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The Worst Film Ever

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

"Black Caesar" was one of the most successful black themed entries during the blaxploitation era of the 1970s, successful enough to produce a sequel. Seen today, it's both interesting and entertaining, though it does have some problems. Writer/director Larry Cohen was obviously working with a low budget, which does give some sequences a skimpy feeling. Also, the movie often moves all over the place, with key characters suddenly appearing (or disappearing for long stretches), and scenes seemingly missing here and there. Fortunately, the movie is still watchable. The performances are good, with Fred Williamson taking command in all of his scenes. Interestingly, whether you are white or black (or some other race), more likely than not you'll be surprised that Cohen doesn't make Williamson's character terribly likable or sympathetic. Despite this, chances are you'll keep watching because you'll be curious about what this character's ultimate fate will be. While the movie may not be the best blaxploitation effort made, it is a very watchable one despite its crude touches.

Larry Cohen writes and directs Fred Williamson in this exciting and well-paced gangster drama, a blaxploitation remake of the Edward G. Robinson classic Little Caesar. While the story is nothing new, it's solid entertainment with enough interesting Cohen touches to elevate it above the pack. Good performances from the entire cast. Williamson does Robinson proud. Art Lund will make your skin crawl and the final confrontation with Williamson is very intense. Gloria Hendry and, in a small role, Myrna Hansen are both hot. But the real star is that amazing James Brown soundtrack. Not the best Blaxploitation flick but it's up there.

I've only seen a few vintage "blaxploitation" films, so tonight I'm watching Black Caesar (1973), of interest to me because it was written, directed and produced by ol' Larry Cohen, just a couple years before his inexplicable masterpiece God Told Me To, with the outer space Jesus and the vagina on his chest...that Larry, madman with a camera...Right from the start, the music is top notch! Mainly James Brown, but there's also a cool female-fronted song a girl performs while Fred Williamson shoots up a room fulla white folks. Williamson is probably the only good actor in the whole film, but who can read Larry Cohen's dialogue, in any movie, and come off sounding real. All his movies have such cartoony dialogue, but that's part of the charm of his stuff (other than Q and a coupla others just too awful to recall). Most of the characters in Black Caesar are hollow and soul-less anyway, so the junior high acting doesn't distract. Williamson is good enough to make up for the others -I really didn't know what to expect going into it, so it was pretty astonishing to see Williamson smear shoe polish on a guy and make him sing "Mammy"!! A Larry Cohen moment I'll certainly never forget ---Despite all the grindhouse schlock - all of which I love! - there's a solid little story. The scenes with Williamson breaking his mom's heart and then facing off with his neglectful dad shows Cohen was going for more than machine guns and chase scenes. And, again, the music - wow! Even the most incidental bits of background music are smokin', and perfectly suited to the frequent NYC exteriors.So now I've seen three or four blaxploitation flicks, and part of one other, Scream Blackula Scream, which was so bad that it caused me actual pain, so I shut it off...(for some reason, I can't handle anything with VooDoo, it freaks me out with all the animal mutilation and stuff, hence me never seeing Angel Heart, Serpent and the Rainbow, etc).So far, Black Ceasar is the best I've seen of this genre ---

I can't say I'm a fan of "Blaxploitation" films, and indeed this one is one of my very few forays into the genres. It didn't change my opinion much either; what we have here is basically a crime thriller along the same lines as Scarface, except most of the main players are black. The film appealed to me mainly because of the fact that it's written and directed by Larry Cohen who also wrote and directed some of my favourite low budget trash films; films such as It's Alive, The Stuff, Q and The Ambulance. This is an early Cohen film and it appears he didn't get much chance to refine his craft as despite a decent directional debut with 'Bone' a year earlier; this film mostly fits the 'trash' bill in the bad way. The lead character is Tommy Gibbs, who starts off a young kid and gets his leg broken by a copper during a robbery. He's not best pleased and upon his return several years later, he decides to rise to power himself in order to put up a fight against the powers that stand already; both the criminal and the law enforcement.Aside from the fact that the film didn't appeal to me much, it's also badly written and doesn't make up for in originality what it lacks in substance. As mentioned, I'm not well versed in this genre; but I imagine it's more about style than anything else and Larry Cohen does at least give the film a cool vibe that is well done. James Brown features heavily on the soundtrack and it works with the film, although the scenes involving "The Boss" only served in reminding me of how Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels used the song much better. The lead role is taken by Fred Williamson and it does have to be said that he's one of the best things about the film. The central role in this film does require someone 'cool' to play it, and Williamson certainly is that person. The plot is a problem because it's never exactly difficult to tell where it's going and this results in the film not having a great deal of suspense. Cohen's script doesn't really make us care for the lead character either, which means it doesn't really matter where the film goes. This might appeal to fans of this genre but it hasn't made me want to see more it...I don't recommend this one.