The Black Godfather

Director - John Evans (Speeding Up Time, Blackjack)
Starring - Rod Perry (The Black Gestapo, Star Trek: The Motion Picture), Damu King (Black Samson, Black Starlet), and Don Chastain (The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Maude)
Release Date - 1974
Genre - Crime
Tagline - "There's a new godfather in town"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

      

     My blaxploitation marathon is almost to a close.  When I started watching the six films in the Soul Team Six set from Mill Creek Entertainment I was under the impression that I had only seen one film in this set prior to receiving it for review.  The Black Gestapo is one I knew I had seen before but after tossing in the fifth film in the set, 1974's The Black Godfather, I quickly realized that this was one I had viewed years before.  Once I realized what film this was I was pretty fucking excited to revisit it.  

     The film follows petty thief JJ (Perry) who was shot while trying to rob someone.  He was found by the Black Godfather and he patches him up.  He offers him a job and JJ works his way up the ranks for the Black Godfather.  Once JJ reaches a certain point he decides to use his power with the Black Godfather to get his streets clean.  He is able to cut all the drug dealers out of his neighborhood except for on heroine dealer named Tony Burton (Chastain).  Burton refuses to leave and wages a war with JJ and the Black Godfather.  Much like a cornered animal, when JJ has Burton cornered he fights back killing the Black Godfather taking the war down a much darker path.  

     I watched this one many years ago when I first started collecting Blaxploitation on DVD.  I found a box set on Amazon and ordered it.  I remember really enjoying this one then and it was just as fun revisiting it.  The acting in this one is pretty standard Blaxploitation fair.  The characters are extremely animated but the cast does a fantastic job and holding the scenes.  The story for this one is another textbook example of Blaxploitation.  We follow a strong black lead fighting the evil white men who are pushing drugs and destroying black lives.  The film has solid pacing but does suffer from long spells of boring dialogue that seemingly has nothing to do with the story itself.  Character development is an issue here as well with most of the supporting cast just appearing with no explanation why.  Maybe the scenes explaining this are on the cutting room floor.  Finally, the film, like most Blaxploitation flicks, has several gun fights and kills from gun wounds.  No real bloodshed and gore for those looking for it but we do get more cheesy fight scenes that are always fun.  Overall, The Black Godfather is a must for exploitation and blaxploitation fans just like many of the films in this set.