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Pretty Good

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is an early blaxploitation flick, that would had probably been considered to be very racist, was it not directed by an African American director and not been a part of the early blaxploitation era.I mean seriously, just think about it. Here we have a bunch of African American persons who are searching for a bale of cotton, at one point two characters crash into a cart of melons and in an attempt to control a large crowd, one of the characters throws a bunch of chickens into the crowd. But of course the movie isn't racist and is simply a silly black urban comedy, that pokes fun at lots of the prejudices against black society. And as a silly entertaining movie, this movie really works out well.It by no means is a great movie though. The movie just doesn't always makes sense with its story and also the way it ends seems very random, though the characters all pretend like it was something they planned out. The movie is also often too silly for its own good and the movie really goes over-the-top with its comedy at times.But luckily this all hardly goes at the expense of its entertainment value. I can definitely see a large crowd having tons of fun with watching this movie.The movie really has some good characters in it and the two lead cops Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are great charismatic leading characters. I would had loved to see more movies featuring those two but only one sequel starring Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques in those roles got made. Just imaging Shaft times two and you have Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. Not that the actors playing them are very impressive but they are just some two very charismatic and entertaining characters, who don't necessarily always play by the rules. Calvin Lockhart as the main villain of the movie is also a very good and entertaining villain and Calvin Lockhart is probably also being the best actor of the movie and about the only one who also had a decent acting career before and afterward.But still biggest name involved with this movie was Ossie Davis, who directed this movie. It actually was his directorial debut and you could tell that this movie was low-key and fairly cheaply made. Considering those circumstance, this movie is even more an accomplishment from Davis. He actually directed a bunch of other blaxploitation flicks, that nobody has ever heard off and are even more obscure and hard to get than this movie already is. A bit of a shame, since he really seemed to be a director who understood and embraced the genre. But oh well, at least he still had an all the more impressive career as an actor though, so you don't have to feel bad for him.By no means a great movie but it's a very entertaining one!6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

If you can get passed the general nastiness of Ossie Davis' Cotton Comes to Harlem, the reverse stereotyping--making white characters functioning morons and black characters vicious, cunning, and foolish-- there's not a bad little story here. Raymond St. Jacques and Godfrey Cambridge are appealing New York detectives--street cool and underlying moralists--who are on the trail of a smarmy community organizer--er--street preacher who is ripping off his own congregation, laying further waste to Harlem's poor, and doing it all with a fine vocabulary and wardrobe and a wife who has beautiful arms.Wait a second. I'm getting my con men mixed up here.CCTH is as incoherent and as blacksploitation as you would expect, but the fun and humor and cinematography and Judy Pace are all so lush that long after you've given up on trying to make hide nor hair out of the incomprehensibilities, you're still in it to finish it.The movie can't decide if it wants to be relevant or a piece of spoofery. If you don't mind or care, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are two black cops working out of a Harlem precinct. They've got their eyes on a minister promising his poor parishioners the opportunity to travel to Africa for $100. Jones and Johnson see Rev. Deke O'Malley for the scammer he really is. But things get complicated when, during a recruitment rally, the $87,000 the good Reverend has collected is stolen by armed bandits. The only clue about the money's whereabouts is that it's been hidden in a bale of cotton. Hot on the trail of the cotton bale are the mob, the police, Reverend O'Malley, a junk dealer, a militant black group, and just about everyone else in Harlem.The first true blaxploitation movie (there seems to be some disagreement, but I'm not sure how you could go with Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song as it was released a year later), Cotton Comes to Harlem is wonderfully entertaining from start to finish. It's a non-stop comedic slice of life in Harlem in the early 1970s. The movie is filled with eclectic characters, unique set-pieces, interesting music choices, and real life locations you just can't replicate on a sound-stage. The plot has so much going on that it never gets old. Ossie Davis didn't direct many films, but he does an amazing job with this, his first, effort. It's a more professional looking product than many of the blaxploitation films that would come later. The acting is a highlight and is as good as I've ever seen in a movie of this type. Godfrey Cambridge gives a memorable performance as policeman Gravedigger Jones. Cambridge manages to be the standout in a strong cast. His partner, Raymond St. Jacques as Coffin Ed Johnson, is rock solid. The pair are joined by Calvin Lockhart, the stunning Judy Pace, Redd Foxx, and a slew of familiar faces. The comedy in Cotton Comes to Harlem has held up surprisingly well. Some of it might be considered un-PC in today's overly sensitive world, but I still found myself laughing along with many scenes. Overall, it's a well made movie that I fell no hesitation in rating an 8/10.

One of the most influential pictures ever to shoot onto the screen, "Cotton Comes To Harlem" spawned the beginning of the blaxploitation action boom in 1970 by delivering a refreshingly different detective action yarn with a lot of humor,a lot of hard-hitting drama with a lot of black soul(It was know as SOULPOWER!). An unbeatable mix of fastpaced adventure and sheer comic having spiced with spectacular shootouts and chases with a lot of fast talking and tough repartee with solid performances by Godfrey Cambridge,Raymond St. Jacques and Calvin Lockhart no to mention to comedic timing of Redd Foxx. This picture became a milestone for a genre of action movies that would remain throughout the rest of that decade(including its sequel "Come Back Charleston Blue" two years later).