaxploitation flick "Live and Let Die" (1973).

By now, even the Germans have tried to make a so-called Blaxploitation film. I haven't seen the movie yet, only heard it would be a really bad film. But I have seen a precedent short and I strongly disliked it. See yourself, if you are interested in that. The film is called "Leroy raeumt auf" aka "Leroy cleans up" (2007) and you will easily find it on Youtube with English subtitles.

Right on ...

[Dr Amicus]

Don't forget Amicus's great werewolf movie, The Beast Must Die, with Calvin Lockhart as a Great White (!) Hunter alongside more usual suspects Peter Cushing, Charles Gray and Anton Diffring. Renamed Black Werewolf to cash in on Blaxploitation - this may or may not be a spoiler.

And it's happily available on DVD - I have the old Region 2 Amicus boxset complete with interesting extras. The transfer is 1.33:1 - I gather the US release is 1.77:1 but I don't know which one is cropped (my suspicion is that it was shot 1.33 for matting as appropriate but I don't know for sure).

[manicsounds]

And for all you niggaz that said Blaxploitation is dead, Film trailer for "Black Dynamite"
I know it's not a DVD release news item, but it's well worth it.

[Yojimbo]

Blaxploitation on DVD is all well and good, but how to recreate the fleapit cinema atmosphere we all endured in their heyday?

[HarryLong]

Blaxploitation on DVD is all well and good, but how to recreate the fleapit cinema atmosphere we all endured in their heyday?

You could let your house go to hell. Spill sodas on the floor and not clean it up ... step out your cigarettes on the floor rather than use ashtrays ... park your gum on the underside of your chairs ... and other things I'd just as rather not mention ...

[Yojimbo]

Blaxploitation on DVD is all well and good, but how to recreate the fleapit cinema atmosphere we all endured in their heyday?

You could let your house go to hell. Spill sodas on the floor and not clean it up ... step out your cigarettes on the floor rather than use ashtrays ... park your gum on the underside of your chairs ... and other things I'd just as rather not mention ...

This is a no-smoking home!!

[HarryLong]

No dedication to authenticity!

[manicsounds]

gladly NOT from the Warner Archive

from DVD Drive In:

Blaxploitation film fans rejoice! On January 12, Warner Home Video will release a “4 Film Favorites” DVD collection entitled URBAN ACTION. It will include four classic Blaxploitation films from the 1970s, presented here on DVD for the first time on this collection: BLACK BELT JONES (1974, starring Jim Kelly and Gloria Hendry), HOT POTATO (1976, starring Jim Kelly), BLACK SAMSON (1974, starring Rockne Tarkington, William Smith and Connie Strickland) and THREE THE HARD WAY (1974, starring Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly). All four films will be presented in their original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with ananmorphic enhancement, and the DVD will retail for $9.95.

[HerrSchreck]

I presume the listing means "The dvd'S will retail," plural, not "the dvd will retail," singular, i e not some Passport video disc with nine features per DVD5.

This is good news, though!

[Perkins Cobb]

I'm torn between being happy that WB is releasing anything on real DVDs, and bitching that they're releasing this crap instead of Party Girl or Rancho Notorious?! (Ditto re: the Esther Williams set.)

[Cinephrenic]

Come on, you know grindhouse sells.

I wonder why Black Eye wasn't included.

[Cold Bishop]

Not on DVD, but if you get Comcast, their Impact OnDemand channel (usually home to terrible sex comedies and low-budget action films) have "Cotton Comes to Harlem" for free until the 26th. Not particularly exciting news on first sight, until one notices that is in HD and in 16:9 (versus the atrocious pan-and-scan transfer on the Soul Cinema DVD).

Really recommended. One of the finer cops films of the 70s, black, white or otherwise.

[manicsounds]

Black Dynamite - Feb 2nd, 2010 from Sony US
(info from blu-ray.com and dvdtimes.co.uk)

Priced at $24.96 SRP on DVD and $34.95 SRP on Blu-ray Disc, features include:
English 5.1
English and French subtitles
Filmmaker and Cast Commentary
Deleted and Alternate Scenes
Lighting the Fuse featurette
The Comic-Con Experience featurette
The ‘70s: Back in Action featurette (BD Exclusive)
BD-Live: movieIQ (BD Exclusive)

[oldsheperd]

The Urban Action is one set. It's one of those 4 film dealios that Warners has been releasing lately. It's 14.99 on Amazon.

[manicsounds]

Any comments on this set?
Blaxploitation - The Big Payback : TNT Jackson / The Black Six / The Black Godfather / The Black Gestapo / Black Fist / Get Christie Love (6 Disc Box Set)

[Cold Bishop]

The quality of the films or the DVD?

[manicsounds]

Quality of the DVDs, audio, picture, extras, etc

[Cold Bishop]

Don't have it, but all word of mouth I can gather from the internet seems to point to sub-VHS quality.

[Camera Obscura]

Any comments on this set?
Blaxploitation - The Big Payback : TNT Jackson / The Black Six / The Black Godfather / The Black Gestapo / Black Fist / Get Christie Love (6 Disc Box Set)

Avoid, if only for the lousy VHS-quality. The films itself, some laughs and some curiosity value I guess, but otherwise not worth anyone's time, unless you're a diehard blaxploitation/Kung Fu/Filipino quickie completist.

[manicsounds]

http://www.dvddrive-in.com/reviews/e-h/ ... 747576.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Camera Obscura]

Yeah, sounds great, and a steal for this price. Expect this any moment now. Warner should dig into the archives some more.