Review of Black Caesar (1973) by Nate W — 02 Oct 2008

Quite entertaining but a fairly down beat tale of the rise and fall of Tommy Gibbs played by Fred Williamson. He is really good in the part, I don't think i've seen him in anything before (with the exception of From Dusk to Dawn).

Plenty of shootings with what looks like red paint you would get from a DIY store sprayed everywhere and every other word is the N one! You got the italian mobsters, the corrupt irish cop and then the young flashy hood taking control of the city by blackmailing the corrupt commissioner Mckinney (Art Lund) and generally killing everyone else, but like in this genre of movie he also alienates the one he loves.

Good location footage of New york city from the 1970s. The protagonists strut around in their clothes, that resemble 1930s gangsters. I suppose it is pretty formulaic film making and made on a budget, and very much of its time.

The time line is a very confusing and that is a problem I found with the movies narrative. It would seem, it all happens in one night and is over with for Tommy Gibbs, the film actually covers a number of years.

You've seen it all before with James Cagney in the golden age of cinema and you have the posters and t shirts of Al in Scarface. These films all have pretty much the same plot and characteristics. It also has a rather groovy sound track by James Brown too!